Santa Maria’s mild year-round weather makes it ideal for a winter visit, and you couldn’t ask for a more convenient pilot destination. As Senior Editor Stephanie Smith explains, you can taxi right up to your hotel, a great Mexican restaurant, and an aviation museum. Wineries surround the airport, and Vandenberg Air Force Base is just 15 minutes away. That’s where some of the largest ICBMs ever made are launched, and where other rockets carry satellites and other payloads into space. It’s quite a spectacle to see a launch, but non-launch days offer another treat: the nearby beaches are open to beachcombers. These beaches have some of the last wild coastline left in California, and are home to sea lions and other creatures. You can spend a day visiting numerous local wineries and sampling famous Santa Maria Barbecue. Here, lean tri-tip beef is rubbed with garlic, salt, and pepper, smoked over red oak, and served thinly sliced with delicious accompaniments. Try it at the Hitching Post, a favorite hang-out for Vandenberg pilots. When you’re ready to turn in, you can head for your hotel at the airport, or stay at a historic (and reputedly haunted) inn.