SANTA BARBARA
My friend Andy (I wrote about his wedding in Ile de Ré, France last year) invited my family up to his ranch. Santa Barbara is 100 miles from LAX; if you time it right, it takes just an hour and a half. We began with breakfast at Tupelo Junction Café. They serve tasty homemade granola with fresh berries and yogurt ($8), and even better chicken, andouille sausage and sweet corn hash with poached eggs and homemade barbecue sauce ($14). Don’t get the fruit plate, though; it’s way too expensive ($7) for the few pieces they serve. Tupelo Junction Café,1218 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA; tel.: 805-899-3100.

SANTA BARBARA MISSION
Next stop was California’s 10th Spanish mission. There are 21, spread along El Camino Real ("The Royal Highway"). The missions represent the arrival of the first non-Native Americans to California. They brought both Christianity and diseases. The Mediterranean -style Saint Barbara Mission, founded in 1786 by Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen, is beautiful. The $4 fee to enter the church, courtyard and small museum is well worth it. Santa Bárbara Mission, 2201 Laguna Street, Santa Barbara, CA; tel.: 805-682-4713.

SIDEWAYS REVISITED
A couple of years ago I wrote about the tour from the popular Sideways movie (Here’s the link to the story). On this trip we did not have time to see everything, but my family got to stop by a couple of the sites. The first, Los Olivos, a beautiful, quaint, historic town, home to only 1,000 residents. It’s known for its amazing views, wineries, horse ranches, eclectic art galleries, antiques and shops. A great place for lunch is the Los Olivos Café, where Miles said to Jack "I'm not drinking any bleeping merlot". Los Olivos Café, 2879 Grand Avenue, Box 205, Los Olivos, CA; tel.: 805-688-7265.

OSTRICH LAND
A few miles down the road is Ostrich Land (Ostrich Land, tel.: 805-686-9696). Like everyone else, the owners are capitalizing on the success of the movie. They now charge $1.50 to get in (which is a bargain). It’s amazing what a movie can do for tourism. I visited these places just after the movie debuted. There were hardly any tourists -- and now they’re packed. If our TV show gets picked up by a television network, you can be sure we’ll do a Johnny Jet on Location: Sideways Tour too.

SANTA BARBARA RANCH
When you see my friend Andy’s ranch you’ll understand why he jokes that he won the sperm bank lottery. The place is seriously God’s country. I promised him I wouldn’t say the name, because unlike the other places I mentioned in Santa Barbara County this one does not want any outsiders -- nor are they welcome (it’s a gated community). These 39,000 acres of unspoiled oceanfront property were owned by Andy’s grandparents. After they sold it it was broken into parcels of 100 acres, some of which are now owned by Hollywood’s elite. I’ve been to the property a few times, but my family hadn’t. They loved it! Part of the land is a working ranch. We almost ran over a few cows hanging out in the middle of the road. We traveled down dirt roads at elevations of 1,000 feet, with no guardrail. It was hairy at times. My favorite spot isn’t at the top of the mountain, but rather on a hill along the shore. We had a bird’s-eye view of at least 200 dolphins jumping. My sister Carol asked me if this was the spot where I got engaged a few years ago (she recognized it from the pictures). I nodded. She asked why I wanted to come back. I said, "Because it has one of the most beautiful views in the world, it’s part of my history, and this is good closure." Even if you don't know someone who lives in this special place, you can see it by taking either a boat along the coast, or -- better yet -- Amtrak (tel: 1-800-872-7245) travels along the shore -- and through the ranch -- several times a day.

VIDEO
Here’s a 2-minute Johnny Jet Video of my trip to California. If you want to view past videos, here’s the link of all JohnnyJet Videos ever made. Remember: With high-speed the video takes about 1 minute to load; with dial-up, it could be 3 weeks.