Randoms pics of Santa Barbara wine country... and Santa Barbara itself

sopas ej · #1 Posted **Jul 7, 2021, 12:34 AM**

Took some random photos, some while slightly tipsy, during a day trip on the 4th of July, 2021, to Santa Barbara County's wine country and the city of Santa Barbara itself.

The little town of Santa Ynez, CA. Where *IS* everybody? Solvang sure was crowded, but not this place. I wish more things were open...

Photo by me

Horseshoes in the crosswalk.

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Photo by me

We didn't go into any actual wineries... but in Santa Ynez, we did go into a honky-tonk bar that served wine from Gainey Vineyard, which is indeed a winery in Santa Ynez. This was pretty good sauvignon blanc.

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This place was kinda fun(ny). They were playing music like Tammy Wynette, Barbara Mandrell's "Crackers," Charlie Rich, and other older country hits. The clientele were funny too.

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Photo by me

Next stop, Los Alamos, CA, a town founded in 1876. It was sleepy here too, but we didn't mind.

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Photo by me

In addition to what this plaque says, this was also used in the music video for Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney's song "Say Say Say."

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A historic B&B.

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Photo by me

Wine time again.

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Photo by me

I had another white wine. I don't remember what kind it was.

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It was a nice little place.

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Photo by me

Cottonwood Church. Los Alamos means "the cottonwoods."

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Photo by me

Next stop, the city of Santa Barbara. We hadn't been here since before the pandemic.

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Photo by me

A several block stretch of State Street in downtown Santa Barbara was closed during the pandemic to create outdoor dining and a pedestrian/bike zone. I'm hoping they make this permanent.

Photo by me

Photo by me

We happened upon a place that sells lokum, called, well, "Lokum." We totally had to go in. We love all things Turkish. I asked an employee how long they've been in business, and they said about a year; they had opened just before the pandemic hit.

Photo by me

Photo by me

The lokum was really tasty!

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Definitely coming back here. Not gonna do that marshmallow/nutella thing, though.. I take it that's for Americans?

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Photo by me

I should've gotten a coffee pot.

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Yikes!

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ChrisLA · #2 Posted **Jul 7, 2021, 5:55 AM**

Nice, I also enjoy visiting Santa Barbara.

OhioGuy · #3 Posted **Jul 7, 2021, 3:05 PM**

What a great area! Haven't been there in nearly 20 years.

LosAngelesSportsFan · #4 Posted **Jul 7, 2021, 3:34 PM**

Beautiful. Great tour

EastSideHBG · #5 Posted **Jul 7, 2021, 8:10 PM**

Beautiful!

Coldrsx · #6 Posted **Jul 8, 2021, 2:33 PM**

How un-North American.

JMKeynes · #7 Posted **Jul 8, 2021, 3:58 PM**

GORGEOUS!

LosAngelesSportsFan · #8 Posted **Jul 8, 2021, 5:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

How un-North American.

That may be true for a lot of north America, but we have dozens of cities / neighborhoods like this in California

LAsam · #9 Posted **Jul 8, 2021, 6:53 PM**

SB wine country is one of my favorite weekend trips from LA. Thanks for sharing!

sopas ej · #10 Posted **Jul 9, 2021, 4:11 AM**

Thanks for the comments!

Quote:

Originally Posted by LAsam

SB wine country is one of my favorite weekend trips from LA. Thanks for sharing!

Mine too. I just wish they had more cideries and meaderies! Don't get me wrong, I like wine, but I also like hard cider and mead.

I wish in general that there were more cideries and meaderies. I never got into that craft beer/microbrewery stuff. I do like beers, but I drink it less than the other stuff---beer is too filling.

plinko · #11 Posted **Jul 11, 2021, 4:18 AM**

SB in general is a wine drinking town. It’s been fascinating to watch the Funk Zone (not shown in your photos) develop over the past 20 years into the place to be seen drowning vino and insta’d by the West LA crowd. Nice to see a little traditional State Street roaming in your photos. It’s a wonderful city, truly.

NollJohnsen · #12 Posted **Aug 13, 2021, 9:50 AM**

I think that it is tough to find a good wine. Practically speaking, it takes time and research. But this post is more about flavor and aroma. After all, you will be drinking it daily, so the aspects related to personal taste are fundamental. I use two criteria to judge if a wine is good enough: perceived alcohol content and expression. Anyway, I try to find at acceptable prices. That's why I am using the Italy wine prices search motor. This platform always found me the best offers and types of wine. I think all should use it for ordering online.

geomorph · #13 Posted **Sep 10, 2021, 5:47 AM**

Lokum looks like a treasure, now I want to go back!

Sky2021 · #14 Posted **Sep 25, 2021, 1:47 AM**

Great pictures, thanks for sharing.

Pedestrian · #15 Posted **Oct 1, 2021, 7:36 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by sopas ej

I wish in general that there were more cideries and meaderies. I never got into that craft beer/microbrewery stuff. I do like beers, but I drink it less than the other stuff---beer is too filling.

Sebastopol is apple country and it should be about cider season:

Quote:

Sebastopol: Cider tasting, apple farms put Sonoma County town back on the map

https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/09/...ck-on-the-map/

https://www.tiltedshed.com/blog/category/cider

Also I don't think you've yet done the Russian River Valley so come on up! Plenty of wine about also, of course.

sopas ej · #16 Posted **Oct 1, 2021, 9:10 PM**

Ah, thanks for the suggestion!

SLO · #17 Posted **Jan 16, 2022, 3:51 AM**

Very nice. I was fortunate to work in projects in Santa Ynez, SB and Montecito in the last 5 years. It’s a different world as far as permits, architectural review and cost but a lot of fun! Great towns. If you can afford it.