Fort Davis

Due to Harry Potter, Leah no longer has time to participate in this blog. Hopefully, she will be back with us when she finishes reading the book within the next couple of days. We stopped at an El Paso bookstore on the way to Fort Davis on Saturday. Fortunately, there were still Harry Potter books left! Fort Davis is very green due to the rain. While we enjoyed our previous stops, Leah and I are happy to be at our second home. Tomorrow, we will meet Ben and Beverly in Alpine. Stay tuned as we will provide updates for our Chicago trip next week.

Heading Back East

We had a good 18 hours in San Diego. Last night, Leah and I walked a couple of blocks from our hotel to grab a beer in Old Town. Afterwards, we ate at a great Italian restaurant. This morning, I took Leah to Mission Beach and La Jolla. The weather was cloudy and 70 degrees in contrast to the sunny beach weather that we experienced in L.A. on Thursday. On the way out of town, I drove Leah to La Jolla to see the seals. As you can tell from the slide show, we got a little carried away with seal photos. All of the images from this particular slide show were taken in La Jolla. After lunch and the cookie purchase, we drove a little over 400 miles to Tucson. The temperature was 72 degrees when we left San Diego at around 1:30 P.M. The car thermometer read 103 degrees in Yuma. We arrived in 98 degree Tucson shortly after sunset. Our plan is to drive about 500 miles to Fort Davis on Saturday where we will camp through Tuesday. Both Leah and I are looking forward to relaxing in the Davis Mountains and meeting up with Ben and Beverly in Alpine.

San Diego & Tired Travelers!

Well, we are tired out! Our beach camping was a bust as all the camp locations were full - oh well. We went to Malibu and Pepperdine University - not your typical university campus! WOW. Then we had lunch on the Santa Monica Pier and walked the beach. We headed towards San Diego and tried for a hotel downtown, but alas, they were ALL booked too due to several conventions. We headed for I-8 in search of a hotel/motel, but saw a Holiday Inn Express (now we can use the line - "No, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express Once") in Old Town San Diego. We got the last room which was a suite and it's nice - boy, we lucked out.

Our plan is to go to an Irish Pub within walking distance and then hit Mission Beach tomorrow after we check out in the morning. We'll stay on the beach for a few hours and then start heading back tomorrow afternoon and find a motel on the interstate when we get tired.

Wednesday, July 18th

Wednesday was devoted totally to wine tasting. We visited six wineries. Leah and I both enjoyed the first two wineries that we visited (Alma Rosa and Sanford Winery). The host at Alma Rosa was in Sideways. The last four wineries that we visited were a little too impersonal and commercial for us (Foley, Babcock, Longoria and Roblar). We were a little frustrated in that there were a few locations that we either could not find or were closed for wine tasting. The day ended on a good note as we ate at the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Café (remember the double date on Sideways) and I found out that one of my research articles was accepted to a prestigious journal! Tomorrow, we head south to the warm beaches of San Diego.

July 17 - Beach & Wine

What a Tuesday! Beach in the morning and wine tasting in the afternoon. After eating breakfast in Solvang, Leah and I drove north on HWY 101 for about 60 miles to check out Avila Beach and Pismo Beach. We walked along the fishing peir in Avila Beach, where we observed commercial fishermen going to work. The weather was a balmy 62 degrees. We then drove about 5 miles south to the town of Pismo Beach. This is a vacation destination for the local farmers of Central California according to our guide books. The water was quite a bit colder than the Florida Atlantic or Gulf. I could only walk ankle deep in the water. Most of the surfers and about half of the recreation beach visitors wore wet suits. We sat on the beach and read for about an hour. After grabbing two beers, a crab melt sandwich and a french dip sandwich at a restaurant off of the beach, we headed for the San Luis Obispo Wine Trail.

Leah and I have both concluded that we will have to re-evaluate how we purchase and consume wine after this trip. The local wine is fantastic! We stopped at four wineries along the trail before heading south back to our version of a Days Inn.

We concluded the evening playing Trivial Pursuit, while eating cheese and enjoying a bottle of Fess Parker Pinot Noir. Our plan on Wednesday is to do laundry in the morning before visiting a few more wineries. We are going to have dinner at a restaurant in Los Olivos. This is the location of the infamous "merlot quote" from the movie Sideways.

Wineries we visited:

Edna Valley Vineyard
Saucelito Canyon Vineyard
Domaine Alfred
Talley Vineyard

July 16 - Wine Country part II.

Monday, July 16th

Today, we visited six wineries along the Santa Maria and Foxen Canyon Wine Trails. I think that this was one of the best days of our trip up to this point. We arrived at our first stop, which was Rancho Sisquoc Winery at around 10:30 A.M. where we shared a sample of 11 wines for $5.00! Leah and I reminded each other of the “sip, swirl and dump” rule as we had a long day ahead of us. Rancho Sisquoc is a peaceful, laid back setting. Our next stop on the way to Kenneth Volk winery was Cambria winery. While the wine and service was excellent, the Cambria Winery was a little too commercial for us. We chose not to purchase a bottle of Cambria since we can buy this product in Texas. Kenneth Volk was my favorite winery of the day. This was the only stop of the day to where Leah and I did not share samples. We spent over an hour talking to the Kenneth Volk representative who was nice enough to provide us a container more suitable to transport wine bottles in addition to a wine cookbook for Leah. He said we were fun and enjoyed our visit. He was just as interesting and full of great information.

After purchasing several Volk Wines, we went to Zaca Mesa winery and shared another tasting, purchased a bottle of Syrah and a snack box of cheese, nuts, dried fruit and crackers. We hadn't eaten lunch yet and it was 3:00, so we sat under a tree at a picnic table and ate. After lunch, we went to two more wineries, Koehler where Leah found the tuxedo cat and Firestone, but we didn't sample wines. We were exhausted from our day! We came back to our camp, cooked dinner and went to bed!

It's so very dry here and the hills are brown, but the grape vines are beautiful and just what we imagined. Today we'll head to a few beaches close to San Louis Obispo and hit one or two wineries along the way and back.

Click on this page for a description of the wine trail and links to information about the wineries with a few pictures.

• Rancho Sisquoc Winery
• Cambria
• Kenneth Volk
• Zaca Mesa
• Koehler
• Firestone

The Wine Country!

Our first day in the wine country was an adventure! We had a few places to check out as far as camping goes and both Gaviota and Jamala Beach were not what we had in mind. They were way out of our way and either depressing (Gaviota) or too dangerous of a drive (Jamala). So we went with our third choice, The Flying Flags RV and campsite in Buellton. It’s great! Showers, a pool, it’s clean, wireless internet, and a great view of the mountains under the cottonwood trees at the back of the park reserved for tents – this is RV country. We’re so glad to have found a place to camp as for us, that’s a vacation itself!

After setting camp, we drove around a bit and went to the very Dutch town of Solvang and tried two wineries on the “urban” wine trail. Cabana and Presido – it was at Presido that we bought our first bottle of Syrah – something they call “artistic license.” We’re trying not to show too much of our wine ignorance and are sure to hide the wine cube from Target for fear that we’ll be tarred and feathered!

We ate a wonderful dinner at the Hitching Post – the famous restaurant featured in Sideways and had two fantastic glasses of their wine. We were in bed by 9:00 and up by 7:30 this morning and are now planning our day. We will hit the wineries that are a bit off the beaten path and more country than urban. We’re not sure of the distance, but will go to the furthest one first and then work our way down – we have about five selected. We’re doing what is suggested of tasting wines and that’s sniff, swirl, taste and dump out.

Cheers!
Leah & Wade

July 14: Day Two Santa Barbara

Saturday, July 14th

The first agenda for me this morning was for me to get Leah and I coffee across the street at Cantwell’s, which is a small gourmet-grocery store. The weather today was fantastic as the high only reached the high seventies. We enjoyed California omelets (tomatoes, mixed cheeses and sliced avocado on top) at Jeannine’s American Bakery and Café before spending the majority of the day at Arroyo Burro (Hendry’s) Beach. The beaches out here are different from Florida in that cliffs hug the coastline. Sadie and Satchel would have fit right at home as several dog owners brought their dogs to enjoy the waves.

While at the beach, Leah and I strategized how to attack the numerous wine trails. We figured that even if we focused on one trail per day (average about a dozen wineries per day), we might be able to hit every spot. After enjoying a beer at the Brown Pelican (Wade - Santa Barbara Blonde and Leah - Black and Tan), we headed back to the hotel to reorganize our car and asked the owner of our hotel for directions to the nearest laundry mat and a suggestion for dinner tonight.

Tomorrow we will wash clothes and search for our first beach camping ground close to the Solvang wine trail. We’ll try Gaviota State Park or Jamala Beach.

We found the link to the Presidio - it's such a fun motel! Our room is on the second floor right next to the sun deck and above the office.

On Saturday evening, we ate at Restauante Aldo's. Our wine selection was a bottle of Taz Pinot Noir from Fiddlestix Vineyard. Tomorrow, we search for our campsite.

Grand Canyon: July 11 & 12 & Santa Barbara: July 13

Grand Canyon

July 11 & 12

Leah and I just completed the Grand Canyon Leg of our trip. The views were spectacular! The camping was outstanding as well. We stayed at Campsite #227 on Wednesday and Thursday night, which was probably one of the best sites that we have camped within the last few years. Our meals included Leah’s Grand Canyon Burritos (not to be confused with her Chisos Basin Burritos). Those who shared our campsite included ravens, gray tailed squirrels and an elk. A chipmunk even checked out the inside of our car. The park was very crowded as it felt like that we were at Disney. The excess numbers of people in the park made us appreciate the solitude of Big Bend. As a result, we decided to head to Santa Barbara a day early.

Santa Barbara

We left the Grand Canyon shortly before 7:00 A.M. in 70 degree temperature. Our car thermometer read 102 degrees as we drove through Needles, CA at 10:00 A.M. Dad, Leah indicated that the Mojave Desert reminded her of Alpine-Big Bend & El Paso. We arrived in Barstow at around 12:00 noon. As I mentioned to you Mom, the outlet area of Barstow has really grown since we were last in this area back in the early 90’s. Leah and I (along with all of the L.A-Las Vegas travelers) grabbed a burger at In and Out Burger. We turned right in Victorville towards Palmdale and then south on Highway 14. We did not hit heavy traffic until we entered onto I-5 about 30 miles north of L.A. The drive from I-5 (around Six Flags Magic Mountain area) to Ventura was very green. Our jaws quickly dropped as we merged onto Highway 101. Ocean! Leah and I obviously had to stop the car at the first beach. We have never seen so many RVs camped out! There were over 100 along the beach. After our quick stroll on the beach, we headed further west to Santa Barbara. We anticipated that we would have difficulty finding lodging on an early Friday evening. Luckily, we drove into the parking lot of a motel, which is off of State Street. Beverly, the name of this place is the Presidio Motel. Leah observed the No Vacancy sign light up as I reserved the last room. We were extremely fortunate. On Friday evening, we experienced our first glass of wine at a wine bar on the pier. We shared our happy hour with a couple from Denmark and a lady who currently lives in Manhattan (her parents live in Pecos, TX and she was recently in Marfa!). From our table, I think that my view facing north towards the mountains was as breath taking as Leah’s vantage point looking out towards the Channel Islands. Heading back towards the hotel, we stopped at Bucatini's. On the patio, Leah and I shared a bottle of MacMannis Pinot Noir and a pizza. Our plan on Saturday (today) is to head to the beach!

Day 2 - July 10, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Our second day in Santa Fe was a good one, but we're tired. We started out our morning planning on breakfast at the Paris Cafe only they didn't open until 8 and even then, they were still locked up! Wade was up on Texas time this morning and Santa Fe doesn't wake up until much later, so we spent the morning walking the streets looking for another breakfast spot outdoors. We came across Mission Cafe & Sweet Shop (no website available) down the street from the Oldest House and Oldest Church and planned our day.

We visited the state capitol and waited for the shops to open at 10 after which we visited the Nambe store and a few art galleries on Canyon Road - the picture of Wade and the Mark Twain bronze was WAY out of our price range (as was everything else on Canyon Road).

We found a lunch spot and drank our lunch before heading onto a few pottery places. I was a little disappointed with the pottery, but found a great place called HandMaiden Pottery and bought a beautiful pasta bowl.

We decided to head back to the hotel and hang out by the pool were we took a much needed nap! Tonight, we will go to an Italian place called IL Piatto (I can't seem to access their website), but before heading to dinner, we're going to have drinks on the roof of the La Fonda hotel which overlooks downtown Santa Fe.

Our plan tomorrow is to leave early for Flagstaff to grocery shop for three days of camping in the Grand Canyon - we can't wait! We most likely won't have internet access, but will be sure to take a lot of pictures on our hikes and as soon as we get to Santa Barbara we will post to our blog.

Leah & Wade

We're in Santa Fe, NM.

July 9 - Day 1: Santa Fe, New Mexico

Our trip to Santa Fe was an easy drive. We were so ready to get the heck out of north Texas. We left at 7:00 am along with Candy and E.G. and went our separate ways. We made it to Amarillo by 1:30 and ate at Dyer's BBQ and then Santa Fe by 5:30 (6:30 Texas time). It is so green up here too - they've had a lot of rain.


As soon as we arrived to the El Dorado (a very nice hotel! and one that we almost missed because I was distracted by all the stores when I was supposed to be navigating for Wade) we changed clothes and hit the streets in search of a Margarita at The Shed - a place recommended by our bell hop (who happens to be a student at UBC in Vancouver). The food was good, but drinks were better - I had a prickly pear margarita and Wade had the traditional Lime, but when we saw the locally brewed beer we could not resist and switched.



After dinner, we walked around the streets downtown and window shopped. There was live music on the square and we saw a man walking a dog and a cat!!! He jerked the cat towards him which I just about flipped, but saw that he placed the cat on the dog's back. I took a picture, but not sure of the quality.










We saw a beautiful church off the square and then came across the oldest church in the U.S. built in 1610.

I think my pottery places are on the outskirts, so that's our quest for tomorrow but not before stopping at the Paris Cafe - a bakery tucked away on a side street that looked delish! I think I've already gained weight, but we'll walk it off.

Enjoy!

Leah & Wade

Our Blog!

Hi Family & Friends,

Wade and I thought we would keep everyone up-to-date with our travels in July. When we have Internet access on the road, we will upload pictures and journal about our travels. Below is our agenda for July with hotel/camping information:

• July 9: Head out to Santa Fe, NM. We will stay July 9 & 10 at the El Dorado Hotel.
• July 11-14: Camping in the Grand Canyon National Park at the Mather Campground.
• July 14-21: Wine Country in Santa Barbara County! We will stay July 14th in Lompac, California. July 15-21 we will camp. We have a few locations in mind and will make our decision when we arrive. One possibility is the Jamala Beach Park.
• July 22: Head to Texas to meet up with Mom & Dad in Alpine on July 23rd.