The Santa Barbara, CA coast

When in Santa Barbara, be sure to take a champagne sunset cruise or whalewatching cruise. Don't miss the beautiful Santa Barbara Mission and Presidio for historical insights. For nature lovers, swing by the Museum of Natural history and the nearby botanical gardens. Finally, get some great shopping in at the United States' most beautiful downtown mainstreet - State Street. There are many more things to see and do. I'll try to cover them all in this journal.

Quick Tips:

Santa Barbara is a town of fashion and fashionably late people. First the fashion - you will see glitterati in the grocery stores, department stores, and coffee shops. If you think you've seen somebody famous, you probably have. Many television and film stars live in Santa Barbara or have weekend homes here. They moved here for the privacy and normalcy - Don't gawk at them or ask for their photographs. Treat them like you would treat anyone else.

Santa Barbarans are also notoriously fashionably late. For example, when I go to 10:00 mass, the church is about 30% full. By 10:15, it is standing room only.

Clothing - dress casually. Even at the Biltmore or the San Ysidro Ranch, people often wear khakis and golf shirts. At night, be sure to bring a warm jacket. Once the sun goes down, the temperature can drop down to the 40s.

Best Way To Get Around:

Santa Barbara has consistent bus transportation, but I would still recommend renting a car so that you can visit the wine country and the Danish village, Solvang, on the other side of the mountains.

The Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel is located on Butterfly Beach in Montecito. This property consistently receives 4 star ratings and 4 diamond ratings. The rooms are pleasant, but they really earn their stars in service and the resort activities. There is a tea room and bar, 2 restaurants, swimming pool, shuffleboard, putting course, tennis courts, a day spa, and several exclusive shops. Don''t miss their afternoon tea. Be sure to sit outside while having tea and keep your eyes open for a breaching whale in the Santa Barbara Channel. The rates are upward of $350 per night.

San Ysidro Ranch is the most exclusive hotel on the Santa Barbara coast, where Jackie O. and John F. Kennedy spent their honeymoon. The ranch has horseback riding on their private trails and a swimming pool where you never need to worry about having a wet towel. There are two restaurants - Stonehouse and the Plow and Angel. The hotel offers mostly private bungalows that run upwards of $400 per night during the winter.

The ranch is not on the beach, but rather in the Montecito foothills. The property covers 500 acres of trails, but the bungalos and restaurants are all centrally located.

Don''t expect to meet the rich and famous here. People visit the ranch to get away from the Paparazzi. They may not be as open as when you see them in town.

San Ysidro Ranch's Stonehouse is located in Montecito, just south of Santa Barbara. To celebrate milestones in our lives, we go there. I've never had better service than at the Stonehouse.

To celebrate my first bonus, we started the meal with Beluga caviar and lemon blinis that were flown in from San Francisco that day. Complimentary Russian vodka complimented the caviar. For dinner, my husband had a succulent lamb shank served with seasonal vegetables. I had a vertical dish, where the entire entree is shaped like a mountain. We drank Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin champagne to compliment our meal. We spent over $400 for 2 people including champagne.

Can I say that it was worth every penny? YES!

Santa Barbara offers a small zoo that has all of the animals that you would expect in a bigger zoo such as lions, leopards, gorillas, lemurs, sea lions, and giraffes.

The animal cages are generally placed in natural settings. Most of the animals are caged in breeding pairs, so the visitors enjoy seeing the interaction between the male and female. In addition, every few months, the zoo welcomes the new arrivals, preserving the species for everyone to enjoy.

Every year, my husband and I purchase a family membership, so that we can visit the zoo on our days off. There is a beautiful hilltop park where families gather for picnic lunches. The food at the zoo is healthy and flavorful, but I recommend dropping by the many delis in town to pick up your sack lunch. There are tables throughout the park, but what could be more romantic that rolling out a blanket and setting your feast out on it?

For the smallest crowds, arrive early on the weekends or anytime during the week. Bring your sunglasses and hat, because you will be outside most of the time.

The beaches in and around Santa Barbara are incredible. If you are willing to walk, it is possible to have an entire beach cove to yourself. During whale watching season, you can see California gray whales and humpback whales from the cliffs of Ledbetter and Butterfly beach. If you would rather see them up close, you can take a whale watching or sunset cruise on the Double Dolphin, a catamaran. In addition to whales, you may see blue sharks, dolphins, seals and sea lions.

East Beach offers beach volleyball nets that are always being used by beautiful tanned California coeds. If you would prefer to surf, go West - to Ledbetter beach, where you will find a great point break. It is mostly for longboarders, but boogie boarders and short boarders have fun there too. Ledbetter used to be my local surf spot. I always felt safe there.

For more of a local flavor, visit Hendry's Beach. There you are likely to find families building sand castles and children throwing frisbees to their dogs.

Most of the year, the water is clean and safe, but be sure to avoid contact with the water after a rainstorm. The creeks flush their debris into the ocean during the storm and pollute the water. If you are in doubt, pick up a copy of the Santa Barbara News Press to check the water safety.