CA, OR & AK 2006 & BEYOND: Days 18 through 22; September 20 through 24, 2013

Friday September 20, 2013

Visited the Rideau, Rusack and Firestone wineries. Then stopped at the Santa Barbara Mission on the way back.

Celia had found a deal on Groupon for a wine tour, tasting and class at a small winery in the Santa Ynez Valley at Solvang, the Rideau Winery. The winery was established on a piece of property that included an adobe house that dates back to the late 1800's. Their focus is on Rhone type wines and we really enjoyed our host, Shey, and the wines that we tasted. We broke down and joined their wine club and bought a few bottles to keep us going while we are with Graham and Celia!

The Adobe house at the Rideau Winery

We moved onto the Rusack Winery for a picnic lunch and then polished off the day with another wine tasting at the Firestone Winery and then a drive through Santa Barbara and a photo stop at the Mission.

Picnic at the Rusack Winery

Rusack Winery

Vineyard view at Rusack Winery

Vineyard view at Firestone Winery

So many to chose from!

Santa Barbara Mission

Saturday September 21, 2013

A chill day, just washing and a shopping trip to REI. Then two of Graham and Celia's friends, Dan and Kandie came over for a BBQ. Over dinner, Dan regaled us with the details of his dessert business called Dan's Delectables.

Sunday September 22, 2013

Today we visited the Getty Center in LA.

The Getty Center in LA sits high above the city just off I405 and commands amazing views of the city and the Pacific Ocean. The architecture of the building is based on squares, either brushed aluminum and Travertine stone. We spent time just walking around the facility and then attended a lecture by the Dean of Canterbury Cathedral about their stained glass windows and an exhibition currently running at the Getty on that subject.

View towards downtown LA from the Getty Center

After leaving the Getty we drove down Sunset Blvd to the Pacific Coast Highway back to Newbury Park.

Monday September 23, 2013

Today we visited Santa Cruz Island National Park.

We were up early today to catch the 8am ferry from Ventura to Santa Cruz Island. On arrival we took a one hour interpretive hike with a naturalist and then we set off on our own to hike from Cavern Point to Potato Harbor and then back to ferry to return to Ventura. On the way back we were treated to the amazing sight of a huge pod of Dolphins.