Santa Ynez Valley

I am not usually a weekend getaway kind of person--I prefer long vacations across oceans, but I did a road trip over July 4th weekend. And it was great! I went to the Santa Ynez Valley, just above Santa Barbara. Golden, rolling hills, orchards, and vineyards. If you saw the movie "Sideways", that's the place. I stayed at the same hotel they did in the movie, and drank wine at the same restaurant bar. It is a very agricultural area: 60 wineries are located there, along with apples, pears, apricots, blueberries, strawberries, farms, ranches, and a casino! My highlights were Ostrichland, Quicksilver Ranch, and Nojoqui Falls. Ostrichland was just what you'd guess, hundreds of Ostriches--that you can feed! My favorite sign said "Yes, we like to bite". These birds are huge (250 - 350 pounds) and very messy eaters. They violently attack the food pan that you hold out to them--and you have to hang on very tight to that dish! Small children aren't allowed to feed them. It was horrifying at first, but once I got used to it, it was kind of funny. I went from giant birds to tiny horses. Quicksilver Ranch is a miniature horse farm. Miniature horses, not miniature farm! They were beyond cute. The adults grow no more than 34 inches, and the newest babies were maybe a foot and a half high--the size of an average German Shepherd. I really wanted to take one home! You can buy them, but I didn't think they would like my small apartment. I love waterfalls, love, love, love them! Thanks to a friend who used to live in the area and told me about the place, I went to Nojoqui Falls. Pronounced no-ho-we. After a long drive down a winding road in the middle of nowhere, it's half mile hike into the woods. Very pretty, very peaceful--which basically, sums up the whole weekend! I might turn into a weekend getaway convert!