Animals in Los Olivos, CA

DECEMBER 2, 2012

 

To say my friends are career driven is an understatement.  Sales, financial, engineering and teaching describes 90% of them.  The other 10% are where it gets interesting.  On a road trip like this that took me down the east coast in 2006, I stayed at my friend Jamie’s house located directly on a golf course (as in, within course boundaries where we drove the cart path to his front door) where works as Grounds Director.  These last couple days on the west coast, I dropped in on his sister Emily who works as Equine Manager of an Arabian horse farm.  Apparently no one ever gave these two siblings the memo that they should sell out and work a desk job.  I don’t even like horses, and I loath golf, but after spending time at both their homes-on-the-job I gotta say that it looks pretty sweet.

 

It’s always a good sign when I head to someone’s house and they suggest meeting me in town or at the end of their road because I won’t be able to find their house otherwise.  It generally means there’s a vast expanse of property waiting for me to wander and fall in love with.  Emily’s apartment is located in barn.  You walk past about a dozen horse stalls, past her goat, then head upstairs to an apartment that overlooks acre after acre of pasture and vineyards.  It’s amazing. 

 

She also has a pair of dogs and cats that I got to cuddle with.  Isn’t theys cute?

If its not obvious, I love new experiences.  This whole weekend was one big new experience.  From what I could tell, the whole Santa Ynez Valley, include Los Olivos where I was staying, is nothing but horse farms and vineyards.  Every person is somehow tied into these industries.  Over the past two nights I went to two wine events and a third tasting room where I tasted more wine than I have tried in my whole life to date.  One event included some prominent winemaker from Oz who was contracted by the tasting room we were visiting.  I actually learned a lot and, most importantly, refrained from spouting any Might Ducks or Young Guns quotes despite the fact it was Emilio Estevez’s wife’s tasting room.

Naturally, I also had to get out for a ride and explore the area on two wheels.  It was another cool and rainy ride with plenty of hills for my puny Midwestern boy legs to tackle.