January 2-3, 2012 Nojoqui Falls, Cold Spring Tavern, Solvang, Santa Barbara... Jamie and Lynn enjoyed a little getaway to points around Solvang. Nojoqui Falls is in a neat little county park about 1.5 miles east of Highway 101 just south of Solvang. It's about a 15-minute easy hike from the parking area to the waterfall. A fossilized Angry Bird? Our lunch stop was at Cold Spring Tavern, a cool little, very rustic, stop along the old stagecoach route from Santa Barbara north into the Santa Ynez Valley. The old jail. At a vista point overlooking Lake Cachuma. "...three tequila, floor." Or, "Watch out for that... tree." We stayed at the Hotel Corque in Solvang where this gingerbread house adorned the lobby. Good use for corks... On our trip to Santa Barbara the next morning, we did a photo stop at the Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge which carries highway 154 across the canyon, effectively cutting off the old stagecoach route on which Cold Spring Tavern sits. The bridge was built in 1963. Our run to Santa Barbara was to visit the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and see a Picasso/Braque Cubist exhibit that was closing in a few days. They had a very cool iPad app that you took with you to explore individual works in depth. I was struck by how real the flame looked in this painting. A prayer wheel. The elevator was covered with incredible ceramic work by kids. Lynn managed to find a unique version of "The Night Before Christmas". The book opened up into three "stages" and contained characters and pieces to set out and "play with" on each stage. A new statue on State Street. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at Ristorante Aldo on State Street about a block from the museum. It just so happened that the back door to the Granada Theater was open as we passed. Last stop on the way home: Gainey Winery, a few hundred yards off 154 down 246 toward Santa Ynez and Solvang. We also enjoyed (but, alas, got no photos at) Paula's Pancake House in Solvang for breakfast and Dos Carlitos in Santa Ynez for dinner. Both were very good; but be forewarned, very few of the finer restaurants in this area are open on Mondays. Jamie Foster Photography