The desert flowers in California started outside of town. This lavender sweep along the highway was caught even though we were traveling about 65 mph.
Green and gold was a common mix on the hills.
The bright gold on the sandy hills along the ocean drive were quite vibrant.
A breakfast brunch in Mesa was hosted by a Santa Barbara Yacht Club member. We were fortunate to be invited to enjoy the feast with our friends, Virginia and Dennis.
The hillside home was big and beautiful, with room for all of us to enjoy the outside patio. That's Dennis, last in line at the buffet.
Virginia and Dennis, whom we met while cruising, waaaay back in Vanuatu.
Just a tiny sample of the fabulous stained glass windows in the home. It was up near the Old Mission, so the Mission theme fit right in here.
Virginia enjoying the view of Santa Barbara from the church in the town center. This is the highest perch in town.
A wedding was in progress on the grounds of the church below. That blob in the middle is the bride being escorted across the lawn to take her vows. We refrained from shouting "Don't do it!"
The church front with the wedding limo waiting. It's a beautiful old church in the Mission style so popular here.
The Ablitt House, a tall tower of a building, is built on a tiny 20' x 20' lot in downtown old Santa Barbara. It started as an experiment to see if they could build a livable home on such a tiny lot. Now it's a premier B&B location and a tourist draw. We met the Ablitt's at the breakfast brunch, as they are members of the yacht club, too.
The garage and entrance to the Ablitt house. It's all very eclectic. And the street number is lucky 13.
In the V of the tile over the entrances, this tiny face is a cute surprise.
This tile with info is on display for visitors. "Less is more, and Small is beautiful."
What a view they must have from that corner balconey.
Spider-like red blossoms on this barren looking tree greeted us on a walk.
The beach at Santa Barbara. The Channel Islands are just offshore and look like hazy gray smudges on the horizon.
Dennis and Jason head down the marina ramp as we head towards
Libertad, their cruising boat kept here now.
Dennis and Virginia's cruising home for years. They shipped it from Thailand to the Med and sailed it across the Atlantic. We ran into them again in Martinique on our way home.
This huge, purple power yacht was escorted in by the Coast Guard and tied up at the nearest dock. It's powerful engines blew a lot of sand off the bottom near the shore as it made the tight turn in the shallow water here.
It was good to see YOLO again, even if it was just the name on these surfboards in the marina.
At the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, they have the history of the development of underwater breathing apparatus. This early underwater suit looks like it belongs in outer space.
A Fresnel lens, from one of the old lighthouses. The many prismatic faces in the glass helped spread the light to ships at sea.
Believe it or not, these sea creatures are origami paper creations. Someone is very good at folding paper!
Rum is the answer; what was the question? A display about the history of rum in the area featured this wooden sign.
These small panes of stained glass all have a nautical theme and made up an entire side of the museum gift shop area. The colors were extremely bright and vibrant with the sunny day outside.
A regular weekend gathering of ukelele players at the park area near the marina.
All ages and abilities are welcome to join in. I couldn't make heads or tails of their music sheets. It didn't look like regular musical notes on a sheet.
The morning fog rolling up onto the escarpment joined us for a walk through a preserved area near Dennis and Virginia's home.
These bright blue flowers were a jolt of color in the fog.
Virginia and Jason near a cool arch in the trees on our walk.
An old truck parked along the road. Looks like a restoration project waiting for discovery. I just liked the looks of this vehicle.
Dennis and Jason head for the park at the university for the local kite festival.
Lots of shapes, sizes, and colors flying today.
This dragon kite caught the only tree branches in sight.
Some really high flyers dot the distant sky.
Dennis trying to get one of his kites to fly.
Jason is ready to toss it into the air for its first flight in a long time.
The view from the kitefest out towards the ocean. The nice day had lots of sailboats out on the water.
Jason getting the big eyes kite flying.
Virginia watches as Jason coaxes the big eyes kite a little higher.
It's flying! Along with dozens and dozens of others sharing the sky.
Jason giving it a tug to keep it aloft.
Dennis giving the kite a fly while Virginia and Jason look at all the beauty around.
I found the best angle to view the sky was laying on the grass to look up without hurting my neck.
Working to get a kite that would take to the air. The old kites had parts that we'd left behind and needed a bit of jury rigging.
What a gorgeous way to spend a day in Santa Barbara!
We hadn't been to the Santa Barbara/Mesa area before. We were fortunate to have our friends show us the highlights during our stay with them. We headed up the coast next to visit more cruising friends in Mountain View.
1 comment:
It was so fun to have you here in Santa Barbara for a few days!
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