Mosey on to the San Marcos Pass.

WHERE: Cold Spring Tavern, Santa Barbara County, Calif.

This is more than a tavern. Born as a stagecoach stop in the 1880s, the Cold Spring Tavern sits in the mountains 10 miles outside Santa Barbara on California Route 154. Owned by the Ovington family since 1941, the property includes an upscale restaurant and a rustic bar with a massive stone fireplace at one end.

Most Sunday afternoons, the bar and patio fill with blues lovers and bikers (many of them Santa Barbara millionaires in disguise). They gather around the acoustic duo Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan, who have played there for more than 15 years.

Back in the Old West, Cold Spring Tavern served the travelers on the new "turnpike" over the San Marcos pass constructed by Chinese laborers to ease transport over the mountains. Passengers boarded stagecoaches that were deeply uncomfortable, only to endure dangerous roads and the inevitable highwayman on their way to the pass. It was a time that was both hazardous and romantic. Dusty stagecoaches stopped at the tavern's relay station to change horses and usually added two more in order to get over the mountain. The stop also allowed the passengers to fuel up for the journey.

WHAT TO EAT: Buffalo, venison, rabbit and other dinner entrees are about $17.50 to $28.50. Or order a tri-tip sandwich ($7.95) from the oak pit rig around the side. Wash it down with a can of Coors ($3) or one of the four California brews on tap (up to $7). Guard your seat. Some summer Sundays, 400 of those tri-tip sandwiches are sold.

GETTING THERE: Cold Spring Tavern is at 5995 Stagecoach Road, Santa Barbara, Calif., 805-967-0066, You can find a map and directions at www.coldspringtavern.com.