We are still working on our list of must-sees that are right here in our area, and long on my places I have wanted to visit was the quaint little town of Los Olivos, about 40 miles southwest of us in Santa Barbara county, and the neighboring town of Ballard. So on a Sunday afternoon we took a drive, and found a little something for everyone in this little town of 1000 that has cuteness in every corner. And what I love about it, is that it is all real. It is authentic cute, not fake facade cute. Take for instance, this one room red school house in Ballard that has been in service since 1882, and still holds classes.

Just down the road from Ballard is a miniature horse ranch, where they breed and train miniature horses and allow the public to visit. 
We drove past several vineyards and lavender fields on the way to another miniature ranch, this one for donkeys. This is a private home of a woman that breeds and rescues miniature donkeys, and invites people to visit, brush the donkeys, lead them around, and even ride if they aren’t too big. 
I had no idea donkeys could be so cute, but this little guy who was only four days old and was as soft as a baby kitten was so sweet and cute, I was tempted to sneak him into the back of the car. He nuzzled up to Liam as he pet him, and when it was time to go, he followed him out of the pen nibbling and pulling on the back of his shorts.


The rest of our afternoon was spent walking around the town of Los Olivos which is one wine tasting room after another, interspersed with cafes and shops, followed by dinner at Full of Life Flatbread in Los Alamos. Their flatbread pizzas are made right there and shipped all around the country, but on the weekends they open for lunch and dinner. All of the food and wine is local, and the sources are listed on the menu, right down to the amazing roast squid from Santa Barbara which was in a dish with beans from Arroyo Grande. We sat outside at a table in their vegetable garden and had a memorable meal in the quiet little town of Los Alamos. We will be making the drive again…in fact, I just let out as gasp (literally, Tim came running to see what was wrong) when I pulled up the menu and saw what we missed this last weekend for their family style Sunday dinner…oven fired lamb rack with smoked baby eggplants and fava beans and for desert, Roasted Black Mission Figs with Honey Ice Cream and Mint. It is hard not to get just a little bit excited about food like that.















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