We conducted our annual “after Christmas” shopping spree this week, by taking the Amtrak train to Santa Barbara for four nights. It’s Charlie’s chance to buy the things that she really wants, and to relax, just a bit, before the dreaded “tax season” begins.
We love Santa Barbara, as do a lot of Californians. Nice climate, beautiful mountains, the ocean, and red tile roofs.
Lots of bars, restaurants, shops, and college kids roaming up and down State Street. Some poster, tee shirt and head shops, too.
We rode up from Oceanside on Dec. 28th in the Business Class car. Very relaxing. Had a chance to re-read one of my favorite books: The God Delusion, while Charlie read a book on her Kindle.
When we got to Santa Barbara in the afternoon, we had a drink and some nachos at “Baja Sharkeez”, did some minor shopping, and then went to the movies.
We saw “La La Land”, which is a musical. Normally, I’m pretty put off by musicals, but this one was good. The cinematography and set design was exceptional, especially in the opening scenes, when there was an ad-hoc dance party atop a freeway flyover in downtown Los Angeles. Pretty cool. I suspect that this film will do well at Golden Globes and the Oscars.
The next day we did some serious shopping on State Street. It is the main commercial street in Santa Barbara and runs essentially from the Pacific Ocean uphill about three-quarters of a mile toward the coastal mountains. The lower end of the street is populated with bars and dives of all stripes, and is very popular with the local college kids. Did I mention that there were a lot of bars?
There’s one hotel on State Street, the Hotel Santa Barbara, and that’s where we always stay. It’s 90-years old and located right at the corner where the bars and dives neighborhood turns into the upscale retail area.
From the hotel, it is a couple of blocks uphill to Macys, Nordstroms, and the like. Uphill of that on State Street you come to some higher up stores like Saks and such. There’s some street art, too.
The four-lane boulevard is nicely-landscaped with trees and lights, and is a very cool place just to walk and people-watch. Many of the buildings were built in the 30’s and 40’s.
We donated $5.00 to the local art museum so that Charlie could use their toilet. The art was so-so. I liked this one.
Santa Barbara is very dog-friendly, so you will run into many people strolling with their dog. There are college-age bums lounging about, as well, mixed-in with the yuppies that are actually contributing something to the economy. It’s all good, everyone is friendly.
If you are not familiar with California, you might not know that the really rich and famous people don’t live in Hollywood, or San Diego, or San Francisco, but…in the Santa Barbara area. The creme de la creme, the upper crust, the folks who have pretentious mansions with large estates looking out onto the beautiful Pacific Ocean. We’re talking the Oprah’s, the Bill Gates’, Ellen and Portia, and…all the old money. (Santa Barbara is where the elite conduct the week-long Los Rancheros Vistadores horse “ride” every year. It is the most exclusive equestrian group in the United States, for sure, including 150 multi-millionaires and famous folks. Getting to participate in this event is like being asked to become a member of Augusta National Golf Club. Walt Disney, Clark Gable, Ronald Reagan, etc., are alumni. A good friend of mine, the guy who taught me how to ride, and who stabled my quarterhorse “Louie” in La Cresta, is a current member. Although he is very rich, the freak way that he got in was that one of the “camps” needed a good horseman, and Ed Metzler was maybe the best in Southern California at the time.)
But, I digress…
Anyway, the gobs of money up here…means that the women’s clothing at some of the finer second-hand/consignment shops is excellent. Lots of Gucci, Versace, etc. I always take Charlie to several of these shops, among which “Renaissance” is the best. If you need a mink coat that has only been worn once, this is your place. (Charlie didn’t buy one.)
We saw all of the shops in our several days here. The only thing limiting us was our two suitcases that we brought on the train; we’d have to pack everything back into them, right? I’m no dummy. Yeah, it costs a few bucks to come up on the train, but you save so much by not being able to fill your car with purchases.
On our final day in town (Dec. 31st), it rained a bit, so we enjoyed it by getting a pedicure…
having a nice lunch at Joe’s Bar…
which featured the “upside down Christmas tree” (the way Christians originally used such trees to celebrate Christmas, by the way)…
and, relaxing in our hotel reading a bit.
That night, New Year’s Eve, we had a nice dinner at “Cadiz”, which specializes in tapas and Spanish dishes.
We shared the Scallops and Meatball tapas…
and I enjoyed my Ribeye steak…
All in all, a very good meal!
We rode back to Oceanside on New Year’s Day and, on the way home, stopped in Temecula at Claudia’s house to visit and take everyone (including Ted and my Mom) out to dinner. We all ate well!
What a nice holiday weekend!