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SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | MARCH 2024 11 By Vivian Bellini, Resident How about a mini vacation/road trip? Only 160 miles north of Los Angeles off US 101 lies beautiful Santa Maria Valley. A friend and I visited this wonderful area for the second time about a year and a half ago. The drive to Santa Maria along CA-1, the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), is one of the most scenic drives anywhere. It is what dream drives are made of. The PCH offers scenic views of the ocean, dunes, cliffs, historic piers, and wildflowers in season. You can stop in Solvang, the quaint Dutch village with wonderful architecture, pastry shops and eateries. Keep going and you'll end up in Santa Ynez and then on to Los Olivos. Numerous museums illustrate the fascinating history of the area. Santa Maria has many attractions. There is a lot of history to be found in this small town. A must visit is the Santa Maria Natural History Museum (santamariahistory.com). When we visited, we were the only ones in the museum as it had just re-opened after COVID. We were given a private tour with a wonderful guide. Neither of us ever knew about "The Lost City of DeMille," which has a great story behind it that has to do with Cecil B. DeMille's epic 1923 film e 10 Commandments. DeMille was one of the biggest filmmakers of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Amid the Guadalupe- Nipomo Dunes, he built the largest set-in movie history, a temporary city to replicate the buildings and statues of ancient Egypt. It is called "City of the Pharaoh." The film required over 5,000 actors, extras, and workers, as well as hundreds of camels, horses, and sheep. The cost was exorbitant for the period. After filming, the contract called for DeMille to return the site to its original state. Breaking down and removing the huge set would have cost too much so he ended up bulldozing it and burying it in the sand dunes. Years later, some of the set was excavated, but much of the set remains buried in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes. Also, on our must visit list were wineries. We were quite impressed with the small boutique wineries in and around Santa Maria, Los Olivos, and Santa Ynez Valley. You can sign up for wine tours and excursions or do your own. Tastings are much cheaper than Napa and the wines are comparable. We treated ourselves to a wonderful winery in Santa Maria, Presqu'ile Winery, famous for Pinot Noir. The Mediterranean charcuterie board is outstanding, a little pricey, but so worth it. They even hold concerts in their stadium seating on some weekends (presquilewine.com). Set high on a bluff, Presqu'ile possesses some of the most outstanding views of the whole area. On a clear day you can see the ocean, even though the winery is nestled back about 20 miles toward the mountains. Last on the list is the beer tasting gardens and Shaw's Restaurant, which is very famous for barbeque. There is so much more to explore around Santa Maria. If you go, you won't regret taking a full day for the drive up the PCH, stopping frequently to enjoy the views and take in the attractions. A final note – due to the cool ocean breeze Santa Maria is about 20 degrees cooler than Hemet in the summer, so just cooling off for a few days feels great. A Road Trip to Santa Maria American Made Lounge Night