Quick Coastal Trip - Gardens & Beaches?
#41
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As I said I’ve never been to the islands (get seasick) but have lots of friends that enjoy it.
#42
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We are definitely into "you can't do it all" territory for a one week trip. But we'll do some of it!
#43
Original Poster
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.
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.
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.
Thanks again everyone for the info. We hope to return for a longer time, and Vancouver is still in the queue.
As expected Lotusland was beautiful, but the two hour tour made us wish we had the whole day there.
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.
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.
Thanks again everyone for the info. We hope to return for a longer time, and Vancouver is still in the queue.
#44
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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.
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.
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.
Thanks again everyone for the info. We hope to return for a longer time, and Vancouver is still in the queue.
As expected Lotusland was beautiful, but the two hour tour made us wish we had the whole day there.
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.
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.
Thanks again everyone for the info. We hope to return for a longer time, and Vancouver is still in the queue.
Last edited by macdogmom; Jul 17th, 2022 at 12:15 PM.
#45
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/
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/
Last edited by mlgb; Jul 17th, 2022 at 12:18 PM.
#47
Original Poster
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!
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!
#48
Original Poster
Here's some photos of the Santa Barbara courthouse, really beautiful building and grounds.
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.
See you in Santa Barbara!
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.
See you in Santa Barbara!
#49
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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
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
#50
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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.
A final picture, of a tourist on vacation.
Last edited by Nelson; Jul 18th, 2022 at 12:55 PM.
#51
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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
and for natural gardens there are the various fern canyons in several Redwood parks:
https://flic.kr/p/2jPNYwg
#52
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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.
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