Santa Ynez Valley, October 2007 - Wine Country, Solvang,
Santa Inés Mission, and The Greatest Taco Stand
Page 2 of 2
 The
rolling hills of Santa Ynez Valley make me want to lay against a tree and
watch the clouds roll past, "nostalgic" for a childhood I actually never had.
:)After leaving Alpacas de Los Olivos, we drove through beautiful hills to Rancho Sisquoc for the Santa Barbara Vintner's Association's wine festival for harvest season. |
 But
we could scarcely drive a hundred feet without stopping the car to gape at
the lovely views. |
 We
arrived at
Rancho
Sisquoc, Santa Maria, for the Vintner's wine festival.
Celebration of Harvest is held in October each year, in the thick of the winegrape harvest when the winery staff emerges from their cellars to
showcase their latest wines, many newly bottled!
The turnout for this event was enormous, and the day gorgeous. Over ninety vineyards showcased their wine. But perhaps equally enticing were the numerous local gourmet restaurants, presenting samples as exotic as white grape gazpacho and smoked salmon on flatbread topped with micro greens. |
 Exploring
one of the many wine shops in the Santa Ynez Valley, which showcase local
wines such as Flying Goat Cellars (Santa Maria Valley). |
 Solvang
means "Sunny Field" in Danish. It was founded in 1911. The tiny town
is home to some bakeries, restaurants, and merchants offering a taste of
Denmark in California. This is the place to come if you are looking
for knives, music boxes, Danish pastries, or touristy wooden shoes. |
 Danish-American
educators founded Solvang as the center of a Danish academy. They purchased
9,000 acres of ranch land adjoining Santa Inés Mission, one of the original
21 Spanish missions across California. Soon Danish-American farmers
and ranchers flocked here from the Midwest attracted by the fertile soil and
sunny climate. |
 If
there's American tourists with fat wallets, there's sure to be a Thomas
Kinkade Gallery. |
 Santa
Inés Mission, Solvang.The Mission was founded on September 17, 1804 by Father Estevan Tapis, and was named in honor of Saint Agnes, an early Christian martyr of the fourth century. Inés is Agnes in English, and the town of Santa Ynez is named for the mission.
|
 Santa
Inés Mission in Solvang.The mission and church are administered by the Capuchin Franciscan order, and hold regular religious services as well as special services for baptisms, confirmations, weddings, and funerals. |
 The
cemetery in Santa Inés Mission. |
 An
angel in the garden, Santa Inés Mission. |
 A
christening at the Santa Inés Mission. |
 We
drove through the scenic 154 through the mountains, emerging in bustling
Santa Barbara. Hungry for food, we stopped off at La Super Rica
Taqueria for some mouth-watering Mexican food. This is Julia Child's
favorite taco stand. And possibly mine.I love peering into the kitchen. Two women pinching off balls of dough, effortlessly judging the size by decades of cooking to determine just how much they need to slap down onto the tortilla press before slamming shut the press and peeling the lid back up, tearing the newly flattened tortilla up, and slinging it onto the hot grill. So good. Bless all tortilla women. Eating sumptuous Santa Ynez cuisine such as the barbeque steaks at the Hitching Post or the seafood jambalaya at Ballard Inn is amazing. But then, we keep coming back to the Mexican food. And this is easily one of the best in Southern California. |
 The
Sunday traffic on the 101 clogged up as usual around Ventura. And
perhaps not quite ready to flee the slower rhythms of the farmland, I took a
detour and drove up the 118. South of Santa Paula and Fillmore, north
of Oxnard, there still exists this farmland. Tract housing encroaches
more and more on this fertile valley, making me more appreciative of its
green farmland with each passing year. |
Santa Ynez Valley 2007 Page 2
Eleven Shadows Travel Page
Contact photographer/musician Ken Lee
