A Life, Lived: Heading Up The Coast

June 26, 2015

Heading Up The Coast

The time change was playing games with me - wide awake at 3 AM Pacific time because my body was thinking it was 6 AM back home. I forced myself to sleep as much as I could but in the end 5 AM was all I could manage.

Paul did a far better job with his snoring allowing me a few hours to catch up on emails and work stuff.

After breakfast we loaded up the car and prepared to head out. I couldn't leave without seeing the beach so headed to Goleta Beach. It had a great pier which allowed us to get some awesome shots of the shore.

It is a 2 hour drive from Santa Barbara to the rental house in Paso Robles. We broke the drive in half with a stop in Los Alamos at Martian Ranch and Vineyard. It turns out our friend Shannon was in the area visiting with friends from Spain she arranged for a wine tasting and even brought along a picnic lunch.

An eclectic grower of Rhone and Spanish grape varieties, Martian Ranch & Vineyard is a biodynamically farmed Estate vineyard and winery. Their vineyards were planted in 2008, with the first Estate vintage in 2011. Biodynamic vineyard consultant Philippe Armenier has been involved since the planting of our first vine, and is now Winemaker at Martian Ranch.

The wines were amazing, the grounds lovely, and the company great. It was one of those wonderful moments that you just didn't want to end. Sadly, though, we had to drive further up the coast to Paso Robles and our home for the next three nights.

When we got to the Summit Schoolhouse we were amazed. This 1890s one room school house has been beautifully restored and is likely the finest rental house we have ever stayed in. The owners are clearly meticulous - not a detail has been overlooked. Whereas many rental houses contain cast off low-end furniture this house has the best of everything.