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Our journey to the Central Coast of California went quite smoothly. We left the San Diego area rather late at night so that we would drive through El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles Del Río de Porciúncula (Los Angeles) when traffic was light. Or as one friend put it—it would just be us and the drunks. Isn’t that a reassuring thought? Other than a few careening, high speed vehicles we made it through LA safely. Personally, I think they should rename the massive city and call it Lost Angels since the angels, if there ever were any, are long gone by now.

Anyway, by early afternoon on Sunday we pulled into our new home for the next week, a small RV park on the north side of Santa Maria. Looks can be deceiving; what appeared to be a small, blue collar community tucked in amongst acres and acres of agricultural fields was actually the largest town in Santa Barbara County.

The Santa Maria Valley bills itself as California’s Sweet Spot since it is one of the few valleys along the coast which run east-west. This transverse topography allows cool ocean breezes to moderate the heat of summer and extend the growing season. As a result the rolling hills to the east are covered with thousands (millions?) of wine grapevines while the ones to the west have fat cows grazing on them, and the valley floor nurtures broccoli, artichokes, and strawberries.

After a bit of exploration we found a farmer’s market where we could buy luscious strawberries and vegetables and a nearby city park to play in. Preisker Park held three treasures for us, the first was a nice disc golf course (Lance hadn’t played in months), the second was a wide variety of birds (many of them were nesting), and the third was huge barbecue pits. The massive structures were nothing like the tiny charcoal grills we’ve seen at other public parks. These monsters took barbecuing to a whole new level. In fact, that was our first introduction to the famous (and copyrighted) Santa Maria Style Barbecue.

Our first face to face meeting with the Barbecue came when we met up with Lance’s Uncle Russell and Aunt Kathy. They drove us out to a tiny, end-of-the-road town called Casmalia—where the Hitching Post stood—and treated us to a local tradition. The building began life as the Casmalia Hotel but with a change of ownership came a new name and a focus on food. The Hitching Post started serving steak in 1944 and though the menu has expanded over the years it still serves mostly barbecue. And not just any barbecue, this is Santa Maria Style Barbecue.

Soon after arriving we were shown to our table in the rustic, wooden dining room. On the table was a small plate of pickles, peppers, olives, fresh green onions, celery and carrots. Dinner was preceded by a small shrimp cocktail and green salad. The pièce de resistance, the perfectly grilled steak was served with a baked potato, fresh salsa, and toasted French bread. The meal ended with a scoop of ice cream. It was simple and delicious but Santa Maria Style Barbecue is not without controversy.

Purists will insist that it is not barbecuing since the steak is not slathered in barbecue sauce nor is sauce served with it. Instead, local tradition, which dates back to the early 1800s, dictates that the steak is only rubbed with a mixture of salt, pepper, and garlic salt before grilling. Of course everyone in town has their own secret (and original) steak rub. Then there is the whole debate over which cut of beef to use. It seems that restaurants use sirloin while at home, families use tri-tip, and, of course, they both claim to be authentic. About the only thing everyone agrees on is the firewood. Though increasingly hard to find, red oak is the traditional wood that the meat is cooked over.

The only thing the Hitching Post didn’t serve that is purportedly a standard part of Santa Maria Style Barbecue was pinquito beans. Prepared ranch style the small, pinkish beans have a long history in the area though no one is entirely sure where they originally came from. We liked the Santa Maria Style Barbecue so much that we gave it another try, this time at the Far Western Tavern in nearby Guadalupe. The menu was very similar to the one at the Hitching Post but this meal included the pinquito beans. They were delicious—small, firm and tasty. Almost like a small pinto bean but less mealy.

We did more than just eat while we were in the area, honest. We also made it out to the ocean. We were intrigued by the Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve near the small town of Guadalupe. The preserve protects a section of the Guadalupe Nipomo Dunes, which stretch for 18 miles along the coast. The dunes are the highest on the entire west coast, reaching heights of 500 feet. The dunes are also one of a few chosen nesting sites for threatened Western Snowy Plovers and endangered California Least Terns. Through the efforts of the Nature Conservancy with city, state, and other partners, close to 600 acres of this fragile environment have been protected and restored.

We started at the Oso Flaco Lake Natural Area. The small fresh water lake was named in 1769 when Gaspar de Portola and his men were in the area. Some of the men who had come ashore to hunt shot a skinny bear nearby. So the lake took on the Spanish name for skinny bear, oso flaco. We did not see any Spaniards, bears or mountain lions, though there were recent mountain lion sightings in the area.

Our sightings consisted of a striking Western Tiger Swallowtail, two skinny lizards (muy flacos), a shy rabbit and tons of birds. Most of the birds were swiftly swooping swallows but we also scored a Mallard family, an Eared Grebe, Clark’s Grebe, Downy Woodpecker, Western Scrub Jay, California Thrasher, Sanderlings, Whimbrels, Willets, Peregrine Falcon, Red-tailed Hawk, and yes, even a Western Snowy Plover.

It was an exceptional day of birding even though it was quite windy. The boardwalk crosses over the lake, through the dunes, and out to the water’s edge. Along the way we were treated to the blooms of the Coast Indian Paintbrush, Dune Lupine, and Beach Primrose. Less inviting were the large Stinging Nettles and Poison Hemlock. Overall, the area was quite scenic which is probably why Hollywood likes it out there.

Portions of several movies have been filmed in the dunes, including most recently the Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. The scene where Capt. Jack Sparrow is seen pulling his boat, oh, I mean ship, through sand dunes was shot here. The area’s film history extends all the way back to Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 silent film The Ten Commandments. For the film DeMille had an elaborate, full-size set constructed in the dunes that included a huge temple and multiple gigantic statues. At the end of filming DeMille ordered the set destroyed and buried in the dunes. In 1983 pieces of the Lost City were discovered poking out of the sand. There is a poorly funded group that is trying to excavate pieces from the only surviving movie set from the Golden Age of Hollywood before it is destroyed by erosion.

The dunes mean different things to different people, some go there for recreation, others mine the sand, some drive their off-road vehicles through the sand, and still others go there to get naked. A brisk two mile walk south of the point where the boardwalk meets the beach is an officially, unofficial nudist beach. And no, we didn’t walk down there to find out. Besides, it was much too windy and chilly for that kind of thing.

For our last day of exploration in the Santa Maria area we headed a bit south and further inland, but more about that next time…

Photos: View our photographs from Santa Maria, California.

Notes: We stayed in Santa Maria, California from 04/13/08 to 04/19/08.

Recipe: Make your own Santa Maria Style Beans (pinquitos).