An Early Mother's Day

 One of the highlights of Emily's trip to California was our moms' day out trip to Santa Barbara County wine country. Emily did a lot of research to plan out our day, and we were blessed to enjoy all our stops without a hitch.

We left SClarita around 9 and got to our first stop, Babcock Winery, around 11. This place had a great merchandise shop and tasting bar in a barn, that came complete with a couple of barn cats.

I took this for Stace - always on the lookout for cars he'd enjoy. He said the Alfa Romeo is worth a fortune.

The charming outside patio at Babcock

Felix the cat - he and his brother help keep the grounds free from vermin. The employee told us the owners had their prior cats pass away, and didn't immediately replace them, until they realized there's a good reason to keep cats in a barn!

We ordered sandwiches from Panino, a place Emily remembered fondly from her wine country trips when she lived in California. We picked them up on our way to Beckman Vineyards, where we had our next tasting on an outdoor patio.

Our third stop was at Lincourt Vineyards, where I have memories from my trip here with my friend Sue for her 50th birthday a few years ago.

The whole region is just idyllic, and we had perfect weather. Each winery was so different in its feel and general "attitude," and we enjoyed comparing and contrasting them. 

Before we left the area, it was time for coffee and a sweet treat. We went into Solvang, where we stopped at this Danish bakery.

Emily was eager to see the ocean on her trip, and see it we did, though we didn't catch sunset because it sadly had clouded over.

We stopped at Padaro Beach Grill, a favorite of mine and Colleen's.

 

And we were all back home and settled in before 9 p.m.! Phew, a big day, and so much fun. It's not bad being in a car for so long when you have friends to catch up with.