Tag Archives: restaurants

The Wine Route and Ensenada

Linda in Site News

When we left San Diego, we decided to head east and cross the border at Tecate instead of Tijuana. We’ve had much better experiences crossing here, especially when we’re headed back to the US as I don’t think we’ve ever taken any less than three hours going north at Tijuana versus a half hour, at maximum, at Tecate.

We were hoping to get the air conditioning compressor changed on the Lincoln LS in Tecate, but were directed to the Ford dealership in Ensenada instead. Mom and I weren’t uncomfortably hot in the car, but we knew it was going to get much warmer as we continued south.

The road from Tecate to Ensenada is called the Wine Route or “Ruta del Vino” and connects over 50 wineries in the state of Baja California. Although few people think of wine in Mexico, it is actually the oldest wine-growing region in North America (and yes – Mexico IS part of North America!) and have produced wine since the sixteenth century when the Spaniards arrived with vine clippings from the old country. The Wine Route takes you through four different valleys (Guadalupe, Llano Colorado, Santo Tomas and San Vicente) and provides a Mediterranean microclimate that is in the midst of a tourism and winemaking renaissance that Napa Valley experienced in the 1970’s and that the Okanagan Valley in southern British Columbia in Canada has recently experienced.

Besides the stunning scenery, the Baja wine country offers a wide range of world-class restaurants, B&B’s, and luxury hotels and it’s developing more every year. If Mexico is able to get the drug war under control and make the border towns safe again, we expect the tourism in this area to expand tremendously over the next decade with visitors from the US and beyond. In the meantime, we’re savoring every trip though this region and realize the potential of what will continue to develop over time.

The Wine Cellar at Vena Cava
(La Ville del Valle)

Unfortunately, because we were anxious to get the car repaired and the weekend was upon us (most businesses close at 1:00 on Saturday and don’t open again until Monday in Mexico), we had to hurry on to Ensenada on this trip and not explore what the wine country had to offer. I hope that we have more time the next drive down with Mom.

We checked into the Hotel Mision Santa Isabel, a once-beautiful property, but quickly realized that this hotel is a sad memory of its former self. It is perfectly situated, however, and provided close and safe access to good restaurants and shopping. Next time, however, we would stay at the Hotel Cortez across the street (www.bajainn.com) as it appeared very well cared for and they served us a delicious breakfast the next morning.

Mom loves horses and we took a horse drawn buggy down the main thoroughfare to the Telcel location to get our Mexican phones working, got the car fixed at the local Ford dealership and finally got our convoy on the road for the next leg of our Baja journey.

Santa Cruz and Capitola-by-the-Sea

Linda in Site News

While Ron and I were in northern California, we spent a lovely afternoon in Santa Cruz and Capitola, places where Ron lived and played in the past. Ron’s doctor is in Santa Cruz, so seeing him every year gives us a great excuse to come and play in these beautiful towns on the coast of Monterrey Bay.

Capitola-by-the-Sea has a permanent population of less than 10,000 people, but is a very popular tourist town because of its large, sandy beach, trendy shops and restaurants on the shore that connect to the fishing wharf. One of the places we love to visit in this charming town is Pizza My Heart (http://www.pizzamyheart.com), now a successful chain of by-the-slice take-out pizza, which reminds us of the great “pie” we enjoy while in New York. We picked up a couple of great slices from their flagship location on the water and enjoyed them with a couple of great glasses of wine from the Cava Wine Bar (http://www.cavacapitola.com) that specializes in wines from boutique producers in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

On our drive back to Santa Clara, we stopped so that Ron could show me one of the great iconic restaurants of the area, the Shadowbrook Restaurant (http://www.shadowbrook-capitola.com). Originally opened in 1947 and with its red cable car access and terraced gardens flowing all the way down to Soquel Creek, this restaurant is famous for being one of the most romantic on the west coast and in all of America. We were still full from our time in downtown Capitola, so look forward to bringing Ron’s Mom here on our next trip to thank her for all of the amazing meals she prepares for us. We’re really looking forward to it.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Linda in Site News

We had originally planned to head up to Glenwood Springs, Colorado to see our dear friends, Tony and Sue. Turns out that they are away and are in Cabo San Lucas, of all places! We’re really sorry to miss them as they are two of our favorite people. It’s a real highlight to stop and see them on the way to New York every year and, whenever possible, on our way back to California in the fall. Hopefully we’ll see them before next May, but we’ll pick up exactly where we left off regardless.

We took a different route and headed to Santa Fe, New Mexico instead. Both Ron and I had been there previously, but it had been well over a decade since either of us had visited. We couldn’t have arrived at a better time as the sun was just setting and the colors and the landscape were absolutely breathtaking.

Our friend, Mary, was originally from Santa Fe and she and Stretch had just come back from a recent visit there, so we looked to them for some recommendations as to where to eat and stay.

Stretch and Mary called ahead and made a reservation for us at the Silver Saddle Motel, a classic vintage motor hotel with a western theme located on Cerrilos Road (www.santafesilversaddlemotel.com). The motel is owned by a great lady, Penny, that we met on our second morning and who has spent a great deal of her past in Mexico, including the early days of Cabo San Lucas and the Baja. The motel is being run day-to-day by Penny’s daughter, Dawn, and her boyfriend, Miguel, and, along with their night manager, Gene, they make their guests very welcome. We stayed in the Cowboy Room, decorated with Roy Rogers/cowboy/vintage paraphernalia, and couldn’t have been more homely. The room was very clean and comfortable and the complementary breakfasts were simple but fine. Special details like pumpkin butter and cranberry apple butter for the bagels were nice touches.

Santa Fe literally bursts with its own distinct flavor and the variety quality of their over 250 restaurants makes this city a foodie’s paradise. On Stretch and Mary’s recommendation, we ate at Tomasita’s, at the old railway station, on our first night for some classic New Mexican fare. We shared a salad, a Mexican combination plate so we could taste the famous red and green chile sauces and try their version of a relleno (we still think Pancho’s makes the very best!) and sopapillas with butter and New Mexican honey. Delicious! A mariachi band came in to play for a friend; four women including a trumpet player and they were phenomenal. After they left, a gentleman who appeared to be a guest at the neighboring table, got up and played the cello. He was truly a virtuoso and almost seemed out of place in this restaurant, but it was lovely that he played for his friend’s birthday celebration.

The next day we headed off towards Canyon Road and wandered through the endless galleries and then down to the central square to wander that area and take in the beautiful fall colors and beauty of Santa Fe. We had originally planned to be on the road that afternoon, but decided that we were having such a grand time in Santa Fe that we would stay another night and head out first thing the next morning.

We decided to have dinner at La Plazuela at La Fonda on the Plaza. La Fonda Hotel is a Santa Fe icon and the dining room was absolutely charming. Great food and wonderful service made this night very special.