Santa Barbara

When I was in the fifth grade, Anna Connelly and I would ride our bikes home from school everyday just in time to watch 'Santa Barbara' (...a soap opera that my babysitter, sweet Mrs. Kinzer, would let us watch unbeknownst to my parents. Sorry, Dad!) I don't remember a thing about the plot of the show (do shows like that even HAVE a plot?) - but the setting made an impression and I've wanted to see this town ever since.

In addition to a plethora of Spanish architecture with beautiful red tile roofs, I've learned that one of the unique things about Santa Barbara is its east/west coastline, the only in California. The town is nestled right against a steeply rising mountain range - giving you stunning views of mountains or ocean (or both!) in seemingly every direction. To say I loved this city would be an understatement. Patrick might THINK Annie is going to go to Penn State one day, but I'm going to start pushing for UCSB!

Annie and I kicked off our visit with a bike ride along the coastline. It was Annie's first time on a bike and she loved it (or at least that's what the people we passed told me... evidently she was grinning ear to ear the entire time. I think I was too!).


After our bike ride, we checked out downtown Santa Barbara and stumbled upon their weekly Farmer's Market, which shuts down a good portion of State Street right in the center of town. I found the whole 'vibe' of this area really refreshing. It seems to draw a more down-to-earth crowd than what I've seen of LA so far. Think college professors and wine aficionados versus personal trainers and anorexics. :)

Later we got settled at our hotel - which was a huge hit with Annie because of this seahorse statue they had in the courtyard. The moment we saw it, she said, "Neigh!" She also woke up each morning we were there saying, "Neigh" and excited to go greet the seahorse again.


We kicked off Wednesday with a short visit to Santa Barbara's quaint zoo. While I learned that there's probably only so many giraffes one needs to see in a month, Annie did enjoy running around the pretty grounds.


We then walked around charming Montecito where we also had a yummy Mexican lunch and Annie ate an entire bowl of guacamole all by herself. Later that afternoon, we took a double-decker bus tour of the city. I wasn't sure if Annie would last the whole 90 minutes, but she seemed to love riding in the open air up top (and bouncing around on my lap). The highlight of this tour was a stop at the absolutely beautiful 200+ year old Franciscan Mission.


We happened to be there right after their annual Chalk Art Festival - and it was amazing to see the chalk creations. For some reason, my driveway chalk drawings with Annie don't look quite like this.


In honor of my relationship with the Franciscans, I couldn't resist posing for this picture. Perhaps I should put it on my St. Francis Hall business card?


Today we wrapped up our trip with a visit to the Santa Barbara County Courthouse - another example of gorgeous Spanish architecture.


We walked up to the top for a terrific 360 view of the city - and a great perspective of all the red tile roofs.


My pictures won't do this place justice - there were charming details everywhere like these terra cotta and ceramic tile steps.


Before we left, we stopped by the marina and had a nice lunch overlooking all the boats... a perfect way to wrap up our Santa Barbara adventure.