Well, I just spent a few days out in Cali and this is my account of the adventure.....
I flew into LAX on Saturday and rented a red Jeep Wrangler. The first stop was In N Out burger. POINT CALIFORNIA. (Although, the Dallas area did just get the first In N Out in the Great State)…..This trip was starting out with the bar set very high.
The road trip began on the 405, headed for Santa Barbara. I anticipated a beautiful, coastline drive north. Top down would have been ideal, but it was 60 degrees and drizzling. FAIL. The traffic on a Saturday evening, getting out of LA, is flat annoying. It wasn't bumper to bumper but just enough to slow down the trip. That, coupled with terrible signage on the Hwy, made me miss HWY 1, and kept the road trip a considerable distance from the coast. It wasn't until over halfway to SB, that I could see the cliffs I remembered from Laguna Beach and The Hills. While Texas does have its fair share of traffic, especially in drizzly weather, our roadways just seem more organized and easier to navigate. Point Texas.
Night one in SB was simple, checked into the hotel and hit a few bars down on State Street. Santa Barbara is different than I imagined. It is a college/surfer/touristy town, which makes for an interesting mix. There were surfer dude bars, dive bars that are not even named, but full of frat daddies and their blonde sorority-lettered girlfriends, and finally cute, quaint bistros and steakhouses with pricey drinks and patios.
Sunday morning started with a breakfast that put to shame most other breakfasts I've had in my lifetime. It began with nice, big counter to sit at. I love sitting at counters. I'm not sure why, maybe because it immediately feels retro, welcoming, and out of the ordinary. Next was the second meal of the trip that really blew my mind. Let me give you some background first though. I am a HUGE fan of Maudies in Austin. Even more so, Maudies' chilaquiles. I order them anytime I dine at any Maudies before lunch time, and this occurs often. I would venture to say this is among my top 5 favorite meals. So you can imagine my combination of excitement and hesitation when I saw " chilaquiles " on the Specials board hanging above the counter. At first, I didn't even open the menu, then after fearing it could ruin my favorite meal, I browsed my other options. I saw plenty, but just couldn't stray from enjoying one of my faves on vacation. I ordered the chilaquiles. They were OUT OF THIS WORLD. Maudies is good at what they do, but not as good as the Cajun Kitchen on De La Vino in Santa Barbara. Point California.
From breakfast to lunch was spent shopping for small jackets because apparently in June in California it rains...a lot. Who knew? Not me. Anyway, after walking around all morning and part of the afternoon it was back to the jeep and back on the road. This time the destination was little further up the coast near UC Santa Barbara to find the original Freebirds burrito shop. Aggies, chill out. You were not the first, look it up. I thought so too, but after a looking it up, you'll see, Freebirds was started in Santa Barbara, California by two raging hippies, and after their success with the college crowd they researched the biggest "college towns" in America. They chose College Station, TX as location #2. Now, if you haven't been to a Freebirds, just imagine a crazy, tin foil decorated hippie hang out. It is extremely environmentalist friendly and a perfect fit in, say, Austin, TX. Certainly not College Station, TX but again, when considering college crowds, Aggieland is prime. So when I saw the bare bones Freebirds Original I was a little shocked. It was so simple. More like a Chipotle spot with no frills. I ordered a regular on wheat (no list of tortilla choices here like most locations) and watched as Carmen, the burrito maker, PILED on the black beans, rice, chicken and guacamole. Her burrito making skills takes "liberal" to another level. My boyfriend (big guy, 6'5, works out often, and naturally eats easily 3 times as much as me) could not finish his Monster sized burrito because of Carmen's generosity with the toppings. So at this point in the trip Maudies and Freebirds have been out done by the Golden State.
After a nice ride back down to the State Street area with a stop in a beautiful neighborhood to explore a secluded staircase down to the beach in the pouring rain, day two ended with dinner on a pier just as the sun set and a few more of the diverse bars in downtown.
Monday, day 3, began with an ok breakfast at a local spot called Max's. I'm not sure if it was the chilaquiles the day before or what, but Max's just didn't impress me too much. On a much better note, the drive out to Wine Country, the destination, was incredibly impressive. I've heard that the rolling hills of Cali can sometimes be compared to that of the Texas Hill Country. Negative. California's hills are mountains. And while the smaller rolling hills, soil, and climate are all similar, the views are on a different level in CA. At one lookout point the view included hills, mountains, a vineyard and the ocean. The Texas wine trails are certainly on their way to being a successful, and noteworthy, industry but they still don't have much on California wine country, and I only saw Santa Barbara County, not Napa.
The two vineyards I experienced were Gainey Ranch and Brander. Gainey was interesting because we took a tour and got a lot of history. Brander had better wines. Both are well worth the drive and I'd recommend to all. To make the trip out a little sweeter, my boyfriend played a little blackjack at the small Casino between the two vineyards and in one game ended up four aces wide and won on all. I’m not sure I even typed that out properly but it was pretty lucky and we walked away winners. No gambling in Tejas, California wins again.
In celebration of the blackjack win and the last night in SB, dinner was at a trendy spot in the harbor. Waterfront Grill has a heated patio and delicious food. After ordering some of the local wine and the perfect fish dinner, it was back down to State Street for dessert and some champagne. Holderon's was the perfect spot, where I found myself seated at a counter again, this time enjoying a trio of desserts and some Spanish cava. If the competition was based solely on food and drink Texas would be in real trouble even with gems like the Salt Lick and its deep roots in Tex-Mex.
The final day was spent driving back to LAX and hanging out in the Santa Monica/Venice Beach area. Venice is an interesting array of hippies, bums, and surfer dudes. But I guess that is the case with most of California. Venice is maybe a greater concentration of all three. I made my way in and out of the different types on a beach cruiser bicycle and eventually ended up by all the monkey bars, swinging rings, and carnival on the pier. It was a beautiful, hilarious, and relaxing tri-fecta end to my California adventure.
Highlights were the food, drinks, and overall atmosphere. Drawbacks included traffic, unpredictable weather and prices were high (almost 40 bucks a night added in taxes).
If I had to pick a winner, I'd say Texas. Not just because Austin is easier to navigate than LA but also because I eat more than just chilaquiles. I would love to drink the Cuvee Natalie from Brander Vineyard every day, but a good margarita from Matt's El Rancho is pretty hard to beat too.
Bottom-line: I'm a Texas girl and I love seeing The Great State kick some California butt when evaluating state economies and growth. But I will spend some vacation time and money in California from time to time despite its inferiority because as far as vacation is concerned, Cali scored some major points with me.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip....enjoy....
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