It's probably safe to say that I've visited Santa Barbara every year for the last 20 years of my life, many years with multiple visits. Since my Grandfather sold his home in Ventura last November, I figured making the visit would become few and far between. Luckily this last girls trip to the central coast offered a jaunt to this beautiful place.
I appreciated this visit a whole lot more, because I don't know when I'll be able to visit again. It might be years, which will be weird, honestly. We visited many of our favorite places.
The Paseo Nuevo outdoor mall. And a little ways down State Street is a silver store we always visit, which offers good prices. It's always fun to see what treasures can be gleaned.
The Dolphins are Blue!
We ate at the Breakwater restaurant, more for sentimental sake. There's a lot of restaurants in that area I've wanted to try! But my Grandfather is a creature of habit, and he ate there because his dog, Ginger, could join us on the patio. I got the Salmon meal, which was yummy as always. Unfortunately my Mom, Aunt, and Grandmother didn't have as great an experience with their food, which isn't typical for this place.
I have so many fond memories of the marina.
Seeing this bridge makes me want to run down it and visit the boats. I miss visiting my Grandpa's boat, which was sold a couple years ago. If you want a great nights sleep, I recommend sleeping on a boat. The gentle roll of the ocean is so soothing.
True story: When I was 14 I had jaw surgery and was sewn shut for 9 1/2 weeks, having to carry wire cutters with me in case I started throwing up or some other case of emergency. To this day my Mom can't believe she let me go sailing. As we would do back then, we took the boat on a short ride around an oil rig and back. On the way there I was fine, but then started getting sea sick, so I went below to take a nap, which was really rocky. Thankfully nothing bad happened, but I don't like to imagine if something had. BTW: When I was sewn shut it's interesting that I discovered eating to be something I quickly stopping craving. I forgot what food taste like. It was singing, not being able to sing, that was the hardest.
A beautiful sunset at the marina.
This is how I want to remember Santa Barbara.
