I took this panorama picture from the parking lot. The gate is the edge of campus. To the right is the beach, and to the left are campus buildings. So awesome. Even at 10am, there were plenty of families and dogs already at the beach surfing and playing in the sand.
I thought this sign was rather funny. I don't think the little guy is going to make it.
We took a stroll along the beach after driving through campus a bit. The weather was so perfect, but the water was still freezing! Even in a wet suit, I'm not sure how all of those surfers could stand it.
After milling around there for a bit, we headed to downtown Santa Barbara. We visited the quaint little Stearns Warf. I thought it was the perfect blend of tourism and pier-ness. It wasn't quite as over the top as Santa Monica Pier near LA, but it definitely had more to offer than Berkeley's pier.
At the end of the pier they had wooden benches that you could sit on and gaze out at the water. It was so relaxing to have the sun on your face and a slight breeze to cool you off.
I thought this little pigeon was funny drinking out of the faucet. You can only somewhat tell from this picture, but there is no railing going along the edge of the pier. It you aren't careful, you could definitely fall right off the edge.
After our little walk down the pier, we grabbed a quick snack of more hummus on the beach while reading/sleeping and enjoying the weather. Again, SO RELAXING!
We finished up the day at Old Mission Santa Barbara. It was founded in the late 1700's by Spanish Franciscans. The church has been rebuilt and added on to since then, but it still holds a great deal of history. We decided to take the self guided tour through the grounds. It isn't the most elaborate tour, but the grounds are beautiful and the museum at the end is interesting.
Behind the church is a sweet little courtyard surrounded by facilities that are now used for retreats. On the other side is another side yard/cemetery. I loved the huge tree in the middle.
That night we opted for Mexican food to continue with the Spanish theme. We stopped at this delicious restaurant called Los Agaves and ate way too much.
The next day we set out back home, but not before visiting the Monarch Butterfly Grove in Pismo Beach. We had a difficult time finding the grove and had actually given up when we drove right past it trying to get back to the highway. Our pictures don't do a great job capturing the number of butterflies fluttering around, but there were tons of them! One of the volunteers there explained that the butterflies need to warm up a bit before they begin flying around (it was still sort of early in the day and only in the low 60's). By the time we left, there were tons flying around in the trees.
The coloring of the butterflies was so beautiful, and the orange and yellows of their wings really stood out against the green leaves of the trees.
Speaking of colors, I didn't expect to see so many fall colors driving along the coast. Even though it makes perfect sense, I didn't really expect to see the grape vines changing colors. The orange, reds, and yellows were so breathtaking. I have missed the leaves changing since we don't get too much of that out here, and these fields definitely made up for it.
Our last stop before getting back to Berkeley was the iconic (and very busy) In 'N Out for lunch. The food was delicious, as always. Yum!
Even though it was a quick road trip, Sam and I really enjoyed seeing a bit more of California. The drive was super easy, and it was fun to be able to just stop wherever we felt like it without having to worry about getting some place "on time". We still want to explore Big Sur and Monterey, but we are saving that for a weekend trip this spring. I also want to check out the tide pools at Moss Beach near Half Moon Bay, but the timing just didn't work out for us. So many more places to explore! I have to say, this state is definitely growing on me (though not too much- don't worry, moms!).
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