We moved out to the Santa Ynez Valley earlier this year. It is about 40 mins from Santa Barbara but a very different experience. It is the home of the local wine industry which is what initially brought us out here, but we have loved finding lots of new fun outdoor activities in Santa Ynez Valley. There are great restaurants, hikes, big rides and it is just a slower pace of life.
We have lived in the Santa Ynez Valley for 6 months or so now and felt we had our arms around the restaurant scene until last week. We live close to the Danish town of Solvang and often walk our dog Lolly through the neighborhood. We stumbled open a restaurant called First and Oak last week. We decided to celebrate our wedding anniversary with a prix fixe dinner at First and Oak this past week. Wow! We found a good one.
We are discovering new things all the time with our move to the Santa Ynez Valley. One great example of this is the farm stand at Finley Farms.
Kate and I did so many fun things during my recent trip to visit her and Steve. And a lot of them involved movement and health (the rest involved ice cream!) There was lots of walking, hiking and swimming, but my favorite might have been the outdoor yoga at Olde Oak Meadow Yoga.
I’ve got a great recommendation for a lunch spot the next time you are in Santa Ynez Valley. It’s called Petros– and it’s absolutely charming. It was a lovely Saturday, and I decided that Cheddar needed a nice lunch. He’d been rooming with his two doggie cousins, and he needed some solo time. So I treated both of us to an outdoor Greek lunch at Petros.
I recently shared my review of a few coffee shops in the Santa Ynez Valley. Yep, I didn’t just drink coffee during my visit! I also scoped out the new Auberge hotel, the Inn at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos. My family loves an Auberge property! But not to be too much of a downer, but I’m not convinced this is the place to spend your precious travel dollars.
