Hi all. Just got back. Had a splendid time.

We left Sunday morning for SB. Head up to the 101. Made it in record time. Drove up State Street and checked out all of the shops and restaurants, with college bound daughter, mind you. She was taking notes.

Checked into the Sandman. Cute Motel. They gave us a good rate and a very nice room by the pool that had a sliding door and patio. Not many rooms have this, apparantly. The Sandman was way up State St. and it was very quiet, which we liked.

We did research for where to eat. Went to State and Figauroa and parked the car and walked down to poke around in some of those shops. It was either cheap stuff of very expensive stuff. But they had quite a bit. Saks. Nordstroms. Boutiques. Sur La Table. Lots of good cafes where you could read the menu.

Walked down to the Wharf(pier?) and had a drink at Moby Dick, some chips and salsa, guacamole. Very good. Nice view. Still had not decided on where to eat.

Walked up State to check out a few places. Tried to take the trolley but it wasn't coming. We walked a bit and caught it up the street. Finally settled on Pallazio's, a family style Italian. It worked for us. The angel hair Pomodoro and ceasar salad was great. The house wine was aweful, so we ordered a bottle. Good rolls. Nice service. Went back to the hotel and turned in early.

Got up early to go to the campus. Had a pretty good continental breakfast; muffins, bagels, cream cheese, cereal, toast, juice, fairly nice selection. The air was very cool and fresh in the morning.

Survived first day of orientation, and we must have walked about 3 miles between the tour and getting to the next seminar. We ate at the dorm on campus and it wasn't bad, just incredibly crowded.

DH and I ate dinner at ____, will have to come back and fill that in. Very good seafood place down by the water. Looked expensive but our fish was under $20, which is not easy to find these days.

We checked out the town. Goleta and Santa Barbara. SB is a beautiful area, with lovely homes, and the weather must be the best anywhere. Guess that is why it is so expensive to visit.

More later on SM...

Took the 101 down to Oxnard. DH got confused and took an earlier turn off. Wagon Wheel Road. Well, this got us in to a detour, which was a big mess. We figured it out, eventually. If we had waited for Rice would have been a piece of cake. Oh well. Live and learn.

Hwy 1 down to SM was a great suggestion from Fodors. Crosscheck and rjw steered us in the right path. It was beautiful. Did hit traffic back up going into SM, but that was OK, we had the beautiful Pacific to look at. We got there in record time.

OK, we did not like Venice, our original destination. Or at least we didn't like the part where our hotel was, the BW. It was on Pacific Ave and 17th. Walking down to the boardwalk, well, it was, at that area, a little seedy. Vendors everywhere. We did find a place to eat, the only place to eat. It was fine for us at the time. We got back to our room before dark and all kind of felt glad that we did. Sorry rjw, it just wasn't our cup of tea.

Booked the Santa Monica BW for the next night. That was easily done by both hotels and only $20 more. We moved in the next morning. SM was very gracious to let us park at 10 am and store our luggage.

We head out for shopping. DH for lox and bagels at the Broadway Deli. Very good food there. So good, we went back for lunch. While eating, DH noticed a familiar face seated next to us. Turned out to be Tim Matheson talking the biz with an agent lady, maybe. It was quite fun. We didn't bother him. Couldn't wait to run back to our room to look up on the internet what all he had been in. He was just on the West Wing as a VP candidate and that was why he looked so familiar. OD was very impressed that he was in Animal House and couldn't wait to call her friend to tell her.

We struck out again for shopping. It wasn't real productive for us. But we had a good time on 3rd.

Met some friends at the Viceroy for drinks. Very beautiful, trendy spot. Then to Ocean for dinner. It was, as usual, incredible. Some of the best seafood anywhere.

Next day, checked out. We loved our stay at the BW in SM. Would stay here again. People were very nice. Our rooms were great. Except no queen beds, but I can deal with that, at times. Also very quiet.

Head out to Farmers Market on Fairfax. This was the first place I saw when coming to LA after college. You know, it hasn't changed a bit. We all picked what we wanted to eat. Great place. Low key. Reasonable. Great atmostphere.

Shopped a bit at the Grove and then headed out of town, going east. Amazing how conjested the traffic was around 11:30 in the morning. Bumper to bumper for about 45 minutes.

Thanks Fodorites for your suggestions. Hope this helps someone plan their future trip. Feel free to ask any questions you might have.

Will post back with the seafood restaurant in SB. Happy Trails.

My husband says it was the Fishouse. It is on the main street that runs parallel to the ocean. The street that the Fess Parker is on. Will look it up later, if you want to know. The restaurant was a real surprise. Very good food. Very nice ambiance and service. We were pleased.

Hi, do you remember the full name of that Best Western that you like in Santa Monica?

Yes, Best Western Ocean View on Ocean and Broadway. So, two blocks east and you are right there on 3rd for browsing, the mall, Broadway Deli, and a few blocks further is Fred Segal. We did finally go there bc of urging by a friend and we enjoyed looking around. We bought some graduation gifts and a housewarming gift, so we did a little damage.

The hotel had the two queens, nice lobby, skimpy but OK cont. breakfast, all for $179. Add $15 for parking. It was well worth it to us. We hardly ever pay those kinds of prices on hotels, but traveling to certain places, and to have the convenience of location, you have to do it during high season.

Heavens - Nice trip report. I know your daughter will love UCSB. Some of my daughter's friends go there and are very happy.

Just curious - are you from San Diego County? I think you might live fairly close to me because I remember you talking about the earthquake in Anza and saying you were south of Anza. I live in Fallbrook so we might be neighbors. Enjoy the 4th of July.

Hey Heavens, glad you had a good trip overall. Too bad about the BW Venice. The neighborhood doesn't bug me, but then again, I live in Long Beach, and I'm kind of immune to "seediness" now. If you venture up to SM again, I'm hearing really good things about the Huntley now that it's an independent property again.

How busy was the bar at the Viceroy? They've been trying to build it up as a Scene location, but the only people that I know go there frequently are young professionals who work here in downtown SM.

The number for the BW Santa Monica Ocean View is 310-458-4888.

There is also the Gateway Hotel in SM, but I don't recommend it unless you want a really cheap stay. It is on top of an IHOP which is convenient. But it is about seven blocks from anything...