colony far from the Midwestern winters. Outside of the Old Mission
Santa Ines, traditional Danish village style is reflected in much of the
architecture, and the city features six museums, including the Wildling
Museum of Art and Nature and the Elverhøj Museum.
Los Olivos is a picture-perfect, historic, charming village known as
the artistic epicenter of the valley. It is home to an eclectic array of wine-
tasting rooms, art galleries, upscale shops, a lavender farm, horse trails, a
former Pony Express stage coach stop, and Neverland Ranch – Michael
Jackson’s 2,700-acre former home. Los Olivos has approximately 1,000
residents, features a gourmet grocery, an iconic flagpole marking the
center of town at Grand and Alamo Pintado avenues, and views of the
annual wild flower bloom of poppies and lupines on Figueroa Mountain.
The community of Ballard was founded in 1880 at the location of
a Wells Fargo stage line station. It has a one-room Little Red School
House that is still in operation and only one commercial establishment
– a quintessential wine country corner known as The Ballard Inn and
Restaurant.
The small City of Buellton is considered to be the industrial sector
of the valley. Vintage billboards along Highway 101 point to Pea Soup
Andersen’s, once a major roadside stop and landmark. However, in
among all the “industry” and quite frankly “entrepreneurship” are higher-
end tapas and wine bars, Industrial Eats restaurant, Figueroa Mountain
Brewery’s taproom and mother ship brewery, and a myriad of inventors,
commercial offices, and Brothers Spirits – a craft distillery with an onsite
lounge serving mixed drinks.
The 1,890 residents in the historic Old West town of Los Alamos
are definitely considered to be part of the community, and the hamlet
serves as the “northern entry” to the Santa Ynez Valley. The main
thoroughfare is Bell Street, and though only seven small rural blocks
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