A pop culture classic, ‘the original TV Batmobile,' to visit the Santa Ynez Valley

IT'S BAT SEASON, as anyone who has stepped inside a store knows. Bat decorations, bat-shaped candy, bat wings, bat everything: We're living in a bat-tastic world, with more bat sightings to come as Halloween nears (including, yes, Bat Week, which flaps at the end of October). But here's a twist that shouldn't surprise fans of a certain cape-rocking legend: It's also Batman Season, thanks to the fact that Batman Day is a mid-September staple and other Batman fun can be found all around. Look to the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, where a 1989 super-sleek Batmobile is on view, and set your sights on the Santa Ynez Valley, where "the original TV Batmobile" will be on the roll as September winds down.

SPYING THIS 1966 STAR CAR? You'll want to be in Buellton, Solvang, Santa Ynez, or at another spot along the route on Sept. 25. Why is this celebrated superhero vehicle, which was designed by George Barris, calling upon wine country on the first Monday of autumn? It's leading the Antique Automobile Club of America Western Divisional Tour, where plenty of snazzy show cars will be out gleaming in the sun and delighting waving fans. The procession will wrap at the Santa Ynez Carriage Museum at noon, and, for sure, that's where fans can get a bit closer to the Batmobile. "While George Barris passed in 2015, his daughter, Joji Barris will be on hand to provide first-hand insights into the history and unique perspective of her father's legacy in automotive design," share the organizers.

FOR MORE ON THE TOUR, the appearance by the Batmobile, and rolling through this lovely landscape on a bright fall day, visit the club's Western Divisional Tour site now.