I am taking a ten day trip up the Calif. coast in late August from LA to SF, and of course I want to spend my time on the really "good stuff". I am thinking of driving right past Santa Barbara, is there any reason to stop or is this a good plan?

Marlena
NYC

Just go for it. Bypass Santa Barbara and never look back. Hope you'll find the good stuff on your trip. Whatever that means........

Marlena:

Of course it depends on what you like. Personally, I love Santa Barbara. The compact downtown area has some great restaurants (as does the beachfront). The Santa Barbara mission is beautiful; it's in much better condition than most, and the grounds are well-maintained.

I agree. Don't know if you want to stay overnight, but if you're driving on 101 you'll go right through Santa Barbara and it would be nice to see the mission. The missions are an important part of the history of California. Also has an outstanding Mexican restaurant called SuperRica or something similar to that. There's a beautiful beach and Stearns Wharf with good views. Just past Sta. Barbara you will have to turn inland because Vandenberg A.F. Base is on the coast--I would suggest you stay on 101 as Hwy 1 doesn't get you any better views of the coast. You want to get back to Hwy 1 as Pismo Beach and then follow it up through Big Sur. There are lots of wineries northeast of Sta. Barbara and you can get a map from the visitor's office. Perhaps if you told us what you're interested in, we could help you to find the "good stuff".

Ok, good question...I'm most interested in scenery, but a great restaurant might be worth stopping for (especially Mexican as I live in NYC and there's no good Mexican here).

A mission definitely interests me, but I am unsure which one to stop at along my trip. I don't have time to do more than one, is the one in Santa Barbara recommended?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Marlena

Marlena, We've visited almost all the missions and Sta. Barbara is nicknamed "the Queen of the Missions". If you can see just one, make it this one. It's not in the downtown area and has a large parking lot. A visit should only take about an hour unless you want to stay longer. Probably the most detailed mission with the best art is San Luis Rey outside of San Diego, but you're not going there, right? You will also come fairly close to Santa Inez and La Concepcion if you want to make a short detour to see them. In Carmel there is another mission which is the burial place of Fr. Junipero Serra, the Franciscan who started the whole mission building project. It has a recreated wing so you can get somewhat of a feeling for the way the priests lived. The most moving mission visit I've ever had was visiting Our Lady of Soledad in Soledad, CA, in the middle of the Salinas Valley. It gives you a feel for the desolate existence that these missions once had and what they had to overcome to exist. Since this is the home of many Mexican farm workers, the Mexican restaurants serve great food--stop anywhere or look for Las Fuentes--I think it's just south of Greenfield but you can ask anyone. You probably won't get here if you're driving through Big Sur, however, and there's not much else to see except some good wineries. Jekyll and Smith and Hook are located nearby. Finally, if you drive up to SF from Monterey and take 156 east to 101, do a slight detour to San Juan Batista--a mission and great Mexican food anywhere in town. The Super-Rica Taqueria in Santa Barbara is frequented by Julia Child who lives parttime in Sta.Barbara, and I certainly agree with her for what it's worth! Enjoy your trip.