Ramblings....: Ran away to Santa Barbara...

Pat & I decided we'd need a couple days away after the holiday madness so as a Christmas present to ourselves we booked an airbnb in Santa Barbara right by the Urban Wine Trail.

We got a later start on Friday and then hit horrid traffic, so unfortunately it didn't start off very well. But when we finally did get up there we unloaded and hit the main area to wander around and have dinner.

The place we stayed at was a place that had 3 units all part of one. The story is very cute, it was 1st purchased by an artist and she and her husband ended up making it super cute. The kids inherited it followed by their kids and the 3 units are named after the main family - Papa Dux, Mama Dux and Baby Dux. We stayed in Baby which was very tiny but suitable since we were just there 2 nights.

The Dux bnb

A cute little makeshift fireplace we utilized

First up we landed at RiverBench. We had wandered over to find out where the restaurant was so we knew where to go when it was time for our reservation. This place was right near it so we thought let's do it! Glad we did! Had a lovely tasting with a gentleman there who was very knowledgable about wine. We ended up buying a bottle of red!

1st drink of the mini getaway

We then hit up Fess Parker. Didn't have as great of a time there, but Pat did a tasting and I had a glass of bubbly to kill time until dinner.

I love that he's getting into wine

Didn't buy any here, but cute display!

Then it was time for dinner and we headed to The Lark. I'd been dying to try this place and it did not disappoint!!! We sat outside and were worried because it was chilly, but we were under a heat lamp that kept us nice and toasty. Our waitress was an absolute sweetheart. The only weird thing that happened was at one point another waiter came and poured a different red wine into Pat's glass. Pat was almost finished, but still...WTF. But our food - holy shit. Pat asked for his steak to be rare and it was cooked perfectly! I think that's the best rare cook on a steak I have ever seen. I started out with Oysters that had this interesting green apple vinegar sauce to go with it. The green apple was such a delightful addition! Then I had mussels for dinner which were divine!

Our waitress brought over this kennel corn to start!

Oysters with a green apple vinegar sauce

My dude

Pat's hanger steak cooked to perfection!

Yummy mussels!

Tried to find a geocache on the way back, but no luck dammit.

The next day we decided to drive into Los Olivos. That was kind of our original plan, but there was nothing available since we planned this so last minute. We had brunch at Mattei's Tavern. Now this place was actually at an Inn. As we walked up, the back way by accident, we realized what a cute place and we'd love to come back here and stay sometime! We did fall in love with Los Olivos and definitely want to come back and stay here and really check out the area!

Huevos Rancheros

This was called a Hangtown Fry - Egg Frittata, Fried Oysters, Arugula, Fresh Parm and Lemon Aioli. Was friggin delish!!!

On a recommendation from Nancy we hit up Refugio Ranch. This was my favorite winery stop the whole trip. The gal was super friendly and very knowledgeable about the wines. We sat in a comfy little nook and each did a tasting. She gave us a couple of extra pours then waved both our tasting fees since we bought 3 bottles! It was truly a great experience and we'll def be back!

The gal brought us the same bottles a couple of times but different years so we could taste the difference. It was so cool and I love when these wine folks do that! Your really can taste and appreciate the subtle differences. Pat is tasting a 2020 and a 2021 Syrah

We'll for sure be back!

We then headed over to Stolpman Winery - another rec by Nancy. This was in the little town area, so after tasting we wandered a bit and finally found a geocache!

Nancy asked us to pick her up some wine!

My 1st geocache!

Happily Wine Tasting About

After this we headed back to our bnb to clean up and head out again. This time we drove over to another part of Santa Barbara - the Arts District - to dine at Milk and Honey - a tapas place that sounded delightful and it was! Before and after dinner we wandered the area which was really cool! Still decked out for Xmas and a lovely area for sure.