Our wine and California history adventure begins in the beautiful Central Coast city of San Luis Obispo (SLO) located midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on Highway 101. Our lodging and dinner will be at the Apple Farm, famous for its Victorian country charm and its operating grist mill. Dinner will be at 6:30 pm in the Apple Farm Restaurant. (D)

Following breakfast, we will walk to the Mission San Luis Obispo de Totosa, the fifth in the chain of 21 missions established by Father Junipero Serra in California, and built by the local Chumash Indians. Following our tour, we will venture next door to the SLO County History Center and Museum for our introduction to the fascinating story of California’s Central Coast. We now will have approximately one hour to explore Old Town SLO before our departure for Paso Robles, California and lunch at the historic Paso Robles Inn. Following lunch and a walk around historic old town, we will head to Mission San Miguel Arcangle which was founded in the summer of 1797. The rest of the afternoon will be spent visiting and tasting some of the finest wines produced on the Central Coast, such vineyards as Eberle Winery, Peachy Canyon Winery, and the oldest winery on the Central Coast dating to 1882, York Mountain Winery which is know for it’s Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Then it’s back to Paso Robles and our night’s lodging at the quaint Adelaide Inn with dinner at a true Central Coast cowboy saloon, F. McLintocks.
(B/L/D)

After breakfast, we will head west to the Pacific Ocean and the breathtaking summer home of William Randolph Hearst, now a California State Park, and Hearst Castle which welcomes tourists from around the world. The view from the Castle is one you’ll remember for years to come; off in the distance we will experience the first lighthouse of our trip, the Piedras Blancas Light. As we leave Hearst Castle, we will head north for a closer look at the lighthouse and some recent arrivals to these beaches, the once thought to be extinct, and elephant seals. This is the southern point of a twenty mile long elephant seal colony. Lunch will be just to the south in Cambria, California at the most famous BBQ on the Central Coast. After lunch, we will have time to look around this charming village and art colony. Our next stop as we head down the coast is the village of Harmony, population nine. The village is home to a group of extremely talented artisans including glass blowers, a potter, crafters, and quilters. We will also have a chance to relax and enjoy wine and cheese tasting. We now continue south to the small town of Morro Bay, California and a visit to the Morro Bay Wine Seller which boasts the only waterfront wine tasting on the Central Coast. Following our wine tasting, it’s off to the El Morro Masterpiece Motel, our lodging for the next two nights. Dinner will be a short walk away at Dorn’s Breakers Café, a landmark in Morro Bay. (CB/L/D)

Wildlife and the Morro Bay Embarcadero
Following our breakfast, we head to Montana de Oro State Park, one of the most beautiful coastal parks in the country, where we will discover the cultural and natural history of this part of the Central Coast. We will take a couple of short, but very scenic, walks along the bluffs, to a special cove, and to the sand dunes where there is a Chumash midden mound that has been excavated by the Smithsonian Institute. Bring your cameras and field glasses; the views, and wildlife are as good as they get. We will travel back to Morro Bay for lunch at The Great American Fish Company, followed by a bay cruise with Sea Life Studies, Inc. After our cruise, we will have some free time to explore the Embarcadero on our own prior to local cheese and wine tasting at the El Morro Masterpiece Motel. Dinner this evening is back on the Embarcadero at Rose’s Landing, a fixture for years on the Morro Bay waterfront. (CB/L/D)

Today we travel south on the El Camino Real to the La Purisima Concepcion Mission located near the town of Lompoc, California. This mission was founded in 1787 by Father Fermin Lasuen and is now part of a 966 acre California State Park. Next, we visit the stunning Santa Ynez Valley and the last mission to be founded in southern California, the Mission Santa Ines. Lunch today will be at The Vineyard House in the village of Santa Ynez. This Victorian house dates back to the days when the Santa Ynez Valley was home to many species of wild game and the current vineyards were just a dream. Following lunch, we will take the short drive to Solvang, California for a walking tour and free time to explore this Danish-themed town. Later this afternoon we venture to several of the wine tasting rooms located in Solvang such as Mandolina, to taste their remarkable California-Italian wines and Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards with their premium Santa Barbara County wines. Our lodging for the next two nights will be in the heart of downtown Solvang at the Best Western Kronborg Inn. This evening we will walk to dinner at The New Danish Inn with its all-American and Danish cuisine. (CB/L/D)

After an early breakfast we will travel to the beautiful coastal city of Santa Barbara and the spectacular Santa Barbara Mission which was the first mission founded by Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen, Father Serra’s successor as President of the California missions. Following our visit to the mission we will head to the Santa Barbara harbor where we will board the Condor Express for our four and one half hour cruise out to and around the Channel Islands where we may see such birds as pigeon guillemots, black oystercatchers and Cassin’s auklets and marine mammals like sea lions, harbor seals, elephant seals. There may even be the chance to see gray whales breach and spout. Lunch aboard our ship will be a gourmet box lunch from the El Rancho Marketplace in Solvang. After our ocean adventure, we will return to Solvang and spend the remainder of the afternoon roaming the village on our own. With the number of excellent restaurants within walking distance of our inn, dinner will be on your own. (CB/L/D)

Following breakfast, we will head north to one of the most spectacular coastal dune preserves in the world, The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Preserve, which has been designated as a National Natural Landmark. After we visit the Preserve Information Center, we will have the opportunity to retrace the footsteps of the Chumash Indians who lived and hunted in the dunes as early as 8,000 years ago. When we leave the Preserve, we will head north to view the north end of this impressive dune complex at Pismo Beach State Park. We now return to SLO with lunch at The Firestone Grill followed by a walking tour of SLO. After our walk we will drive to two of the most popular wineries in the SLO area, Wolff Vineyards with its award winning wines including Pinot Noir and Petite Syrah and Domaine Alfred where we will sample their world class wines including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and others. We will then return to The Apple Farm in time to freshen up prior to our farewell dinner where we can reminisce about our many memories from the last week. (CB/L/D)

The final breakfast will be according to your personal schedule at the Apple Farm Restaurant. Have a safe trip home, and we look forward to seeing you again. (B)