THE CALIFORNIA CENTRAL COAST
Vandenberg and California Central Coast residents consider their environment mild. The 150 square-mile area midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles is surrounded by the Santa Ynez Mountains, the Pacific shore, and ranches of Northern Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. The land juts further into the Pacific than any other point in California, receiving moderate rainfall, daily fog and no snow. The hills are green in winter and turn a burnished gold in summer.

At 99,400 acres, Vandenberg is the largest entity within the local areas of Lompoc, Santa Maria, and Guadalupe combined. Development was stimulated in Northern Santa Barbara County when Vandenberg became the West Coast space and missile hub.

Before the growth, Lompoc had 6,000 residents. Today, more than 50,000 people call the small city home and 60,000 more live within the Lompoc Valley. The largest population center is Santa Maria with more than 80,000 people, and more than 116,000 live within the Santa Maria Valley area. Vandenberg, Lompoc, and the Santa Maria valleys account for more than three-quarters of the area's 226,000 residents.

SANTA MARIA
Santa Maria is located on California's Central Coast between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, approximately 170 miles north of Los Angeles and 270 miles south of San Francisco, where the craggy, brush-covered foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains descend into a Wat, fertile valley.

The total population of the Santa Maria Valley has grown to nearly 116,448 of which 80,511 are located in the city of Santa Maria.

Those fortunate enough to relocate to this peaceful valley will Vnd friendly neighbors, a strong community spirit, a growing business sector and a moderate cost of living and housing compared with Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and San Diego. Located 12 miles from the PaciVc coastline, Santa Maria enjoys a smog-free climate with mild temperatures throughout the year. Ocean breezes cool the valley in the summer and warm it in the winter.

The city of Santa Maria is a regional trading, manufacturing and service center. The Santa Maria area has a stable economic base which includes agriculture, transportation, oil, tourism, electronic manufacturing and the government installation at nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base, which is the largest employer in the area, employing over 5,000 people.

LOMPOC
Lompoc is located on scenic California State Highway 1 and 246, 55 miles north of Santa Barbara, and 155 miles north of Los Angeles and 270 miles south of San Francisco. Vandenberg Air Force Base is 10 miles north of the city. The Lompoc Valley is part of the Central California region. Rolling Hills surround the valley on the north, south and east. The level valley is open at its western end to the Pacific coast shoreline. The Pacific Ocean is only 9 miles from downtown Lompoc. The Santa Ynez River (dry most of the year) runs east to west through the valley while Burton Mesa, a chaparral forest with sandy soil, lies to the north. The hills to the south are mined for diatomaceous (fossil) earth.

Lompoc has a mild climate. A northwest breeze is common (average hourly wind speed: 6.1 m.p.h.). There is moderate rainfall, daily fog and no snow.

SOLVANG
The Danish Capital of America, Solvang, is nestled in the picturesque Santa Ynez Valley, surrounded by gentle hills, mountains, vineyards, farms, world class wineries and nationally known horse ranches just 45 miles north of Santa Barbara via U.S. Highway 101.

To the small group of Danish refugees from Midwestern winters who arrived in 1911, the 9,000 acres of former Spanish land grant near the Mission Santa Ines must have looked like heaven on earth with its warm sun, grassy knolls dotted with oak trees and sheltering mountains. Today, the local population remains over 60 percent of Danish descent and welcomes more than 3 million visitors annually to a shoppers paradise of over 350 shops filled with Old World arts and crafts, jewelry, fine leather goods, porcelain figurines, hand made lace, music boxes, collectibles, books, sweaters, candies, imported foods, kitchen utensils and apparel with a few factory outlets stores.

Food lovers will appreciate Solvang's famous bakeries, varied cuisine and wine tasting rooms. Yet it's the Danish dishes and smorgasbords that give this charming community its unique culinary reputation.

Fine art abounds in the galleries. Painting is typically representational and California plein-air painters, impressionists, noted seascape artists, water colorists, wildlife and western artists are all well represented.

The Hans Christian Andersen Museum documents the life of the father of the modern fairy tale with books, sketches, and personal artifacts. The museum at Mission Santa Ines, the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Society Museum and the Parks-Janeway Carriage House offer history and memorabilia from Chumash Indian implements to clothing and furnishings from the European settlers for hours of enjoyment.

Solvang is surrounded by a playground of things to see and do. Dozens of vineyards and wineries, such as the popular Fess Parker Winery and Firestone Winery, are just a short and scenic drive away, as are several exotic animal farms (Ostrich Land) and "par excellent" golf courses. Rich in ethnic heritage, architecture (thatched roofs, windmills, Danish architecture everywhere) and history, home to world class dining, shopping and accommodations, the Solvang sojourn is truly an unforgettable experience for the entire family.

BUELLTON
Buellton sits at the cross roads of Highway 246 and 101, home of Split Pea Soup Andersen's and the new Ostrich Land which is starting to draw visitors. Buellton is the only place that has a large shopping mall for the local residents. If you continue another 18 miles west on 246 you will arrive at Lompoc and Vandenberg Air Force Base, the west coast space launch center. NASA and the Air Force are continuing the space launches with private industry being involved also.

THE "FIVE CITY" AREA
You could call the Five Cities of the central California coast the runts of the litter. These are the little guys, routinely bypassed in the rush to see the Rock in Morro Bay, the Castle at San Simeon, or even the Madonna Inn. Stop at the Five Cities? What for? Who even knows what the Five Cities are? The last is not an idle question, even for the people who live here. Some think the cities include Avila Beach. Others insist on Nipomo. But the bible of the Central Coast, Making the Most of San Luis Obispo County, by Sharon Lewis Dickerson, excludes both. Her collection? Arroyo Grande, Grover City (now Grover Beach), Oceano, Pismo Beach, and Shell Beach.

Our list includes three of Dickerson's choices, plus Avila Beach and rural reaches of suburban San Luis Obispo. Quiet and unassuming, these towns offer everything from long, lonely stretches of sand dunes to acres of rambling farm- and pastureland bisected by shaggy walls of eucalyptus.

June is pleasant though often overcast, especially in the mornings; greater odds of all-day sun will come later in summer.

LA PURISIMA MISSION
Mission La Purisima was founded December 8, 1787, at the site of the present town of Lompoc. In 25 years the mission was extremely prosperous, with herds of livestock numbering in the thousands. Then came the great earthquake of 1812, which did so much widespread damage, and struck Purisima perhaps worst of all. After a week of violent aftershocks not a building was still standing. The mission was re-established at its present location four miles to the north and east. Prosperity returned.

After the Indian uprising of 1824 the mission declined, and ten years later was in the hands of the secular administrator. The neophytes disappeared, the Franciscans retired to Santa Barbara, and soon the buildings were nothing but piles of rubble. The desolation as so complete that after the site was returned to the Church it was offered for sale to the highest bidder.

La Purisima was reborn at the time of a California Conservation Corps project beginning in 1935. Building methods exactly like those of the missionaries were used. Hundreds of thousands of adobe bricks, floor and roof tiles were made by hand. After the buildings were completed young craftsmen turned to the making of furniture of the period. Then the complicated water system was recreated, beginning at springs more than a mile away, and brought to a series of storage pools. The gardens and orchards were replanted. Today La Purisima is a State Historic Park of 967 acres, and unique in that rangers and docents recreate mission life as at no other site making it the most completely restored mission in California.

Not only have buildings been rebuilt on old foundations, but crops and animals of the mission period are there, as are docents in costumes of those times, who spin and weave wool, tan hides, make candles, operate the blacksmith shop and guide visitors. The modern city of Lompoc, plus Vandenberg Air Force Base and the famous Wower Velds are nearby.

VANDENBERG VILLAGE
Nearest cities: Mission Hills, Calif. (2.3 miles); Vandenberg AFB, Calif. (3.8 miles); Lompoc, Calif. (4.2 miles); Orcutt, Calif. (11.9 miles); Los Alamos, Calif. (13.3 miles); Santa Maria, Calif. (17.1 miles); Guadalupe, Calif. (19.4 miles); Buellton, Calif. (19.7 miles).

SANTA BARBARA
Santa Barbara offers escape and relaxation, along with opportunities to contemplate the ocean, mountains and engaging vistas, and to explore a bit of history and humankind's relationship to coastal ecology. The area offers a multitude of activities for active and passive vacationers: everything from swimming, boating, hiking and sports fishing to the more exotic jet skiing, kayaking, whale-watching, windsurfing, horseback riding and more. Or you can select your beach lounge chair, watch the scenery and relax Santa Barbara style. Santa Barbara enjoys a pleasant Mediterranean climate that is generally mild and sunny all 12 months of the year, with relatively stable temperatures; there is no real "off-season."

The self-guided Red Tile Walking Tour, which is bounded by Victoria, Chapala, Ortega and Santa Barbara streets, touches many of the city's landmarks. Of special interest is the County Courthouse (1100 Anacapa St.), an architectural masterpiece completed in 1929. The Spanish- Moorish structure features tropical gardens and lush lawns. In addition, historic adobes and El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park [123 E. Canon Perdido St.; (805) 966-9719] are snapshot- worthy. Hop aboard the Downtown Waterfront Trolley, which cruises the length of the Red Tile district for just 25 cents, or rent a whimsical quadricycle on State St. or Cabrillo Blvd.

Santa Barbara's historic Stearns Wharf features the Santa Barbra Museum of Natural History Ty Warner Sea Center; [(805) 682-4711], with live displays and touch tanks, and the Arts and Craft Show (Sundays; along Cabrillo Boulevard). From Stearns Wharf you will see a multitude of sailboats and fishing boats in and about the nearby Santa Barbara Harbor. A centerpiece at the Harbor is the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum [(805) 962-8404]. This wonderful seaside museum features ship models, historic exhibits and floating exhibits.

If you're in search of a garden spot, there's a place for you. The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden [1212 Mission Canyon Road; (805) 682-4726] offers trails that wind through canyon, desert and other settings. Discover a variety of delectable items and much more when you visit the Farmers Market [Tuesdays; 500 and 600 blocks of State Street; and Saturdays; between Santa Barbara and Cota streets; www.sbfarmersmarket.org; (805) 962-5354]. One of Santa Barbara's treasures, the Old Mission Santa Barbara [2201 Laguna St.; (805) 682-4713] was founded in 1786. Its unique stone facade, which was copied from an ancient Roman book on architecture, has made the mission a popular subject for photographers. Rooms filled with artifacts and an old cemetery are open for exploration.

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art [1130 State St.; (805) 963-4364] is known for innovative exhibitions and an unforgettable permanent collection, plus education programs for kids of all ages. Marvel at Greek and Roman antiquities, as well and works from nineteenth- and early twentieth century American, French and English artists.