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To the north we pedal, inching scarily close to San Francisco. We have since avoided conversation about just how close we are to the bay. As difficult as it is to realize and even harder to admit, we must reveal that only 300 miles separate us now from our final destination. Hot dog!

From our first coastal stay in Goleta, we pedaled northeast heading up the full-bodied coast then inland toward the lovely wine-tasting mecca of Los Olivos where resides our good friends Hayley and Rob from Merrowvista. With an unusual tailwind at our backs, we were able to cover some serious mileage between our 7/11 breakfast and lunch. The morning offered some insane vistas of California cowboy ranchers, wine vineyards, and roads cut out of the mountainside. Just before our midday stop, we passed by Ostrich Land…a slew of wild ostriches and emus frolicking about in the fields. Later we would pass a miniature horse farm. We couldn’t help but confront the question, “Why the heck are their miniature horses?”

For yet another peanut butter and honey lunch feast, we pulled into Solvang, CA. A town settled by Danish educators, it is strange explosion of Dutch architecture and culture with baked goodies up the wazoo. Here we met another touring cyclist named Eric, a spirited young guy who has pedaled from Philadelphia to the west coast, ending also in San Francisco. His estimated arrival is this Monday. Oh snap….we’re so darn close. Was great to meet another east to west cyclist as they are few and far between.

From the eirily utopia-like town of Solvang, we traveled to Los Olivos. Known for their great pino noir, olive oil, and celebrity townies, Los Olivos defiantly was all ritz with probably 20 wine tasting shops on the 1/4 mile downtown stretch. A five mile pedal from “downtown” brought us through the thick of the grape vines, to a narrow valley and Midland School. As we pulled into this rustic private boarding school nestled in the mountains, we could not have been more excited to reunite with our buds Hayley and Rob. They have been working here for a year and a half, Hayley in Admissions, Rob the director of the Outdoor Program. Through the forested thickness of their central campus we saw a flash of red hair and knew right away it was Hayley. Rob in all his burlyness was zoned into his most recent construction endeavor but quickly stopped to greet us warmly. What an absolute great and surreal site, such familiar faces over 4000 miles away from home. They gave us a brief tour of the grounds and we settled into their quant cabin, smack dab in the middle of the campus and conveniently located 100 ft from the eating hall!!!!! Food was clearly the first thing on our minds so a dinner plan of chicken Parmesan was set into action. We lucked out with Rob and Hayley having the night and the entire next day off. After heaps of delicious chicken parm, salad, brownies, and ice cream, we hunkered down for the night with a movie and seriously full bellies. Tomorrow we would stay for more rest, relaxation, and time with two great friends doing great things! Our BIGGEST thanks to you two for such a rejuvinating stay. We love you guys!

We had an awesome first day relaxing at Midland with Rob and Hayley. Hayley made us a delicious egg breakfast in the morning and then Rob and Hayley took us to the downtown of Los Olivos to check out the local vibe. Los Olivos is a tiny wine tourism town that is soooo pretty. Probably about half the businesses in town were wine shops, and apparently during the weekends the town in inundated by wine enthusiast tourists. We checked out a wild west shop and ate AMAZING sandwiches at a shop called Panino’s. From there we drove to Solvang to check out the local ostrich, yes that’s right, OSTRICH farm. They were selling Ostrich & Emu meat and eggs, which reminded us of Mark and Belinda who we stayed with in Lamesa, TX and who used to raise emu’s! We miss you guys! The woman working at the ostrich farm said ostrich eggs tastes just like chicken eggs and we were dying to try some scrambled ostrick egg but it cost 40 dollars. These are big eggs, but not THAT big. We then went to this awesome frozen yogurt joint called Kate’s Yogurt where you buy your frozen yogurt and toppings by the pound…. which means YOU decide how much and how many toppings to put on. Some of us may have gotten a little carried away in the bliss of topping freedom, but it was soooo worth it.

In frozen yogurt coma’s, we headed back to Midland for naps and, for Jeanie, Hayley, and Rob, a hike around the beautiful Midland property. That evening we all got gussied up and went out to the (only) nearby bar, Maverick’s. There was a truly ROCKIN’ country band playing and we learned how to do “black velvet,” a line dance!! We also (tried) to learn the two step, a waltz, and enjoyed some country swing. It was so fun! For those of us who needed a break from the dancing, Big Buck Hunter filled our every want and need. It was an awesome night and we all left happy!

Today we enjoyed a second day at Midland. Jeanie and Rica woke up early and were able to sit in on a freshman drug education program, Freedom from Chemical Dependency, FCD. They thought it was a great program and really enjoyed the opportunity to observe. Lauren and Sarah slept in and woke up to watch a bizarre Johnny Depp movie by the name of Dead Man. We spent the rest of the day alternatively lounging, playing ping pong, lounging some more, and eating delicious food from the Midland dining hall (It’s really exceptionally good. They even have panini machines). Tonight we’re going to have a game night with Hayley!! WOOOOO! What a great rest day!

P.S We forgot to mention that Midland is directly across from Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. If you hike up behind the school, you can get some sweet views of the ranch compound. Though we could not get too close up, we did approach the epically grand gate and read all the crazy fanatic messages on the stone wall entrance. It was a rather bizarre sight to behold.

Be sure to check out Midland School online at http://www.midland-school.org

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