Glaedelig Jul! Dag Et!

Although we planned to stay at home in our jammies for Christmas Day itself, we couldn't completely resist our natural urge to explore, so the morning of the 22nd saw us hopping in the car and heading north for a long weekend!  As you guys know by now, I'm a huge sucker for holiday lights and events, and we'd always heard that Solvang, the most Danish town in America, got all gussied up for Christmas (or Jul, in Danish - hence the post title up there); since we live only a few hours away, we figured this was a great time to spend a long weekend in the area and celebrate my birthday at the same time.  Chris took care of the majority of the planning for this one, calling on my "master planner" services only at the very end, just to ensure things would all flow smoothly.

While we've driven through Solvang several times (including in August, when Mom and I visited), on this journey, we wanted to divert from the standard Highway 101 route around Santa Barbara and head over the San Marcos Pass on the 154 instead.  We'd heard this was a fun little mountain-y road, and it also had the bonus of running right past our lunch destination, the Cold Spring Tavern!

Cute, right?

The Tavern used to be a stop on the old stagecoach route over the Pass, where teams would rest up before continuing their climb through the mountains, and it's still a place to pause and refresh with hearty grub.  It was everything we wanted on this cold winter morning - we sat right next to the roaring fireplace, there were framed news articles yellowing on the walls, and the 8000 delicious calories of chili and onion rings we ingested were more than welcomed.

Playing with the "portrait" mode on our

new-ish iPhones.

After lunch, we hopped back in the car and made a quick detour to see the underside of the bridge spanning Kelly Creek.

It had an architectural marker,

and we're suckers for things like that.

The traffic was pretty light, so after lunch, we ended up with some time to kill before we could check in at our lodging for the next two nights, the Sideways Inn in Buellton.  What to do, what to do?  I know!  Time to taste some wine!  The area all around Bulleton/Solvang is known as the Santa Ynez Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area), and there are several great wineries in the nearby towns.  We've been meaning to visit some new tasting rooms on our last few trips northward, but it hadn't yet worked out - now was the time!

Our first stop was at Gainey Vineyard.  We finally found a spot to park, walked in, wandered around, were told we had to go the front counter first to get tasting coupons, waited in a line that didn't even start to move for about 10 minutes, looked at each other, did the old married couple thing where you read each other's minds, and left.  Gainey, your wines might be good, but if you can't get people in the door in a timely fashion, we aren't hanging around to find out (the engineer complained quite a bit about their lack of appropriate process flow, and I must agree).  

Next, we headed to Roblar, which was much better.  They had a lovely, airy tasting room with ample seating and plenty of staff to keep the delicious options coming.  They also had a case stocked with locally made truffles, and we were happy to support small businesses by eating a few of those, too!  We left with some souvenirs:

Take-home wine shot!
As you can see, we drink all the things.

Our final stop within the Santa Ynez city limits was Vincent Vineyards, right across the road from Roblar (if we weren't carrying four bottles of wine, we easily could have walked).  They had several flight options, but we went with the chocolate/wine pairing flight, which is pretty unique.

The wines were just meh, but the chocolates were all delicious!  I also grabbed some shots of the hysterical wine bottle "outfits," themed to the season:

I could not stop laughing at the hats - 

we had been drinking a fair amount of wine.

With a bit more time on our hands, we next stopped in downtown Los Olivos, which is a super-cute little area just a few streets wide, but full of merchants of several different types.

Like the Olive Hill Farm,

which makes awesome olive oil

and balsamic vinegar.

Noms!

We also did a bit more wine tasting in Los Olivos, at the counter for Bien Nacido and Solomon Hills, and their wares were lovely - we ended up bringing home three bottles there, too!  Finally, it was time to check into the hotel, so we started the quick drive over to Buellton.  When Chris found the Sideways Inn online, it looked like a cute spot in the middle of everything that would be a good fit for us; all of this was true, but what we didn't realize is that it was the hotel featured in the movie Sideways from a few years back (you'd think the name would cue us in, but no, apparently not).

A still from the movie,

back when it was called the "Windmill Inn."

I have a good feeling I know why it was called that.

Although most of it has been extensively renovated since then, it does still possess one notable feature from the early 2000's:

This really is a great place - 

if you need lodging in this area,

do consider it.

We relaxed for a little bit and then put on our nighttime clothes (read: warm) and called an Uber for the short ride to Solvang.  We planned to do the 5:30 free holiday lights walk which started at the city park, but when we saw the massive crowds and lack of organization, we bailed and headed to The Good Life, a nearby wine and beer cellar.  It was a much better choice, and we thoroughly enjoyed sampling their on-tap wares, which were rather impressive.  

After a bit, it was time to wander the streets of the city and enjoy the brisk weather.  

I found the Pavlov Art Gallery,

named for our neph-dog.

Well, not really named for him,

but sharing his name.

After wandering for a bit longer, it was time for dinner!  We ate at Aly's Restaurant, and had a three or four course meal, which was completely delicious.  I remember bits of lobster, tomato soup, steak, scallops, and other various and sundry items, all of which were outstanding.  After dinner, we hopped back in an Uber and headed to the Inn, where we redeemed a voucher for a nightcap in their onsite lounge.  After a full day, it was time for bed!

Later!

Amy