We were up by 8 to find that Arlene had set breakfast out for us. This was a delicious array of cereals, pastries, croissants and fruit. Drinks were fresh coffee, tea and fresh Californian oranges picked from her neighbour's garden. Neither of us had ever tasted orange juice like it - naturally sweet, orangey and fresh. Exactly how it should be. Southern Californians probably drink this all the time and look at you sideways if you admit to drinking concentrate - that's what I like to think anyway.
We chatted to Arlene for an hour or two about her life and adventures until a friend of hers called Larry arrived to help Arlene in the garden. Larry was of similar indeterminate age as Arlene, tanned, healthy etc. Clearly southern Californian life suited them both. Larry was telling us that he'd been watching a flock of Pelicans and a pod of Dolphins having a 'feeding frenzy' (his words) as a school of sardines were gradually reduced in numbers. Time was getting on and we were looking to leave, so we said our goodbyes, got ready and drove to the bay that Larry had said that the event was happening to see if it was still going on - Larry said that he'd never seen anything like it in all the 30 years that he'd lived in Santa Barbara. Unfortunately the sardines had managed to escape or had all been eaten by the time we'd arrived, but we got to see Santa Barbara which was a lovely looking town, but what do you expect when the rich and famous have holiday homes there? Would definitely be worth another visit!
About 12.30 we set off again on Highway 1 to San Diego. We drove through Malibu (predicatably posh) and then unfortunately hit Los Angeles about 2-2.30. The traffic was appalling. It was a good 2 1/2 hours (and 1 Taco Bell stop) later that we finally saw the back of LA. Which was nice. The plus side to this was that we ended up on Sunset beach just as the sun was setting - there's a reason they call it that.
Night seems to fall more quickly than you may expect on the west coast; as we left Orange County it had started to get dark and we finally arrived at Rebecca's house in San Diego at 7pm. Another 6 1/2 hours of driving and 219 miles.
B did all the driving that day and by the time we'd disembarked, her body and brain were more scrambled than usual. (She's just hit me).
Rebecca arrived home at 7.30 and she was lovely and friendly. She lives in an area of San Diego called Ocean Beach, only a short walk to the beach itself - so no car needed!
We were starving, so were advised of good Mexican food at a place called 'Rancho's'. Lovely, fresh, healthy and tasty. Can't beat fresh Guac!
On the way home, we stopped by at a liquor store and B was pleasantly surprised to find that they had cider (of the local kind), called 'Angry Orchard'. Not too sure what to think about the connotations of that name. A slow meander back up to Rebecca's house due to food and sat chatting with her and her friend Ory until around 11. Great end to the day.
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Showing posts with label Santa Barbara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Santa Barbara. Show all posts
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
San Francisco - Santa Barbara - 15/1/13
Tuesday morning we were up early again so that we could check out of the Hostel, have breakfast in a cafe next door and pick our car up. It was a monster. I'd ordered a 'standard' SUV (Jeep Grand Cherokee or similar. Turned out to be a Chevrolet 'Tahoe LT' V8) so that we could travel in comfort (estimated distance ~4000 miles). It's one of those ones that require climbing into. That kind of size. It's bigger than a Mercedes SUV that we have in the UK. What is a 'full-size' SUV you may ask? I'm going to tell you anyway. Bloody gigantic. Roughly the size of a Mercedes Sprinter van, or Ford Transit. Enormous. Big enough so that we, in our frankly silly-size car, feel slightly intimidated.
We headed south around 10am out of SF with a minor detour due to one-way systems and, er, navigational hitches, headed for Highway 1 - the Pacific Coastal Highway. Weather was bright and sunny, if a little chilly, but as we got further south it warmed up to around 15-20 degrees.
Our view on the right whilst driving was the Pacific Ocean, on the left, National Parks consisting of forests, vertical cliff faces, ravines and awesome vista . Stunning. Better than stunning. Slightly frightening at times with sharp turns that clearly, if not taken, led to a couple of hundred feet straight down into the drink. Neither of us were sure how a piece of arnco might withstand a 2 tonne SUV impact. We stopped at a place called 'Big Sur' around 2pm for lunch. Burritos were chosen, and of American portions. Both of us managed to eat about half before being too full. Big Sur wasn't actually that large, as we soon left it and emerged onto the coastline again.
We arrived in Santa Barbara at Arlene's house (found via Air B'n'B, a great site for finding unusual places to stay) around 6.30pm, after travelling for 8 hours with a half hour break and had covered 361 miles. It was dark and Arlene's place was in the hills above the town and not trivial to find, stuck way up some winding lanes amongst millionaire's houses. All of Santa Barbara looked nice, wealthy, but these houses were a cut above, although Arlene's wasn't as she and her husband had moved here about 50 years ago when it was still quite a small place. Arlene was lovely, probably in her 70s, but didn't look it, fit as a fiddle with a house that was a treasure trove of things that she had collected over the years and enchanting & welcoming. We chatted to her for a while but, feeling hungry, headed out to the Enterprise Fish Company restaurant, recommended by Arlene. When we arrived, it turned out that they had a special on Lobsters for $29 (usually $50) - it was cooked to perfection, served with liquid garlic butter, shoestring fries and grilled vegetables. Frankly, awesome. No other words. I washed it down with Sierra Nevada ale, one of their dark ones, and was suitably tasty while B stuck with a cranberry juice that was, perhaps needless to say, one of the best she or I had ever tried. Still feeling that a small corner could be filled, pudding was a molten chocolate cake (recommended by the waiter - a hot sponge with melted dark chocolate in the centre), served with vanilla ice cream, strawberries and dusted with icing sugar. It sounds heavy, but was deliciously light. B says that she was in heaven.
Got back to Arlene's around 10.30; she was asleep and we flopped into bed completely shattered. It had been a long but fabulous (darling!) day of driving.
View SF to Santa Barbara in a larger map
We headed south around 10am out of SF with a minor detour due to one-way systems and, er, navigational hitches, headed for Highway 1 - the Pacific Coastal Highway. Weather was bright and sunny, if a little chilly, but as we got further south it warmed up to around 15-20 degrees.
Our view on the right whilst driving was the Pacific Ocean, on the left, National Parks consisting of forests, vertical cliff faces, ravines and awesome vista . Stunning. Better than stunning. Slightly frightening at times with sharp turns that clearly, if not taken, led to a couple of hundred feet straight down into the drink. Neither of us were sure how a piece of arnco might withstand a 2 tonne SUV impact. We stopped at a place called 'Big Sur' around 2pm for lunch. Burritos were chosen, and of American portions. Both of us managed to eat about half before being too full. Big Sur wasn't actually that large, as we soon left it and emerged onto the coastline again.
We arrived in Santa Barbara at Arlene's house (found via Air B'n'B, a great site for finding unusual places to stay) around 6.30pm, after travelling for 8 hours with a half hour break and had covered 361 miles. It was dark and Arlene's place was in the hills above the town and not trivial to find, stuck way up some winding lanes amongst millionaire's houses. All of Santa Barbara looked nice, wealthy, but these houses were a cut above, although Arlene's wasn't as she and her husband had moved here about 50 years ago when it was still quite a small place. Arlene was lovely, probably in her 70s, but didn't look it, fit as a fiddle with a house that was a treasure trove of things that she had collected over the years and enchanting & welcoming. We chatted to her for a while but, feeling hungry, headed out to the Enterprise Fish Company restaurant, recommended by Arlene. When we arrived, it turned out that they had a special on Lobsters for $29 (usually $50) - it was cooked to perfection, served with liquid garlic butter, shoestring fries and grilled vegetables. Frankly, awesome. No other words. I washed it down with Sierra Nevada ale, one of their dark ones, and was suitably tasty while B stuck with a cranberry juice that was, perhaps needless to say, one of the best she or I had ever tried. Still feeling that a small corner could be filled, pudding was a molten chocolate cake (recommended by the waiter - a hot sponge with melted dark chocolate in the centre), served with vanilla ice cream, strawberries and dusted with icing sugar. It sounds heavy, but was deliciously light. B says that she was in heaven.
Got back to Arlene's around 10.30; she was asleep and we flopped into bed completely shattered. It had been a long but fabulous (darling!) day of driving.
View SF to Santa Barbara in a larger map
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