Friday, April 27, 2018, members of the APA flew to Santa Barbara, CA, and enjoyed the scenery, food, and the landmarks. After landing in beautiful VFR weather on the beach, we headed up to the Santa Barbara Mission and took the self guided tour through this 200 year old complex. This is the queen of the 21 missions that was built on the California coast by Father Junipero Serra and the Franciscans beginning in the late 18th century. This mission has been the only continuous working mission since its origin. 

Lunch was a delight at the famous Belmond El Encanto Hotel and Restaurant. High on the Riviera overlooking the sleepy town of Santa Barbara and the ocean, we could take in this authentic Spanish architecture with red tile roofs and white stucco buildings. A culinary delight serving the local burrata, duck mousse, summer risotto, and seared artic char amongst other savory dishes with complimentary wines.

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Double Getaway — Santa Barbara 

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Double Getaway — Santa Ynez 

On April 28, 2018, we then flew our planes from Santa Barbara on another beautiful VFR morning over the mountain to Santa Ynez.  This little valley is quite the treat and chalked full of things to see and taste, mainly at the several dozen wineries here.  Lunch was in the quaint town of Los Olivos, wine tasting at Koehler, Fess Parker, and Sanger wineries, and the sightseeing in Solvang was amazing.

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Double Getaway — 

It was beautiful day in the Santa Ynez Valley with the warm sunshine and never ending vistas all around.  You could easily make a short week out of this trip; there are not only wineries and vineyards, but also local history.  The fly-in was one of the best we’ve experienced in the last couple of years.  The flying was fun, all VFR, and the airports were great.  However, we did have to recalculate W&B due to all the wine. 

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Double Getaway — Santa Barbara

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