Had a bit of a lie in this morning before having coffee, bagels with cream cheese and orange juice for breakfast. We then set of on a tour of Californian vineyards. The countryside round here is immense. There is miles and miles of ranch land, farmland and vineyards, interspersed with towns that look like scenes from a western movie.

The first vineyard that we stopped at for a tasting was Mayo - a small family run place.

We tasted five wines and a port - all rather nice. After our tasting we headed on to the next stop which was imagery, a vineyard which also included an art gallery. You can sample the wine and the art at the same time. Each wine has it's own label designed by an artist. We then stopped at a cal-italia place for lunch (without wine).

After lunch we stopped at Sebastani vineyard for more wine and a tour of the winery.

It amazes me how people here think that things are really old at a 150 years old, though the Spanish only settled here in 18something. The native American history that existed before then seems to have been ignored. Sebastani has the most amazing carved casks, scenes to do with wine making, history and wildlife.

Next stop for yet more wine was the oldest vineyard in the area - Buena Vista. This vineyard is set on a hill side surrounded by trees. After a quick tasting here it was on to the last vineyard of the day - Gundlach Bundschu. We just made it in time before they shut the tasting room.

After all this we headed back to the cool of the coast. When we got back to Dillon Beach we went for a walk along the beach and a paddle in the Pacific.

It wasn't too cold - probably warmer than the sea off the East Coast of Yorkshire.

We then headed out to try and find something to eat. However, Wednesday seems to be the closed night. Eventually we found a little restaurant that didn't serve alcohol. The food was reasonable good but the service was a bit slow. We then went to find a drink but everywhere in the closest town was shut - turning it into a western town complete with tumbleweed. We headed home to have a beer and relax.

Day 9    Day 11