I don’t go that often (just gaze at it from my house) but when we walk we go to Miramar beach usually. My husband paddlesurfs at Butterfly, Hammonds and Miramar once or twice a week. Padaro lane is great.

As I said I’ve never been to the islands (get seasick) but have lots of friends that enjoy it.

That is my wife's problem too. Her vestibule system was severely damaged in an accident years ago. The scope patches help (she'll wear them on the plane) but then she gets all the side effects. So unlikely we'll visit the islands, but I'll add the link to the folder I'm making.

We are definitely into "you can't do it all" territory for a one week trip. But we'll do some of it!

We had a great trip to Santa Barbara. Eight nights and were nowhere near ready to come home. The climate is indeed to die for.

As expected Lotusland was beautiful, but the two hour tour made us wish we had the whole day there.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d3ae03f86a.jpg


The unexpectedly enjoyable stops were the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum and the SB Courthouse. We enjoyed the Courthouse even more than the Presidio or Mission. We lucked into a docent tour that was just starting and had only one other person.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...02bf51de2b.jpg


But by far our favorite, and the reason we came, was to just walk for miles on the beaches. Endlessly fascinating and enjoyable. It looks like I did sacrifice a pair of sneakers to the Tar Gods.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...63e31a1b37.jpg


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f9333084d9.jpg


Thanks again everyone for the info. We hope to return for a longer time, and Vancouver is still in the queue.

Glad you had a good trip. Weather has been really nice-some fog in the early morning and then burns off to a great 75 degree day. Yes, the courthouse has been voted by the American Institute of Architects as one of the most beautiful buildings in the country. I love the setting, the magnificent Spanish architecture, the interesting murals and the jaw dropping tile work. I’ve been to the stunning Alhambra and Alcazar but it also made me realize how fortunate it is to have such a beautiful building 10 minutes away. There is some interesting background inside the courthouse about its origins. City was basically all Victorian wooden buildings until a big earthquake and subsequent fire in in early 1920’s leveled downtown. City leaders decided to rebuild everything in Spanish style and thus it remains.

Thanks for reporting back. Which beach access did you use, if you remember? Looks great!

Of slight interest, perhaps, Napier New Zealand copied Santa Barbara after a quake in 1931 destroyed much of the town. It was rebuilt in Art Deco and a little bit of Spanish Mission Revival.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/trave...rld-180958081/

Great report. Glad you had a good time!

Macdogmom, yes the Courthouse is really a jewel. One is reminded of those magnificent Spanish sites. I’ll post a couple photos later.

mlgb, the beach in those photos was accessed from the Marine Science building at UCSB, and from the Ritz-Carlton Bacara. We were using Uber/Lyft from SB and those were easy destinations. We had a couple meals at the Ritz, since we were there. The Marine Science building has a reef exhibit open Friday & Saturday, but we were there on a Wednesday.

>Great report
Not sure I’d call it a report, but thanks!

Here's some photos of the Santa Barbara courthouse, really beautiful building and grounds.


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...71a5f66ed0.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0d1f24d2ee.jpg


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e09d729bd3.jpg


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...dc320c2626.jpg



We could easily see living in Santa Barbara, nice vibe, great climate, beautiful coast, nearby mountains (which we didn't explore), good beer, and wine. We even checked out this beachfront property.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...675ff46f82.jpg

See you in Santa Barbara!

Nelson, we'll sell you that beachfront property at a reduced price and even throw in some extra driftwood.
Glad that you two could spend time there. My late friend Peter's fave place on Earth. We've never been. Montecito is nearby, no?
I am done. the beaches

Thanks for the offer, zebec, but no need to purchase. There's plenty of driftwood down the beach, you can move in too. The HOA fees are very low.

A final picture, of a tourist on vacation.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6790f65a2b.jpg

Just south of Fort Bragg are https://www.gardenbythesea.org/

and for natural gardens there are the various fern canyons in several Redwood parks:

https://flic.kr/p/2jPNYwg

Montecito is southern tip of city of Santa Barbara. The town is unincorporated but main drag with most of its stores is part of the city (confusing). Anyway it’s 5 or ten minutes from downtown SB, so feels like one big area. Big estates combined with slightly more modest homes and beachfront condos. Lots of LA people end up buying second homes because of proximity to LA. Our prices skyrocketed during Covid because of people fleeing big cities and being able to work remote.