Santa Barbara

Road trip. I drove to Santa Barbara Friday afternoon for the weekend, as Nikela had a track meet (left my camera at the hotel that day). With 313 miles to cover, we carpooled, so I had a few extra kids too. Life is never dull. Traffic never ends. The California countryside never ceases to amaze me. Eventually, the urban gave way to the rural, and I watched cows grazing on lush hillsides. The orchards were budding. The vineyards were picturesque. The strawberries were growing.

My first glimpse of Santa Barbara was from my hotel courtyard. Admittedly, it did charm me. I love lilypads, and on the last morning a turtle greeted me on the dirt path, though he did pull his head in as I passed.



At dusk one evening, we paused at the beach...our first view of the ocean front city.



In the morning, the glistening water and warm sand looked so inviting.



The radiant sun was warm.



Though I can never resist a walk down the wharf, I have never seen such creative panhandling (take note San Francisco).




The temptation to try was too great, and soon I was handing out coins.



The famous city from the wharf. I loved the mountains hugging the city limits.



The creativity extends to the restuarants.



Working for "donations"



Silly girls.



Santa Barbara is truly a beautiful city.



The downtown is filled with adobe buildings and delightful shopping (just ask Kiahra).

It is almost too perfect to be true, thus my fascination with the panhandlers...the reminder that the world is not fair...and sometimes hard.