The Santa Barbara County hills are alive with the sound of Cupid’s harp. This Valentine’s Day, the Sun decided to put the county’s romantic side on full display. The area is a lovers’ paradise packed with picturesque vistas, quaint B&Bs, and breathtaking sunsets—the perfect setting for a romance of epic proportions.
Inspired by our surroundings, the Sun embarked on a special mission: to tell Santa Barbara County love stories through the eyes of some local community leaders. And even though some of these stories didn’t actually occur on the Central Coast, it’s safe to say that this place is definitely a place for lovers.
Drew and Nerissa Sugars
For almost a decade, Drew and Nerissa Sugars were known as one of Santa Maria’s “it” couples. But rather than generate news with their relationship, they delivered it nightly as primetime anchors at KCOY.
The couple resigned from the station in 2008—he went on to serve as public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and she now works as a public relations specialist at Chumash Casino.
When asked to participate in the Sun’s ode to Valentine’s Day, Nerissa shared this story:
“Drew and I have been together for about 21 years. We are blessed to share so many nice memories as a couple, but one of my favorite memories took place before we were officially together.
“We met when we were students at San Francisco State. We spent about two years as ‘just good friends’ and were both actually dating other people. One day during the ‘just good friends’ phase, I was getting ready to walk out of the Creative Arts building to get to my next class clear across campus, when the rain just started to dump. We’re talking buckets of rain. I was typically unprepared for it—no raincoat, no umbrella.
“As I was standing there wondering how in the world I was going to make it to my next class on time—and without being totally drenched—I saw Drew coming toward me with a huge umbrella and a big, sympathetic smile on his face. He handed me the umbrella and said, ‘I think you need this more than I do.’ I tried to refuse because I knew he needed it just as much as I did, but he insisted I take it and then told me I could keep it for as long as I needed. Then he walked away, getting completely soaked in the storm. As he was walking away, and as I hurried on to my class, all I could think was, ‘Wow—what a nice guy. I could totally marry him.’
“And about four years later, I did.”
Here’s Drew’s recollection of that day:
“As I recall, it was a no-brainer; the rain was pouring down, and a friend of mine was in need. Little did I know that she would become my wife and mother of my children.
“I’m glad she reminded me of this event. I may need to call in the marker the next time I forget her birthday.”
Liz and David Addamo
Liz and David Addamo are two of Santa Maria’s—and Santa Barbara County’s—most well-known winemakers. In 2000, the couple successfully launched the Addamo Estate Vineyards brand and has since produced several critically acclaimed estate wines.
More recently, Liz, a professional chef, launched a corresponding bistro, tasting room, and catering service. It’s fitting, then, that the Addamos’ romance began at a restaurant.
“This was back when I was running a restaurant in San Juan Bautista,” Liz said. “David kept sending me a dozen roses and signing the card ‘FBI.’ I had no idea what it meant, and when I finally asked him, he said, ‘Full Blooded Italian. I’m Italian.’ I told him, ‘Well, I’m Irish, so I thought it was ‘Full Blooded Irish.’
“We’d known each other since high school, but I honestly didn’t think he was my type. Then one night he came into the restaurant and said, ‘I have two front row tickets to Journey. Are you in?’ And I said, ‘I’m so in,’ and I went with him to the concert and I’ve never left his sight. All I can say is thank God for Journey.”
John and Jonatha Linn
OK, somebody has to say it, so it might as well be us: How cute is it that the Linns’ names are John and Jonatha? Surely they’ve never heard that one before.
The Linns are best known as Lompoc’s first couple (John was elected mayor in November), as well as owners of the locksmith business Speedy Lock & Safe.
So how did the mayor propose to his wife?
“I had already decided to ask her to marry me, and I’d already talked to her parents about it. I was just waiting for my grandmother’s wedding ring out of my deceased aunt’s estate,” John told the Sun. “My mom called me and said, ‘OK, I got the release from the courts.’
“So one night after work I made up some lame excuse—it was lame, but she was much more naive back then—and I drove 70 miles to my parents’ house. I got the ring, chitchatted for about 30 minutes, and then I drove home.
“I was going to wait and do something really romantic, but I couldn’t, so I just got down on one knee and asked her. The ring fit perfectly, and she wore it until it pretty much wore through, and I got her a new one a couple years ago.”
On Jan. 26, the Linns celebrated 37 years of marriage by going to one of their favorite Lompoc eateries, La Botte Italian Restaurant.
Linda Jackson
Before coming to the Central Coast, Solvang Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Linda Jackson was quite the jetsetter. The longtime businesswoman lived for five years in Europe and 28 years in New York City.
Here’s one of her romantic memories from Europe: “I used to travel a lot for my business back when I was in my early 30s. I was going to Germany, and a friend gave me the number of somebody who was living there. We called each other and ended up going to dinner at Baden Baden Casino in Stuttgart. Hollywood films a lot of the James Bond movies there. It was very wonderful and elegant, and he was tall, dark, and handsome. The weather and the atmosphere were just perfect.
“Back then, I had very low blood pressure, so I would always end up fainting. I’d do it at restaurants and at shops. … I’ve done it in the subway and in Paris in the middle of the street. People would think I was having an epileptic fit. … Anyway, I ended up fainting at the dinner table. I could feel it coming, and there was nothing I could do about it.
“I woke up in his arms, and we were outside under a tree. It had rained recently, so there were dewdrops on the tree that looked like diamonds. And he said, ‘Are you OK?’ and I said, ‘Yes.’ I felt like Sleeping Beauty.
“We ended up having a long-distance relationship. We used to drive around Germany in his little red Porsche. It was kind of like a glamorous fairytale.”
Joyce Dudley
Being the county’s head criminal prosecutor takes nerves of steel—something Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley has been proven to possess. But, as Dudley revealed in this teenage dating story, that wasn’t always the case.
“It was one of the first dates I’d ever been on. I was 16 years old, and I was very excited,” Dudley recalled. “The guy took me to the fair about a mile away from my house in Queens, N.Y.
“We went on the Ferris wheel, and he took my hand in his. I think it was the first time a guy had ever held my hand, so I was really excited.
“Things were going great, but then all of a sudden I started to feel really nauseous … and I—this is probably a little graphic—I threw up all over the seat. And then the Ferris wheel got stuck.
“So there we are, sitting at the top of the Ferris wheel, covered in vomit, and there is no place for me to go. Luckily, they got the wheel going again, and I got out and I literally ran all the way home and shut myself in my room. I was just mortified.
“A little later I heard a knock at the door, and it turned out he had followed me home. He told my mom, ‘Tell Joyce I had a really nice time at the fair and that kind of thing could happen to anyone.’”
Lupe and Olivia Alvarez
The people of Guadalupe probably know the Alvarezes best for their public service. Lupe is in the middle of his second term as mayor, and Olivia served on the school district’s education board, and they’re both involved in various nonprofit organizations.
But when Lupe proposed, he wanted to make sure his future wife felt utterly pampered.
“My wife is an accountant. It was right in the middle of tax season, so she was working 10-hour days,” Lupe said. “I talked to her boss to see if she could get some time off—so her boss was totally in on it.
“I sent a limo driver to pick her up at her office. But she said, ‘I can’t leave. It’s tax season!’ But her boss came out and told her, ‘It’s OK.’ So she got in the limo.
“I’d given the driver very explicit instructions on what to do: She told [Olivia], ‘This is the day you’ve been waiting for,’ and gave her a single red rose with a printed card. The card said something like, ‘Sit back and relax, and as you stop at each location reminisce on how we met and why that place is important to us.’
“So I had the driver stop at 10 different locations—a lot of them were where we had a first: first date, first kiss. And at each stop she got a red rose with another card with clues about the next place.
“The last place she stopped at was The Cliffs [in Avila Beach] where we had our first date, and I was waiting for her with a red rose. I’d set up dinner outside on the lawn, which is something they normally don’t do. Then I proposed—and obviously she said yes.”
Bill and Donna Brown
As Santa Barbara County sheriff, Bill Brown has to be incredibly practical and do everything by the book. Readers might be surprised to known, then, that he proposed to his wife Donna after just three weeks of dating.
“If one of my kids told me they wanted to get married after just three weeks, I’d be horrified,” Bill told the Sun.
Donna agreed, adding, “If my daughter did that, I think I’d lock her up.”
Spoken like a true sheriff’s wife.
The Browns’ honeymoon was equally unusual.
“We stayed in London with my grandparents, which sounds kind of strange. but it was great because it was a way for him to get to know my family,” Donna said. “Actually, all of our grandparents are from England.”
The couple also made a special trip to the Imperial War Museum.
“It definitely doesn’t sound like the most romantic place to go, but Bill is a big war buff, so he loved it,” Donna said.
The Browns have been married for more than 30 years.
Contact Managing Editor Amy Asman at aasman@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 10-17, 2011.