Weeks 17 – 20: Santa Barbara, California
The weather in Santa Barbara is pretty much perfect…all of the time. Sunny, warm, and not too humid. It’s the best of anywhere we’ve visited and after a few weeks of abundant sunshine, we thought “we could get used to this.”
Our AirBnB host (hi, Diana!) was the BEST we’ve had to date. Kind, knowledgeable, generous, and she made us feel like family. We enjoyed long conversations over pastries and coffee, the cottage (her childhood home) was older with charming original details, the Mission neighborhood was family-friendly with lots of kids, and the yard was a fenced-in dream for the dogs, with lemon, orange, grapefruit, fig, avocado, and persimmon trees dripping with fruit.
Aaron took his first surf lesson and was able to use a spare board and wetsuit at the house, which saved us several hundred dollars. His favorite beginner beach was Arroyo Burro, followed by Carpinteria. Parking was always easy and free!
It might seem like a miss, but we were very content to not eat out this month. Instead, we opted for Trader Joe’s and reigned in our spending. I have such an appreciation for TJ’s after this trip. You really can’t beat the overall quality, prices, or friendly customer service, and there’s something comforting about walking in and being able to buy “your foods” from back home. California TJ’s do have a leg up though—great produce at even cheaper prices than in Boston.
What we didn’t pick from the fruit trees or buy from TJ’s, we got at an awesome Saturday morning farmer’s market on Santa Barbara St. There were a lot of new-to-us fruits, including strawberry guavas, pineapple guavas, avocados with edible skins, jujubes, and others I’m probably forgetting. It was produce heaven!
I could keep going, but suffice it to say: Santa Barbara would be a nice place to call home. And that old Spanish architecture…dreamy.
Spiders! They must thrive in Mid/Southern California because they’re everywhere and BIG. {shudder}
Aaron got stung by something in the ocean. Not a jellyfish, more like a big bee sting with swelling? We’re not sure what it was, but it freaked him out enough that he texted me from the beach and told me to call 911 if I didn’t hear from him in 10 minutes. (he was totally fine)
Those two little things aside, it was really a month of highs. If you have the chance to visit Santa Barbara, do it! The weather alone is worth the trip.
pumpkin spice chai lattes / tofu banh mi breakfast sandwiches / oreo chocolate cake
