Wine country map traces movie sites

Santa Barbara, Calif. — If you map it, will they come?

A new movie called “Sideways” is set in the wine country of California’s central coast. Before the film’s debut last week, Santa Barbara’s tourism office prepared a brochure to lead fans to the places featured in it.

The Fox Searchlight feature film, written and directed by Alexander Payne, is a comedy about a pair of mismatched best friends (Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church) on a road trip in the days before one of them is to be married.

The fold-out tourist map spotlights 19 locations across the Santa Ynez Valley, all of them featured in the movie.

They include boutique wineries such as the Andrew Murray Vineyard, Foxen Winery and Kalyra Winery; restaurants like the Hitching Post II and Solvang Restaurant; plus a bowling alley, a church, a golf course, Gaviota State Beach and Ostrich Land.

Oenophiles and day-trippers alike can get the “Sideways” map by calling (800) 676-1266 or by visiting www.santabarbaraCA.com.

Magazine ranks best outdoor adventures

New York — From kayaking past the Statue of Liberty to watching penguins in Antarctica, Outside magazine is recommending a variety of trips for both urban and globe-trotting adventurers.

The winter 2005 edition of Outside Traveler, a seasonal publication that is separate from the magazine’s monthly issues, lists these five top winter wildlife cruises:

• Mountain Travel Sobek’s 11-day cruise to Antarctica, featuring penguins and whales;
• Mexico’s Baja Expeditions eight-day trips in the Sea of Cortez, home to seven varieties of whales;
• Lindblad Expeditions’ trip to the Galapagos, known for its famed giant tortoises and other creatures;
• International Expeditions’ nine-day voyage to the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve on the Amazon;
• Cruceros Australis’ trip to Tierra del Fuego, on the Beagle Channel, that includes a visit to an elephant seal colony.

Outside’s November issue offers inspiration for urban adventurers. In Manhattan, kayak past the Statue of Liberty. In Chicago, go scuba diving in Lake Michigan at a site where relics from the Great Chicago Fire were dumped.

Urban adventures in Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Seattle also are listed in the November issue.