Far West Sojourn: a Santa Barbara TR
 

Welcome fellow travelers to our latest TR. We'd been to America over 30 times before, but never to Santa Barbara. This voyage was both our first visit back to the States in quite a while as well as our first time ever anywhere as snowbirds. My wife and I left a frigid Toronto (-1 below) for the palms of California. We spent February at a nice rental smack dab in the middle of the American Riviera, an area that draws comparisons to the Mediterranean. Un bon climat, oui? What we found was an attractive resort town that served self-caterers like us well. Everywhere was art, color, $affluence$ (median house price $2.6 million) and much maritime Nautica. We were hooked.

Topics below will include in no particular order: history (Chumash, the Mission, the Courthouse, oil), beach culture (inc. Summerland), gardens (Lotusland; Botanic Garden), a live Rick Steves presentation, epicurean aspects (inc. wine), the nearby Funk Zone, water-based tours (Hi Maddy!), adobe architecture, Valentines Day tea splurge @ San Ysidro Ranch, rarities (Casa del Herrero), the Beaux Art Museum (Mrs Z's fave) plus daytrips with friends old & new to Carpinteria and wine country near Sta. Maria.
We'll begin our photo-dense report with an overview. As always, what follows is a lengthy mix of imagery, music, humor, and logistical tips. An effort has been made to avoid repetition. An effort has been made to avoid repetition.

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Please feel free to add any posts based on your own experiences in Santa Barbara, be they photographic, raves, rants or opinions. Locals, don't be shy mkay?
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We began in LA. by staying overnight in a cheap hotel on the border of Chinatown. Not two minutes after we'd plopped our luggage down, a few shots rang out on the streets below.
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Union Station. The Amtrack security guard warned me about wearing my Nikon bandelier-style: "Someone up and pull a gun on ya' for that camera!"
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Actually, we flew on United up to Santa Barbara. Above shows our take-off. We see (I think) Playa del Rey and the Marina del Rey peninsula, maybe possibly Venice canal on the far left?
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The lay of the land below continued, as the SoCal coast became the central coast. The flight path included: Santa Monica, Malibu, Simi Hills, Pts Mugu, Dume and Pitus, Leo Cabrillo beach, small mountain ranges including San Rafael, Connejo (1920'), Hueneme, St. Buenaventura, St. Johns Coll, McGrath State beach, Ventura, Emma Ward and Los Padres Forest.
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Mrs Z (my wife) insisted that I take this shot. We believe that it is the Casitas reservoir, no?
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Oxnard, am I right? We landed in Goleta, where the Santa Barbara Airport is located. That descent took us right over the UCSB campus and its waterfowl pond, plus some great local beach-hikes: Haskells, Devereux and More Mesa. Goleta's famed Butterfly Reserve saw one of its all-time low numbers of migrating Monarchs this year. That town has an annual lemon fest. A maga convoy from Goleta drove though SB just prior to our arrival. It seems that they carried lewd placards in front of children.
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Sunrise at Summerland beach looking over to Loon point.
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No report on Cali can skip surfing.
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The sport still attracts enthusiasts of all ages and genders.
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I rest my case.
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The annual SB Film Festival was on during our stay. One downtown theatre on the semi-pedestrian main artery State Street was reserved for its special events. I also enjoyed the new Led Zeppelin doc. There, I met the former singer for Pure Prairie League, a fellow Zephead.
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President Reagan's Birthday Celebration was held at his namesake conference center a couple blocks away from us. Some of the teen girls that attended were woefully underdressed on that blustery day, so they sprinted from their limo to the entry lest freezing to death!
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Once-and-again local hero Josh Brolin's memoir made a good read during our vacation. We bought it from Chaucers bookstore up in Loreto Plaza at nearly half the price that we would've paid back in Toronto. Josh was once part of a local gang of youths who called themselves the 'Cito Rats'.
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There are plentiful activities for young people in SB.
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This gardener was one of the few remaining staff at Lotusland who actually once knew the wealthy woman who created the popular garden.
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Tony the sand sculptor.
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A wine-tasting room in the Funk Zone had the above notice. Their neighboring alley had some excellent street art including an old comic strip showing two young women commiserating. One had just broken up with her boyfriend and wailed, "Oh, what will I do without him?!" Her pal's response: "WINE OBVIOUSLY!!"
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The new Dart Coffee branch in the marina (a must) featured this stained-glass collage of local themes: sailing, water birds, land and sea, lighthouses, the Channel islands, oil platforms, dolphins, fish, seaweed kelp, seals and sea lions, a regatta.
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Good quality street art can be found throughout. The best have important social messages, as opposed to sloppy gang tags.
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An angel come to earth.
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Norah is the manager of justly-popular Brophy Bros seafood restaurant. We had a lovely chat after discovering some things in common.
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The San Ysidro ranch has its Stonehouse restaurant in addition to lovely grounds.
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Maybe a western snowy plover? The end of our overview. Next: beach culture. But first some music.

A stone-cold classic. I dedicate this TR to my late friend Peter Romanelli. Our band's late soundman who was above all, a sound man. The polar opposite of Trump. Santa Barbara was one of Pete's fave places.
Lets try it again below.

Thanks to the several posters who offered us advice before this trip: Nelson, MoBro, AustinTraveler, magsrose, Paqngo (bonne chance in Brittany). macdogmom, clarkgriswold, Iwan2go plus Irice, maitaitom & Tracy. Merci aussi to all the posters over on Reddit and the Rick Steves forum.
Let's dive into the ocean.

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Leadbetter beach lays directly off the SW corner of town.
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Oil. Offshore East Beach in the distance, we see both the Henry and the Hillhouse oil platforms. A century ago, this sprawling oil field was a major business here. The 1969 oil spill nearby spawned Earth Day as we now know it.
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The ocean holds a lot of life. That life plays an important role in the health of our planet. We used Reddit as a source for researching this trip and someone there had rare photos of a shark egg backlit by the sun. Another shutterbug displayed her imagery of nudibranchs, surely one of Mother Nature's most alien-looking life forms.
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Butterfly beach is considered by many locals to be the most desirable. It sits at the bottom of the exclusive Montecito (Cito) neighborhood.
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Sealife here has many forms. That includes dolphins, sharks, sea stars, sea slugs and sea hares. Two common anemone species include the green 'moonglow' and the red 'sunburst' kinds. Tide-pooling was dependent on checking out Low Tide times in the weekly newspaper chart.
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Hendrys beach at Arroyo Burro park is an absolute must, especially at sunset. Its wonderful Boathouse restaurant remains an excellent place for a meal indoors or out. Dog-walkers will tell you that this is THE best place for oceany dog-walking.
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Including this ex-pat gal from Toronto. She saw a bag that I was using to beachcomb and immediately recognized it as being from our city's biggest pharmacy. "Toronto, right?" she approached. She turned out to be a family friend of the guitarist for my heroes 'Rush' (the pride of Toronto). Next day at perennial local fave pizza joint Rustys, we saw another unlikely Rush connection: a pinball machine with a vintage Rush theme! Didn't realize that today's kids celebrated birthdays to Rush songs!
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'Here by the sea and sand...' (the Who)
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Low tide brought out a lot of things, including artistic rocks. These boulders had equally beautiful cousins on land, especially at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
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Water reflections water reflections.
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Butterfly Beach had a relatively sparse number of sundown visitors. Some played stickball on the sand, others relaxed inside a rough-hewn fort made of palm sheafs, found objects and stones. Others like this friendly young couple had brought a picnic. Could've sworn that I smelled a skunk nearby.
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A Butterfly beach beauty.
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This shot is actually responsible for a Rick Steves story---see later.
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This northerly view at Hendrys extended towards the distant UCSB campus in Goleta.
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As I was photographing this young couple atop an outcrop, the boy's moccasin fell off. I then pretended to try to run away with it.
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Mrs Z liked this shot a lot.
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Edible kelp, algae, seagrass and seaweed can be bought in town. A public poster nearby described in detail 'Beach Wrack', the areas of waterline and water table that involve saturated sand, damp sand and dry sand.
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The scene at the end of Mission Creek, which was...
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...the place where these families combined to enjoy themselves. Girl on left: "Mom, don't you want some ice cream? Can we go to Tondi's now?"
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This boy's mom seemed like a pro photographer. Her gear looked muchos expensive.
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Atop this stretch of sun-baked sands close to Mesa Lane beach, we see the newly-established clifftop Douglas Family Preserve. Actor Michael and his father Kirk donated the grove to the public, with a mind to providing yet-another peaceful place for dog-walkers.
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Walking the shorelines in both directions rewards the visitor to Hendrys. One may see the aforementioned Douglas Preserve in the distance.
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The sun sinks low.
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And lower.
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Can't you just feel your BP go down whenever at the shore while visiting a beach?
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We highly recommend Hendrys, Summerland and Butterfly beaches. The latter extends onto the Four Seasons/Biltmore beach area.
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Le soleil sont disparu avec les Channel Islands devant (Sta Cruz, Anacapra et comme ca).
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Mrs Z and I were happy as a pair of jolly dolphins. Next: more music then Rick Steves.

Sarah Sleane recorded an album titled Land & Sea. Here is one of those songs.

Needs no intro.
Tom Petty

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We had ordered tickets ahead of time to see the Rick Steves live presentation at the historic Arlington Theatre. He'd survived a recent battle with prostate cancer. Wisely, he began with an update that he was now recovered and doing fine. Btw, we once met his ex-wife's Swedish nursing colleague gal whilst on the same Greek ferry.
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There was a lively, pre-show meet n' greet for those willing to dish out the extra fee. A live flamenco player played throughout. It was the 50th Anniversary of the local Public TV station. I'd come 'this close' to contacting Rick's office a month ahead to see whether he might sit for a brief pre-show interview with me there at the Arlington. The plan had been to post the resultant interview on travel forums such as Fodors and also Lonely Planet's resurrected Thorn Tree. I eventually passed.
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That venue is worth a looksee, with its historic architecture and unique interior: the side walls are a remarkable 3D facsimile of old adobe buildings from yesteryear. Incidentally, we once spent Xmas 2008 in Costa Rica staying at the neighboring eco-lodge to the one where Rick and family were based.
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Colorful lamps spread throughout the property. It was a hectic atmosphere in the hour prior to showtime. We were surprised at the sheer volume of latecomers just strolling into the already-in-progress presentation. I was reminded of the Zappa song 'Flakes'.
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Can you relate to Rick's above categories? Wish that he'd expanded his show to include more interactivity, some mention of his long-standing online forum, a memento or two from his travels, maybe some Top Ten lists on both walls. At times, the seasoned traveler attending that show felt a bit like having gone back to high school.
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These four women represented three generations of the same family. We have included their shot here coz they were on vacation from Edmonds. They were neighbors of Rick Steves and one used to babysit his daughter (or was it vice-versa?). These women had seen me taking close-up shots of those shells above and had begun a friendly chat. We'd told them about our tickets to see our hero Rick that night.
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Whole Lotta Arlington Theatre that week. *Three nights later I went to see the new Led Zep doc at the same theatre and after the other attendee left halfway, had the entire theatre to myself (see 'air-drumming to Bonzo').
Next: some lesser-known attractions

First, our suggested bakeries:
-D'Angelos, a very good choice for outdoor breakfast as well. Great views of the distinctive adobe buildings.
-Oat bakery: truffle cashew cream cheese anyone?
-Andersen's (Danish) Bakery on the main drag: a nice place to chill, eat, drink and watch the passerby. Excellent service.
-Helena's Bakery in the Funk Zone. Doubles as uber-cozy wine-tasting spot.

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This Heermann's Gull has nothing to do with lesser-known attractions, but he did steal my zoom lens. Says he won't give it back til I've posted his portrait labelled 'Sir Bird'. SIR BIRD
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The former Meridian graphics studio complex has a compelling Italianate style of paint upon its exterior walls.
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Further along that same Haley Street Corridor, one finds the JW Adkins Ecology found-object Art Gallery. It is apparently run by artist Bill and his wife Martha. If we got our facts straight, they are a senior couple who welcome visitors by leaving their entry gate open. If that gate is shut then 'me no sen' you no come.' We were in a rush that afternoon and captured this single shot.
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The former editor of Travel & Leisure magazine tipped us off about the above rare residential enclave. Called 'La Caseria', it is composed of a small collection of attractive homes with a private communal garden.
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Casa del Herrero (house of blacksmith) is a time capsule that one must reserve for a guided tour ahead of time. The mansion of former WWI military contractor George Fox Steedman, this sprawling property is magnificent inside and out. It is one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial revival architecture in the USA. A womens group had decorated the interior with floral arrangements. Steedman was a 1%er with a marked taste for European imports of every sort. Above: his personal centaur icon.
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Lovely Ainsley was the program manager. I'd teased her via the intercom upon our early arrival, "WE ARE THE DOGE COMMITTEE! MR. MUSK IS HERE WITH US AND WE REQUIRE IMMEDIATE ENTRY!!" She got the joke. Our actual tour guide was Rosie, accompanied by her assistant Kasha. Both had previously worked at Lotusland.
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The grounds were stunning and green thumbs might want to visit for the gardens alone. Much like the evolution of Lotusland from private-to-public attraction, the Casa faced local opposition from Montecito residents who were not keen on tourists having easy access to visits. The tour could be fairly described as tightly controlled. *shutterbugs take note
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We were pleasantly surprised to learn that the Casa had recently lifted its long ban on indoors photography. There was historic furniture, religious iconography, tiles, ceramics, paintings, sculptures, lamps and much more. Steedman was also a clever inventor-tinkerer. He created an early phonograph speaker box. His huge personal workshop would be the envy of any male who just loves industrial-level works. His were the largest scissors that we'd ever seen!
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Casa del Herrero is like a museum and might just be the biggest surprise of any visit to Sta Barbara. It is a top-shelf visual feast in a town known for compelling visuals. Steedman led a moneys-no-object life as a collector. And we visitors are all the luckier for that. Thank his daughter Medora, who lived here til '93. She then transferred the property to become a non-profit.
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One of the Persian 'Star' fountains as seen from below the massive African baobab tree. The exquisite aesthetics throughout were very impressive. Clearly, Steedman had once brought in the best of the best designers and architects. He actually moved in on the same day as the historic earthquake that struck Sta Barbara exactly a century ago! A day that he surely never forgot.
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Who was on the list of famed folks that Steedman and his wife once entertained here? Presidents? Kings? Movie stars?
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Where are we now, Taos?
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No, this is Lady of Mount Carmel Church, found just a 6 minute walk down the road from Casa del Herero. A slightly Karen-ish woman approached us, then assertively informed us that she did not want us to take her photo, 'not even in the background!' I was a bit taken aback coz the thought had not even entered our heads--we wanted that sleek stone and adobe imagery without people. We also avoided the interior after hearing weeping from within. Someone was mourning.
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Afterwards, Mrs Z bought some lovely shirts at the Lovebird store downtown. Friendly owner Nancy Burgner was also a Rick Steves follower. I later bought my own nice short-sleeves at the original Beach House Surf Shop. There, we chatted with staff about competitors including Tilleys. The latter business began in Toronto and became known for their peerless hats plus outstanding travel wear. Pretty sure that Mr Tilley is rolling in his grave at the current sad state of his old stores.

Time for our TRADITIONAL QUIZ (sound of trumpets).

Circle the correct answer below.

Which Santa Barbara resident once stonewalled Johnny Carson during a Tonight Show interview by refusing to answer a personal question?
1) Kevin Costner
2) Carol Burnett
3) Oprah
4) Tommy Lee

The Fodors guidebook company is located in:
1) Santa Barbara
2) San Bernardino
3) Santa Rita hills
4) El Segundo

The deepest off-shore trench near Santa Barbara is:
1) Port Hueneme
2) Santa Barbarian
3) Fodoriadeep
4) Carpinteria

The Best Cordon Bleu chef in Paso Robles who used to be an Emmy-winning producer of the live 'La Fiesta' music shows in LA is (choose one):
1) Alma Ayon
2) Alma Ayon
3) Alma Ayon
4) Alma Ayon

The Bidens vacationed in which wine country town right after the recent election?
1) Solvang
2) Buellton
3) St. Ynez
4) Sta Rita hills

Which Santa Barbara channel seafood species are NOT caught by Purse Seine net?
1) northern anchovy
2) market squid
3) Pacific sardine
4) black-tipped zeebekia

Now, use your swordfish beak to cross out the word or phrase that does not belong below:
1) rockfish
2) rock crab
3) rock lobster
4) Hootie and the Blowfish

Now, cast your knowledge net wider to try to answer the following (don't peek at supplied answer).
How does one tell the difference between Ridgeback shrimp and Spot Prawns?
Answer-with difficulty.

Now back to Multiple Choice.

Which two famous films were once shot in Santa Barbara?
1) The Graduate
2) Sandy Does Sta Barbara
3) The Island of the Blue Dolphins
4) Free Willy

Legendary local architect Jeff Shelton always hires who to create the stylish iron railings for his house projects?
(use your harpoon to spear the correct answer).
1) his sister
2) the mayor's nephew
3) his brother
4) he never adds railings

Bonus: SAILORS INK

What wazzam (was and still is) the significance of the 'Rooster and Pig' symbols tattooed atop the feet of sailors?

PS Please feel free to post some of your own quiz questions about Santa Barbara here on this thread.
Next:
Food & wine

I absolutely love your photography as usual zebec. Your talent never ceases to amaze me.

Merci beaucoup Mel (get it? The American Riviera). Folks, do check out Mel's latest Italo-Swiss TR here.
So food. We'll begin with Mrs Z's supermarket assessment.

1. 'Smart & Final' was her fave. The walk there took us through some areas of homelessness in this town of income disparity. And fentanyl remains an issue, from Thousand Oaks all the way through Ventura to Santa Barbara.
2. Ralphs. It is directly across from the main transit hub/bus depot. We went late at night and regretted that decision. Numerous homeless folks were inside and outside the store. Drug deals were happening in plain view. The manager seemed to struggle to answer the simplest of our questions.
3. Gelsons (Loreto Plaza). Part of the successful Cali chain. Huge, slick and varied. Great almond croissants at their Renauds pastry. Killer Waldorf salad (Mrs Z's fave dish here). Cost of one quiche (kid you not)= $60. Sixty. What, was it made from gold?
4. My faves: the Locals Top Pick 'Santa Cruz Market' and its near-twin, kitty-corner competitor 'Mercado del Rey'. Both are Mexican (Michoacana) delis offering a wide variety of tasty essentials. Location: a 2-minute walk from us in the West Beach neighborhood. Their corn tamales and their El Pastor burritos were worth flying across the continent for. In addition, they served our Vitamin G needs (gelato). Ice cream actually. They sold some exotic Amazonian specialty flavors such as Lucuma (orange and gritty) plus Maracuya passion fruit. Bliss.
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Oat Bakery was run by a group of women. They had a sense of humor.
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Although the area is known for other types of produce, we also saw this banana tree on a neighbor's front lawn. Our landlady's own elaborate private garden featured different kinds of citrus trees.
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Each Saturday morn, a modest Fishermans Market occurs down in the marina. About seven stalls are set up offering freshness. We bantered with the youngest pair of fisherman there as they held the above spider crab. I advised them on a new advertising slogan for their oysters: 'MORE ZINC FOR YER DINK!'
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The locals came out early for white seabass, cod, spiny lobster, swordfish, abalone and mussels. We self-caterers bought some just-caught halibut. Back as our rental, we put some SPIKE spice that I'd brought from home. The result: Food o' the Gods.
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A view of that dockside market from higher up. Do they ever sell weird fish such as cabezon and those loooooooong oarfish?
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A permanent shop featuring the exact same name (Santa Barbara Fish Market) is located a few steps inland down the same alley. The small but popular shop is the only Californian seafood store actually located within its namesake harbor. I went back twice for their calamari salad but our fave was their fish roe. Pictured here is their black variety.
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Diver-caught red sea urchins are regarded as the best on the planet. Japanese visitors certainly hold that opinion. According to my taste buds, this local variety is more earthy and less sweet than most.
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Santa Barbara has a range of chi chi boutiques, including those selling dinnerware.
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The Valentines Day afternoon tea at San Ysidro Ranch included these sweet treats. More about that later in a dedicated section.
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Joe's Cafe is a veritable old diner known for its stiff drinks and testosterone. It proved to be too loud for my hearing issues, so Mrs Z and I vamoosed outa' there as soon as we finished our meals. See 'misguided diners in search of local culture'.
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Andersens Bakery as aforementioned, did a very good Nordic salad. Great pastry selection too. This was the best people-watching perch of this trip. The elderly couple next to us forgot their sunglasses, so we alerted staff. In the chaos, I forgot to tip and so returned later that night to do so. We were not as willing to tip staff @ popular McConnells Ice Cream. Their machine's prompt to do so was disappointing.
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We bought some cookies from these Girl Guide scouts and their little sisters. The following week, I sought them out at that same marina spot to give them each a Canada flag pin. They were happy to receive the tiny gift.
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Reddit research was not the only new thing that we tried on this trip. We also pre-ordered some jars of an old favorite honey from previous Cali visits: Star Thistle. It is apparently poisonous to horses. But its taste is excellent, right up there with New Zealand types. My honey and I ordered some from Sonoma-based 'Kiss the Flower' family apiary ahead of time to arrive at our rental. Shown here next to our trip journal. Thx to TTer 'Nutraxfornerves' for having repeatedly assisted our quest.

Right out my Laguna Beach experience from a million years ago. 'Here by the sea and sand...'

You Tube

Going to Californicate ia
'Their powers and follies have become fantastic.' uh-huh...

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This section will be about Art. Normally I run a mile upon hearing the words 'Arts Museum', but I'm glad that Mrs Z talked me into going with her to the SB Beaux Arts. Above is a unique piece, the refracted phosphorous light sculpture by Puerto Rico's Gisela Colon. Title: 'Skewed Square.' Loved it. By design, it appeared to slightly move from all angles! One young and insecure security guard confronted me about camera flashes even though my Nikon's flash was turned off. Shakes head...
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An additional 'something completely different' created by Randy Greif (real name?) in 2005. Title: 'No-one has a Monopoly over Sorrow'. He utilized soldier's wedding rings from a number of wars, plus finger bones coated in melted bullet lead. There were also snippets from bridal bouquets, mourning dresses plus actual hair from the Civil War. I like how he remembered the wives. Give him/her 10 points for originality amidst a social critique.
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The unique ness continued. This was 'Ja K'iche' (Mayan 'home'), a fabric and acrylic creation on basswood panel that Guatemalan Estefania Ajcip made in 2023. She portrayed herself as a lonely child missing her daddy who worked for LA tailors for decades. Female Hispanic artists were featured in the 'Accretion' room.
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Shout-out to friendly museum staffer Joshua. He greeted visitors in a bespoke suit unlike most others, doing so at a desk right below a spinning gold Egyptian Pharoah bust. Also, see dcd's TR photos of some paintings including the Monet 'Villa B'. See also: historic Indian/Nepali sculpture and also modern photography. Above: the clothing created from pages of art books.
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Even some of the flooring stonework was nice.
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Glassware.
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This message in the Funk Zone is self-explanatory.
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Street mural in the Funk Zone.
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As above, from a panel of four.
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This dragon mural in the Haley corridor was impossible to miss. But it held a hidden corner easy to overlook. People had left a modest tribute of candles for some unfortunate fentanyl victim in the bottom left.
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In the same area we saw this large mural 'Visitors' by the Tapcot studios parking lot.
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A flower from the same mural.
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More street art. This was brand-new.
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From a motel's facade.
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From a private home.
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Some pretentious Canadian photographer took this image in the waters of the marina.
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Iconic California poppy mosaic.
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In the La Arcada plaza of boutiques and such, this metal piece by J. Seward Johnson Jr. was called 'Who's in Charge?'
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Just down the lane from the above...grandpa and granddaughter.
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Local teen in middle says: "Who's that guy like, with a cane and sprawled on that plaza bench? Didn't we read about him in History last term?"
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BF in SB


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John Decker's 1933 painting of the LA Oil Boom, depicting a derrick at night. The bobbing heads of oil pump jacks could be found mostly in black and Latino neighborhoods, places which suffered higher rates of related illness. Those derricks were phased out by 2020.
We took a lot of taxis. Most like the man below, were from Mexico. But some hailed from South America. We hired the above driver twice and the second time he brought his wife. We four had a long chat. Their adult daughter had just called home in tears from Chicago--her transfer there was not working out. To change the heavy topic, I pointed out the window: "See that Earl Warren Showground over the fence? Jimi Hendrix once performed a pair of concerts there back in the '60s." Next: Gardenshttps://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3820d13080.jpg

Taxis in Santa Barbara

Riviera (yellow) 805-453-1810
Beachside (Demesio) 805-896-2501
Yellow cab-1-800-549-TAXI

Always fun to read your TRs thanks zebec

Fabulous TR zebec. Gives me an urge to head back there and spend more time. You definitely hit a lot more places than we did.

Too bad the butterfly numbers are low this year, hope they bounce back. We saw them in Pismo some years back, when there were about 30,000, still low by historical numbers.

Love your photography, attention to the details, the portraits, the big picture (bad pun intended), great work.

P.S. I did very poorly ("dunno") on your quiz.

These zebec trip reports are really something!

You certainly flatter Santa Barbara, which I think in reality falls short of your trip report. However if a person (me) is going to a destination wedding and the bride’s family has $300,000 to burn, there’s no better place for that than Santa Barbara.

Good job! We live in a Jeff Shelton house and his brother does all his iron work but also their third brother is the movie director Ron Shelton of Bull Durham fame. Love the Arlington theatre and saw the first Star Wars Movie there and then many years later saw Jackson Browne, Jeff Bridges and David Crosby put on a spectacular show. It’s a great venue and SB Film festival uses it for many events. UCSB is actually in SB not Goleta (SBers are very snotty about Goleta) and going to college there in the 70’s was a trip. Literally. Glad you got around and saw so many great neighborhoods and sights. We got married at San Ysidro ranch many many years ago and it holds a special place in my heart. Joe’s was a popular spot when I was still in college but haven’t been there in years. I think you had pretty good weather this February-right now we are deep into June gloom but usually burning off by mid afternoon. Looking forward to the rest of your TR.

Thank you Macdog, for the uni clarification plus the interesting sharing.
An executive decision has been made to postpone garden coverage in lieu of San Ysidro Ranch so as to continue the topical flow. My hero Neil Peart also got (re)married at the ranch in 2000 after his pair of tragedies. The ranch is located in exclusive Montecito. I wanted to treat my own spouse to something special for Valentines Day. The ranch seemed the obvious choice for this once-in-a-lifetime event. One famed film producer has been taking his wife there for Valentines for decades. We also thought that it was a nice touch by management there to hold a special 'Galentines' affair the day before. For women.

Approaching the ranch in our taxi, Mrs Z and I played a game wherein we traded names aloud of the Hollywood elite who lived nearby and presumably patronized the ranch. In no order, we spoke the following:
Eric Idle, Jennifer Aniston, Alan Parsons, Gwynneth Paltrow (she and another A-list mother both had sons go off to college and just sold their now-empty nests), Katy Perry, Dick Wolfe, Carol Burnett (age 96), Harry & Meagan, Dennis Miller, Patrick Stewart, Rob Lowe, Oprah, Kevin Costner, (Ellen Degeneres and John Cleese both left recently) also possibly Steve Martin and Martin Short. The latter two were shown in a recent doc re-visiting Martin's film location-site triumphs plus cycling to Cleese's former horse ranch.
Someone's child was also having a birthday celebration at the ranch that same evening. A separate room held kids games and such.
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Tea for two on a sunny afternoon. The atmosphere was not as stuffy as we'd feared.
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There were only three parties celebrating that afternoon. The group of six nearest us had to sit through one of their party holding court non-stop. In that time, that person detailed their recent operation in such excruciating detail that we came 'this close' to asking for a different table.
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The food and drink were good. The service was better.
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Part of the allure was the ranch's lovely grounds. The gardens were impressive and the decor included fountains, sitting nooks, old trees, metal tortoises and wooden carvings. Without prompt, one staffer informed us that the best photo op views were 'up by the pool area'. Unfortunately, his tip came too late as our return taxi was already en route.
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Lily pond.
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Most of the decor was tasteful.
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This seating area below a pergola seemed like it would be a great place to chill at night with candles and wine.
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The ranch was where JFK and Jacky had their honeymoon. You can well imagine the current prices to stay in one of the many lovely cottages. Those had some of the most attractive in-ground Jacuzzis that you'll ever see.
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*unrelated macdog: I can't ID this shot---might you know what it is? It was downtown.
Next: more music then more gardens

Fun report. You might want to ask the moderators to tag this a Trip Report ✈︎

So gardens. Santa Barbara got its nickname 'The American Riviera' for its microclimate, its architecture and probably also for its wonderful gardens. The whole town was replete with petals and fragrances, with many a private home part of that friendly competition. Not every day that we see a front lawn with a banana tree! There are 24,000 trees in SB including private homes. It seems that almost none of them were native. Also, there exists over 160 organic farms plus at least 100 agricultural commodities. And this past February, there 2 (two) curious Canucks who reveled in the floral wonders even after one of their fave football teams got crushed in the Super Bowl and the President made silly remarks about annexing their nation.
First, we'll show the SB Botanic Garden.
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(From Lonely Planet) 'Sprawled across 78 hillside acres with panoramic coastal views, this is part garden and part hiking wonderland.' Above is the uber-modern Pritzlaff Conservation Center (washrooms), with its carefully-placed outdoor seating. Nearby were the first of many attractive boulders we'd see at such gardens: Mother Nature as art gallery. Note that there are occasion 'Free Seniors' days. That does not mean that you get to take an elderly woman home, rather it means there is no fee.
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That same center housed a cool display made by grade 8 Art students from La Colina Jr. High. Those kids painted an assortment of unique seeds. Above we see one such example. Those same students also created a seed quilt with local artist Rosie Brand. About 1,300 seeds species are stored here (20% are from California) while a half-million are produced each year. The garden has 216 Native plants including grasses. Those are fed by 180, 000 gallons of agua collected in various tanks and channels.
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There are 23 scientists on staff. They tend to 50,000 lichen, 50 different manzanitas, and other plants from desserts, chapparal and arroyo. They told us that the best views are from the Porter hiking Trail and also the new Tipton trail. We already knew that from reading their great 'Ironwood' magazine. Above is Tom Turtle, a notorious curmudgeon. As we passed, he muttered, "YA CALL THAT MUSIC?!"
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The hushed Redwoods area had 30 GIANT Sequoias including the 50m General Sherman. They are currently suffering from a bark beetle infest (georgous harrisonicus). The massive rock outcrops nearby had names like Blakesly and Lassiter. The unique kids area had colorful art installations and laminated poetry among the open-air huts constructed from twigs and bark. A boy recently adopted from Mali delighted in showing us his colorful sparkle wand. A chess board was made atop a sawed-off trunk.
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There were tiny frogs and cicadas (Hi cigalechante) close by this succulent. Across the way were large 'dudlega', whose leaves reflected a lot of light. There was also an extremely impressive cut-sandstone model-map of the Channel islands, set amidst black pebbles and made by donator Hallie Silas. Another garden society member had donated a clever wooden bench that was by design, sandwiched between two varnished redwood slabs--see above.
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This is the classic and by now cliche view of the main meadow. California orange poppies filled the foreground. On Reddit the very next day, a German traveler posted a question with this same image that he'd found on the NET: "Is this Santa Barbara?"
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These glass objects were for sale in the garden's nursery/gift shop. We bought three packets of seeds there to take home as an experiment. Just as we were leaving, there commenced a Guided Tour for new members, which probably doubled as a social mixer for singles and other folks.

Now for Lotusland. Polish opera star Ganna Walska and her sixth husband bought this 37 acre site during WWII. She devoted the rest of her life to creating a magnificent private garden. Note that it stays closed each year til February. Prior to our entering, I trotted across the road to chat with the Principal of Cold Springs PS. who was then getting out of her car in the parking lot. She informed me how the Montecito fire department just down the street was still assisting stations from Carp, Summerland, Santa Barbara City (and county) plus Santa Maria, Lompoc, Vandenberg (Hi Elon) and Guadalupe in battling the fires nearby. Btw, we nicknamed our own landlady's incredible private garden 'Little Lotusland'.
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The Cito Fire Station. Brave folks. Respect. See their Fire Indicator on the far right. *Would you believe it: some of the thieves arrested for raiding homes in Pasadena during the height of the fires were wait for it...dressed as firefighters!
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The friendly garden greeter. His booth was surrounded by a variety of floral exotica. We were about to see cacti, orchards, topiary (bushes as animals), sphagnum moss bromeliads, , dragon trees, orchids, rare agave, rose parterre (out of season) and the famed 'shakkei' Japanese section. Daijobu!
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As stated before, 'beautiful' is a tired word used among travelers, But here, it seemed the only descriptor. After securing our self-guided tour stickers, we began our stroll at this calm location. A collection of bonsai plants with self-watering hoses lay behind that pagoda. Mrs Z spied a hyper-busy Anna's Hummingbird. We would later see it again, having a comical chat with a statue of Triton by his fountain.
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Karesansui is a Japanese garden design wherein raked sand combines with boulders and rocks to promote Zen meditation. One is supposed to focus on contemplating space, nature and the universe. Forest bathing is an off-shoot of that concept, and encourages strolling through wooded areas to unwind.
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A metal stork stood out. Close by, we heard owl hoots, doves and warblers. Bliss. Then crows started calling. We moved onto an area of mini-statuary, whimsical children's themes outnumbering the lions plus the Roman kind.
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Ganna Walska: 'I AM THE ENEMY OF AVERAGE!" This fountain of cascading clam shells in the aloe by the shallow, kidney-shaped pool seems to prove her point. There were also 400 species of endangered cycads, those palms that the dinosaurs once fed on. Her own residential house was deliberately made to be one-story--she was terrified of earthquakes. It is still there, a lovely salmon-colored place for conferences, surrounded by a massive cacti collection, , echinocereus, escolaria plus others.
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'In flowered fields, the mind delights.' (B. Nietvelt)
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Beside that dogwood, this backlit beauty, with the sound of bees somewhere nearby. Someone had placed a lovely white flower in the lap of the Buddha statue. We also saw ferns near the lotuses and lily pond.
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Even the gift shop featured excellence.
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We kept bumping into one particular friendly and jean-clad blonde woman here and there. It was only afterwards that I recognized her photo in the brochure as the Garden manager. In this area, one finds some large chunks of colored glass strewn artfully-about.
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Pretty purple.
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Photosynthetically
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Animal topiary.
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A shy exotic.
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Never trust anyone who dislikes gardens.
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Pelican on left: "Christ! How many more fotos is this 'Zeebek' guy gonna' show?!" Pelican on right: "Well, there's still the Mission and the Courthouse and..."
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"Nooooo!"

Sorry, just did our Bay Area back to SB drive and just got home. That’s an office building that used to be a church that is across the street from the Meridian studios. There’s a lovely hidden garden back there with small stone elephants spouting water into a fountain. Used to be a favorite walk with my goldendoodle Rosie. Also down the street from meridian studios is the small but mighty SB Historical museum that also has a beautiful courtyard out back. We’re back to a slight bit of June gloom but still lovely 70 degree temps. Our bougainvillea is going absolutely crazy right now…
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Love this and and all the photos, as usual! My maternal grandparents reside in the Santa Barbara Cemetery. We went there to visit a couple of years ago -- first time back since 1986 -- and enjoyed a few hours in the city proper. Far less than you, but hopefully we'll go back at some point. You're making it tempting.

Recommended book: Island of the Blue Dolphins.

Recommended movie: Island of the Blue Dolphins.

Trip Report flag added.

Great report, zebec!

Merci AT et aussi MsGo. Where is you both is going next?
So History. Here's the potted version. The Chumash first nations people lived here for many years prior to the arrival of Europeans. In 1782 SB was established as a Spanish presidio. Soon after came an era of hide & tallow industry. By the late 1800s, SB had developed a tourism industry thanks to the Southern Pacific railroad. The eastern elite escaped unpleasant winters back home, to enjoy the central coast here. Eventually, SB became a favored second-home to Hollywood A-listers. Then despite petitions and a crowd-sourcing campaign designed to prevent their arrival, a pair of quirky Canadians came in 2025 to lower the tone and cause general mischief.
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A Chumash basket. Some 11,000 years before the white man, indigenous people used shell bead money from the Channel islands to trade with numerous other hamlets spread throughout what is now Santa Barbara county.
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The Chumash hamlet of 'Syuxtun ('where the trail divides the village') once had 500 inhabitants. Today, visitors find a related 20' sidewalk-story circle down on Cabrillo, the main E-W drag by the beaches. Comprised of 210,000 tiles (we counted them all), the display was created by 230 associated church members.
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Self-explanatory.
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The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is part of what I feel is an essential nexus during any visit: the marina. One may tour the museum and use the adjoined public washrooms, one may take-away coffee from Dart (yes yes yes), one can shop at either the permanent Fish Market or the aforementioned weekly one; there are water tours, restaurants, the old Purisima diving bell and West Beach itself. Not to mention the walk to the end of the pier and its surfers. *above: a historic masthead at the museum.
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Friendly Anna and Daniel are two of the ticket people at the museum. Senior's discounts are available. maybe start by taking the lift up to the 4th floor for the great view. The tiny Tourism Office outpost up there was also showing a live feed of that eagle mother atop her nest. Displays included all manner of oceanic stuff. there is a kids section. *above: the 19C, French-built prismatic dome that used to be the lens of the Point Conception Lighthouse. At 12' high, it is impossible to miss.
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From this 1850s stagecoach to the current speedy 'Sky High' helicopter transfer service. That red copter undermined the peaceful atmosphere of West Beach on a daily basis. *But not so much as the disturbed young man who one day drove his LOUD motorbike maniacally back and forth the southernmost section of Bath street for 25 minutes non-stop. Pure aural torture. Why did no-one call the cops on that son-of-a-beach?!
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A historic mural located by the Post office in the eastern section of Santa Barbara known as Summerland.
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The Queen of all the California Missions. Probably Santa Barbara's most well-known attraction. The museum section offers a wide range of religious, historic and indigenous artifacts. We saw one room that was filled with the art created by young folks. The tiles that they'd just hand-painted depicted a variety of wildlife.
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The Mission's interior courtyard was reached through the church. It's Moreton fig tree has a twin by the Amtrak station (our rental was nearby). A matching courtyard (the 'huerta' sacred garden) on the other side of the church was just as relaxing. *wifi=OMSB Guest
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That courtyard at the Mission doubled as a historic cemetery and mausoleum. Franciscan monks now lay there. What might a time-traveler experience? From loooong voyages during the age of sail across turbulent oceans, from cannons and horses, to statehood, cars, atomic bombs, flush toilets, Jimi Hendrix, smart phones and deadly drones...
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This is the Santa Barbara County Courthouse, built in 1929 and current site of countless weddings in its historic main mural room. Seen here is its 85' El Mirador clock tower. Many movie scenes have been shot on that tower's open deck, because expansive views extend in every direction. There are labelled plaques indicating what you are looking at: La Cumbre Peak (3990'), Montecito (3212'), 1st Methodist Church, Figueroa Gallery, former County Jail with sunken garden *Tower closes early at 4:00.
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Poster magsrose: do you recognize this seemingly-deserted location? Of course you do and we want to thank you for the photo op tip. It was quiet as a mouse on the day that we visited, even with yet-another wedding occurring just below on the first floor.
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Still in use apparently. Now if only they could drag a certain rogue president in here for his day in court...'They all seem like game show hosts to me.' (Sting-- 'If I Ever Lose My Faith In You')
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There is a palace feel throughout the Courthouse, as though one is visiting say, somewhere in Andalucia. True story: some macho Mexican father visiting with his family and all dressed to the nines, seemed to want to contest me with his own whistling. As a former musician (my first career), I have an unconscious habit of whistling whenever so inspired. Here, we noticed that every time I whistled a spontaneous melody, that dad would immediately competitively produce his own counter-offering!
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After the Battle of the Whistles was over (I won, with patience), we then retraced our steps to more closely observe some of the many museum-quality lamps throughout the Courthouse. Lamp fans will love this four-building complex.
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Back at the Maritime Museum, we also saw some remarkable historic newspapers including a local one from 1853 (Winfield Scott and all that). This headline will lead us perfectly into our brief Summerland bit. But first, more music.

My personal favorite tourist spot is the courthouse. The tile work and painted coffered ceilings, beautiful mural in the courtroom and stupendous views win out every time when I have out of town visitors. The American institute of Architects have voted it the most beautiful building in America and I agree. I haven’t been to the mission in years although the big rose garden and lawn area is a popular spot for families and tourists and we have picnicked there for the first night of Fiesta and watched performances on the mission steps. This month is the 100th anniversary of the SB earthquake which destroyed parts of the mission and a big percentage of downtown. The prevailing architecture was wooden Victorian pre earthquake and it was decided to rebuild in Spanish Mediterranean. A good decision. So far we’ve just had fires and mudslides in the last 20-30 years but hopefully with the much more strict building codes of today another big earthquake would not do the same kind of damage.

OK, so finally we have found an alternate version of the intended song above in #30/31. Ironically, it is a killer live version maybe even better than the studio version, whose meaning I trust will be obvious. We used to do a few of their numbers in our band. Enjoy.

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Breakfast in America. The Summerland Beach cafe is a fun, old-school family place. We went there early one morn, after seeing the sunrise. Shown here are its famed list of historic 'Etiquette Rules' beside its fly-hunting frog.
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Summerland has a remarkable row of competing outside/garden decor shops. So pointedly visual. Oprah and Meagan were both recently present at the opening of one new store in that same area: 'Godmother'. There is also a Parrot sanctuary along the way. The TV show 'American Pickers' had a recent episode highlighting an old surf legend Hank and his collection of antiques: surfboards and relics from the age of oil and gasoline.
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A most unique place signals the very far eastern edge of Summerland: Sacred Space. This Asian-influenced shop is a veritable oasis.
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It offers related interior decor items for sale plus workshops on spiritual matters (e.g. soulful drumming). They were closed during our visit otherwise we may have bought candles.
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Incontestably, this was the most unexpected shop in all of SB. OK, maybe tied with the axe-throwing (no joke) active funhouse in the main drag of State Street! Next: we are nearing the end, so let's go for some water tours.

What a great report. You take wonderful photos.

Merci janisj et aussi Paq. Have a great Brittany trip. YouTube dun bin vexing me lately above. Je ne comprehend pas. Maybe there's some limit or...? Anyway the Water Tours.
Of course, in a touristed marina with over 100 small-boat fishermen (plus the option to be buried at sea) there is an assortment of water-based tours. The humpback season had just begun when we arrived, but we passed due to potential sea-sickness. We opted for a brief ride on Lil Toot plus the Land Shark. Both were a ton of fun. No sea-sick sailors.

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The marina was a great place to visit at any time of day. There were notices asking for witnesses...to recent boat accidents. Not something one sees every day.
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Some of the stylish houseboats were for sale. Got $2.5M? Then this above beauty is yours.
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One of the whale cruise companies, located by Chrissy's Cove on the far reaches of the marina.
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Milo was the Captain who piloted the bright yellow 'Lil Toot' tugboat. Dig those muscular legs.
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Young Noah from Hawaii was his assistant. Both ensured that we had a great time on the brief cruise. From Lil Toot, one could see the Saturday Arts & Crafts Market happening at Chase Palm Park.
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Maddy was the outstanding guide on the award-winning, half-amphibious 'Land Shark'. She certainly knew how to make a splash during that 90 min tour. Her hilarious narration ('Our driver Mike trained under the pilot of the Exxon Valdez'), her popularity in town including spontaneous applause from groups of local passerby and her good cheer gave all of us in that packed vehicle a good time. We began on land, passing right by our rental btw, then went right into the sea! Maddy plays trombone too.
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On both water tours, harbor seals and sea lions were easy to approach, both on landing platforms or piled atop more distant buoys.
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Bebe
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In addition to water tours, there were plenty of other activities.
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There was also a regatta. At that same location by the end of the pier, we had a nice chat with a former surfer, now a family man with kids in tow. He loudly encouraged a group of adolescent surfers, plus their surfing dads, as all they took advantage of local swells. He used language and abstract sounds that we'd never heard before. Do surfers have their own lingo?
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This kid reminded me of our Blue Jays baseball star Beau Bichette!
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Who was a tourist and who was a local was not always clear.
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This is the iconic 'Boy Riding a Seahorse' sculpture.
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Every time that we passed, this boat owner had different friends/family assisting his work in prepping the boat for the upcoming season.
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A ukelele group gathered in the marina too.
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The Harbor Patrol and other nearby businesses employed a lot of sophisticated machinery to keep the boats going.
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This fishing boat's owner took his 10 yr old daughter with him out to sea one morn. She looked very keen to get going.
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Mom gave me permission.
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These locals agreed. Steve and Janelle Holland chatted with Mrs Z and myself. And what a coincidence. Steve is a noted sports portrait artist who had an upcoming gallery show at LISS Gallery in Toronto! That gallery is beside the funky-boho Yorkville (our old answer to Haight-Ashbury) neighborhood gallery where my mom once began her own painting career back in the early sixties. Again, what were the odds?
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Funny how social situations can sometimes unfold. This stranger (upper right) approached us as though he knew us and basically insisted that we take this shot of his seated family. It was all very sudden and done good-naturedly, but Mrs Z whispered to me once we were out of earshot: "Did we know that guy?'
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Katy Perry, Dick Wolf and Kevin Costner are but three of the famed folks whose boats have a berth right there.
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This marina exceeded our expectations as a cool place to be.

DIDJA' KNOW?

Best local female surfer: Shaya Alexander from Carpinteria won the Pt. Rincon Annual Classic while we were in SB. Some graphics expert wit added a very realistic shark fin to a shot of her doing her thing atop one wave!

best bird name (deliberate small case): 'zunzuncito' (bee hummingbird): the world's smallest bird; apparently found in the area.

Oft-mispronounced words:
a) Lompoc--a small town pron. 'lawm-poke' (see later Amtrak ride)
b) guerra--the 'u' is silent.


Various and Sundry STATS & FACTS:

Largest local Employer: UCSB (12,000 employees)
Goleta: THE global leader in infra-red technology
Carp(interia): home to Linked-in

SB pop. = 88,000 (down four thousand in recent years as people fled the high-cost of living)
Educational attainment:
Ten per cent of Goleta's residents have less than gr 9 vs the SB County average of 12%.
Goleta ties SB for the highest rate of Graduate degrees at 21& of their population.
About 30% of the residents of Carp, Goleta and SB have Bachelor degrees.

Real Estate Values (median):
SB $2.6 M; Carp $4.1M; Goleta $1.6M; south coast $2.6M
SB has less than 1% Industrial real estate vacant vs Carp which has 30%.

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(voice of Mike) "Now this is what's going to happen. My employer has a task for you while you are in SB. A plain box labelled for the 'Fishful Thinking' wholesale company will arrive without warning at your front step after midnight. You will NOT open it nor look inside. Deliver that box to the address on the label and look for a bald man wearing glasses to give it to." Jonathan Banks has dined at the wonderful Via Maestra Italian restaurant by Loreto Plaza. Unpretentious and reasonably-priced.

Yo Fodorite/FBer Marco Farrell,
I've been banned from Facebook for several years now, ever since confronting them for allowing maga nonsense. Just noticed that our TR here seems to have a posting on FB. Might you please somehow post that here? I am curious about that.
merci Marco!
I am done. The end.

Love Santa Barbara. It's history is very interesting. the downtown of Santa Barbara suffered catastrophic damage during the earthquake of 1925. The whole downtown had to be reconstructed. This completely changed the character of the city center. Before the earthquake, the buildings were built in the moorish revival style. After the earthquake, the buildings were built with Spanish revival style.

Time to wrap up this lengthy TR. We'll start by acknowledging the passing of Cali icon Brian Wilson. Few rockstars captured the feel of their home turf in their songs as he once did. Respect. Secondly, below are the answers to the Traditional Quiz @#8. Then, we'll conclude with some Jeff Shelton houses, our rental and of course, the pair of daytrips with friends old and new: Carpinteria and wine country (Sta Maria).

QUIZ ANSWERS
1) Carol Burnett.
2) El Segundo.
3) Carpinteria.
4) Alma Ayon (see upcoming wine country section).
5) St. Ynez.
6) zeebekia.
7) Hootie and the Blowfish.
8) *answered already.
9) The Graduate plus Island of the Blue Dolphins.
10) **correctly answered by macdogmom: his brother.

Bonus: 'Rooster & Pig': during WWII, sailors wore this this tattoo to prevent drowning; when rooster and pigs were boarded on boats, they were put in crates that floated and subsequently, often ended up the sole survivors of wrecks.
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Local architect hero Jeff Shelton is known for his whimsical style, a sort of Dr. Seuss meets 'alternate adobe'. Seen here is his 2002 Pistachio House. We met the pair of Carolina couples who'd rented it. They actually offered us an interior tour, but we passed out of discretion.
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It seems that washroom-placement had been an issue with those renters. They'd expected to find one toilet per floor.
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A more distant view, from D'Angelo bakery. We came close to renting one of Shelton's other properties. My wife and I had looked into the one currently owned by a woman from Maine, plus the larger one with a jacuzzi atop.
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Nearby was Shelton's 2006 Ablitt House. We went to see it a few times. Beautiful buildings always hit our travelling G-spot.
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Ablitt House had its own colorful nameplate-plaque thanking the builder plus the various municipal politicians who'd OK-ed the original construction. 'Original' indeed! Soooo unique. He also did the nearby El Andaluz hotel in 2009.
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Shelton created about a dozen special homes throughout SB and they are a must for fans of unique architecture. His site offers a map, but pay close attention: its directions are not 100% accurate.
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Attention to detail.
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El Zapato house was another masterpiece.
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Shutterbug heaven, these extraordinary buildings.
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Passing motorists were intrigued by our shooting the opposite side of the street until they noticed the source of our focus.
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The Cota street studios. Shelton's Green House was around the corner. The latter's exterior was covered with the donated paintings of dozens of local artists, each depicting some aspect of Central Coast culture.
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Our rental 'Harborfront Cottage' was in a great location just a few blocks from the waterfront. That West Beach neighborhood offers the self-catering traveler a lot. We are happy tp provide contact info for the landlady, who lives below.
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From our lovely covered deck, there was a perfect view of our landlady's extraordinary private garden. Various palms, a special fountain and six citrus varieties were spread throughout. And more.
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We had a comfortable stay for that entire February. The owl hoots were free.
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The nearby streets held some attractive upscale homes.
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All those homes were in a tsunami warning area.
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This seemed like it was a tiny enclave of private properties, each one a gem.
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A nearby hospital of some sort.
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The old Eagle Inn was a mere one block south. Its young night watchman nearly scared me into a cardiac event, when he suddenly commented aloud on my nocturnal photography: I'd been shooting their exterior green-glass historical lamps. But I'd not realized that he was standing a few yards from me! There were also a bunch of motels along that same block.
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Slightly further afield was the Funk Zone.
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Of course, seafood themes abounded.
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Yet-anther seafood restaurant vying for the tourist trade.
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Shoppers will love SB.
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The tilework was among the best we'd ever seen.
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Pretty sure that this was the cleverly-named Hotel California. A busload of young women wearing matching outfits left their lodgings there to pile into a private bus one morn. That hotel was ringed by a palm grove and contained a courtyard.
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Santa Barbara got style.
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as above
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as above above
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The childrens MOXI museum.
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State Street had a controversial newish pedestrian stretch. Live bar bands played each night. Nearby were a pair of competing Chinese massage businesses. One offered a unique Mandarin-English translated chart with phrases like: 'Don't touch me there' and 'Can you please press harder?' and like that. Outstanding value was offered in both businesses, literally a fraction of what one would pay for a SB spa massage.
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Trees everywhere across this lovely town.
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Pelican announces upcoming music shows: Tower of Power, Wynton Marsalis, Michael MacDonald, James Taylor, Ottmat Liebart, Sheku the cellist, Rickie Lee Jones, Kayhan Kalhor, Alan Parsons, Toad the Wet Sprocket (locals), Canned Heat, Yo Yo Ma and Goo Goo Dolls.
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Next: the finale with Wine country plus Carp.

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We took Amtrak up to Sta Maria in wine country. Above, the SB station. The local lady Sherriff had posted a notice in the window notifying everyone that she was authorized to remove anyone who threatened the peace--the area was a hub for the homeless.
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Both going up the coast and afterwards returning down, we passed Space X. We learned from a young mom and her space enthusiast little son that a long-awaited launch was about to happen in about four hours time. Overly LOUD sonic booms from launches have caused some SB residents undue alarm. *shot taken from speeding train
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In 1782, the first grapevine cuttings were planted at the Mission. The county's first post-Prohibition commercial winery was started in '62 by a young cheese shop owner named Pierre Lafond. Later, the 2004 film 'Sideways' highly publicized Santa Barbara viticulture. Nowadays, there are 13,500 acres of wine grapes harvested annually, valued around $97 million. Over 75 grape varieties are used by 350 wineries. Economic impact: $1.7 billion.
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My childhood friend Neil and I arranged to meet up in Sta Maria. He and his new wife Alma came down from Paso Robles to rendezvous halfway with my wife and I. Then we all drove to the nearby Presquile winery owned by their friend Joe. The coastal San Rafael and Santa Ynez mountain ranges run east-west. That funnels cool Pacific air and fog to make a great micro-climate for growing Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The cooler west edge of the area favors Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
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L-R: Alma holds rescue dog Truffles, Neil, myself (Zebec) and Mrs Z. Hummingbirds and buzzards flew nearby. Mrs Z noted the irony en route, when Neil's car radio played Rush's 'Tom Sawyer', a song sure to remind both he and I of our rockin' youths once upon a time back in Toronto. Alma still does catering and such as a Cordon Bleu chef. *Note to Neil: 'Old friend, the more that you eat, the harder you are to kidnap.'
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Alma had actually once worked as chef at Presquile. Above was the fantastic meal that we all shared while tasting great wines there at the stylish winery. The ingredients were grown in the winery's private garden. The spread was prepared by a younger chef returned from mat leave. It was served by attentive Tom, a witty former lawyer from out east.
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Presquile manager Shannon oversees this outdoor performance area at the winery. The neighboring winery in that romantic rural area was Bien Nacido. We had a great time thanks to our old-and-new friends. The Amtrak that took us home departed from the pink-painted Guadelupe station.
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Mrs Z and I were in Carpinteria (Carp) hoping to renew our membership cards at the Mensa Society, when we chanced across a pair of local vagrants collapsed on the steps of Fieldings Cannabis Dispensary. They appeared to have dognapped someone's young Corgi. We felt sorry for them and took them all for a meal.
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Yes, its the one and only 'maitaitom' and his better half Tracy! L-R: Tom, Zebec, Mrs Z, Tracy holding Garbo. We always welcome the opportunity to meet new friends. Sharing a quiet meal at Teddys under a shady awning was a superb idea. We heard their sobering Pasadena/Altadena fire tales. Tom kept bugging me to sell him my Leif Garrett autograph. Be sure to see their recent TR: Paris, Strasbourg, Belgium. See also his music blog.
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Carp facts: the local family beach is regarded as the safest around; an idiot tourist recently broke the 'keep yer distance' rule at the Seal Rookery and scared all the animals into the ocean; long-time Robataille (NHL fame) Candy shop has closed permanently; the Linden street market may finally soon launch; the old, highly-rated airport was once used by Amelia Earhart & Howard Hughes; commuter traffic concerns; real estate is much pricier than SB (?); few shops-residents must shop elsewhere.