This time, in shortage of short trips, we set on Central California. It wasn't a shortcoming at all. In fact the little winery, Rancho Sisquoc, a few miles out of Santa Maria, was a sweet spot all throughout. The wine production is on the small size, with us not having seen their wines in any shop prior to that. Coming from LA it was a bit of a drive, beautiful nonetheless, few cars heading the same way. It felt a bit isolated, but at least I was enjoying that and here we go having thoughts again on if we could live in the countryside and for how long and how to kill time. It ended as always with a rejection, it was clear we couldn't do it for too long, we could never be there in that isolation - even with all that beauty of nature - for too long. So we're destined to be city folks on the excuse that art, coffee shops&shoppings were essential living. Nature, essential as well, had to intrude intermittently. Next day, first we checked the dunes at Rancho Guadalupe which, windy and loud, did not drive away the thought that I was still between two large cities, San Fran and LA, a thinking that always hindered the development of disconnection. It always felt in Central California that I could not fully relax being in between large metropolises even tho they are a actually at a great distance from each other. The pressure of large human presences North and South squashed the freedom in the center?! Afterwards we headed for Jalama Beach - easily a top spot among Pacific Coast beaches. The discovery of the place came in an unusual way. There was a list of best burger places outside cities of California and Jalama Beach Store came at the top. And that wasn't a lie, the burger joint is sound, the beef patty juicy, the shredded salad just enough, the dressing on the bun not overpowering - a combination to keep you focused and also thankful they had an indoor space with tables to watch the outside wind (Jalama means wind) and ocean unchanged in that arrangement for million years.
