aprillilacs

Santa Barbara is gorgeous, and to my mind less cloying than Carmel--that is, more space to move around, tourists less obvious. Lots of beautiful places in and around the city--Montecito and Ojai in particular. I lived in the area for several years and left only because it was too perfect and I needed to experience some hardship. Little did I know! I revisited a couple of years ago and loved it once again. It's a good place to turn around with your rental car and head back north...or drop the car and fly wherever from Santa Barbara airport.