Sightseeing in Grover Beach
The Wine Line
Hop On, Hop Off Wine-Tasting Tour from The Wine Line for Two or Four (Up to 35% Off). Six Options Available.
Choose between Santa Barbara or Paso Robles for your tour, then hop off the shuttle only at the wineries you want to visit
Santa Maria
$140 $99
Tasting for Two with Glasses and a Bottle of Wine at Malibu Family Wines Tasting Room (Up to 42% Off)
Malibu Family Wines
Los Olivos
$66
$38
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Winetastings for One, Two, or Four at 12 Wineries from Passport Central Coast (Up to 51% Off)
Passport Central Coast
Multiple Locations
$39
$19
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Segway Tour of Solvang City from Segway Tours of Solvang (Up to 54% Off)
Segway Tours of Solvang
Downtown Solvang
$170
$78
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Tour, Wine-Tasting Class, Snacks, and Wine Credit for Two or Four at Rideau Vineyard (74% Off)
Rideau Vineyard
Solvang
$134
$35
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Entry for Two, Four, or Six at the Wildling Museum (50% Off)
Wildling Museum
Downtown Solvang
$10
$5
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Wine Tastings for Two or Four with Bottles of Wine at Presidio Winery (Up to 56% Off)
Presidio Winery
Downtown Solvang
$56
$25
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Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History for Two or Four (50% Off)
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
Santa Barbara
$24
$12
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Visit for Adults and Kids to Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (Up to 47% Off). Three Options Available.
Santa Barbara Maritime Museum
Waterfront
$14
$8
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Kern County Museum Visit for Two or Five (Up to 50% Off)
Kern County Museum
Bakersfield
$50
$25
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Select Local Merchants
Helmed by photo instructor Hal “Bull” Schmitt, Light Photographic Workshops simplify Adobe programs with single-day, eight-hour sessions designed to turn Photoshop neophytes into pic-enhancing masters. The course will delve into Lightroom’s powerful, easy-to-use sliders, tools, and basic editing functions for removing apparitional pic crashers. Though not required, students are welcome to bring their Lightroom 3–equipped laptop to the class to follow along with the lesson plan or a notepad and quill pen to take notes. Upon completing the course, each student takes home an instructional DVD with more than 8 hours of material for multimedia reminders of the class’s subject matter and a 40 percent discount on their first fine art, photo, or fine-art gallery canvas wrap print order through Light Workshops. Students are encouraged to bring either a bagged lunch or lunch money to save personal computers and fellow students from accidental ingestions.
At Ostrich Land, visitors quickly learn that ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand—they'd much rather bury them in a bowl of food that you hold out in front of you. They're also not fond of waiting their turn, and at any given moment, you might have four beaks dipping into your supply. The experience is a far cry from throwing bread at ducks or pigeons. These birds are the world's largest: they can reach up to 9 feet in height and weigh 350 pounds. At top speed, they hit 45 miles per hour on their massive, two-toed feet.
Having been raised around people and trained to eat from outstretched bowls, the park's 50 ostriches and emus welcome spectators from their savannah-like enclosure. They're also celebrities in their own right, with bit roles in the film Sideways as well appearances in a Santa Maria Times video feature and a tongue-in-cheek homage in an episode of The Simpsons. Dispensing the animals' supper is only one way in which guests can get close—a stop inside the gift shop reveals shelves of ready-to-cook ostrich and emu eggs, ostrich feather dusters, and savory ostrich meat shipped in from a separate farm not affiliated with Ostrich Land. Also in stock are vials of emu oil, a substance with anti-inflammatory and moisturizing properties that can soothe the skin.
The impressionist painters who inspired winemaker Bion Rice raised shimmering mirages in which soft-edged daubs of paint seem to grant motion to ballerinas or swaying river rushes. At Artiste, Bion draws inspiration from their work, attempting to raise distant landscapes with grapes rather than rough brushstrokes. Cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes call up the sun-steeped fields of the Napa Valley, and chardonnay grapes carry one away to the Russian River Valley on straw-hued sweetness. Bion calls the blends “impressionist cuvees,” and he produces small batches of them, their corks sealed beneath thick, hand-dipped cloaks of crimson wax.
The bottles are labeled with colorful impressionist paintings, and in a tasting room and studio, the harmonious relationship between wine and art is even further cemented. The whisper of brushes on canvas drifts from paint-dappled tables, where guests bring to life sweeping forest vistas or criminal lineups of pine trees. A rotating array of paintings lines the walls, including works from artists such as Aldo Luongo, an Argentinian artist whose contrasting colors and rippling brushstrokes seem to gaze up from a clear lake. Wine glasses chime together, punctuating the lilting rhythm of classical guitarists or the constant weeping of trombone players during live music events.
Adventures Out West's knowledgeable staff leads guided excursions throughout the Danish-style city of Solvang as visitors stroll along atop gyroscopic segways. Before riders take to the open road, an initial orientation teaches them the basics of gliding and how to earn the respect of their two-wheeled chariot with a few cracks of the whip. Once acquainted with their mechanical steeds, tourists follow their guides through the streets of Solvang, feasting their eyes on the town's unique architecture while listening to historical tidbits. Segways come to a halt at The Mission, so guests can learn about the early settlements founded by Catholic missionaries. The 90-minute jaunt reaches its sightseeing peaks at Santa Ynez River Sanctuary and Hans Christian Andersen Park, where guests can gawk at ancient oak trees and admire the sprightly pirouettes of age-old tumbleweeds.
The Spanish architecture. The bustling wharf. The cerulean ocean. There are countless sights to see in the Santa Barbara area, which is why Nanco Helicopters tailors each of their aerial tours to the client's need. Passengers take in the passing landmarks and 747 drag races from inside a Robinson R-44, helmed by commercial pilot Taylor Nancarrow.