San Jose to Santa Barbara

Yesterday I drove from Andy & Vicki's home in San Jose down here to Santa Barbara, where I stayed last night and tonight. The drive was completely uneventful and quite boring. I was already really missing being near the water. When I pulled into Pismo Beach to get gas, it was so nice to look out on the aquamarine Pacific Ocean, but all too soon I was back inland until I got to Santa Barbara. I listened to my audio book, Inferno, and that made the time go by faster.

I arrived in Santa Barbara about 3:30 p.m. and checked into the lovely Montecito Inn. It was built in 1927 by Charlie Chaplin as a place for his Hollywood friends to come and hang out. The original elevator is still in use! It's really cool. There is a 1936 song by Rodgers and Hart called There's a Small Hotel that was inspired by the Montecito Inn. It's quite a quaint and unique boutique hotel.

The hallway leading down to my room

The original 1927 elevator used by Charlie Chaplin and his Hollywood friends.

My friend Corey drove up from Los Angeles and met me here yesterday evening. We walked down to the beach - gorgeous sunny day - and then drove over to the pier for dinner at The Harbor Restaurant. Good food, great view!

First walk down to the beach in Santa Barbara

 

Dinner on the pier in Santa Barbara

 

Happy Birthday Corey!

This morning we decided to visit the Santa Barbara Mission. Corey had never been there but I had and it's one of my favorite missions of the California Missions. No matter how many people are there, and there seem to always be a lot, it feels very peaceful to me.

In front of the main chapel

 

Inside the sanctuary

One of the Mission gardens - central court





In the mission cemetery

 

Mission Santa Barbara is the only mission to remain under the leadership of the Franciscan Friars since its founding in 1786.While we were on our own little self-guided tour, the music of chanting monks was playing. I would like to have thought that it was really monks upstairs in some choir loft doing the singing, but it was highly unlikely. I would also like to think that when the mission bells pealed at 12:00 noon that some reverent monk was pulling a rope and ringing the bell, but it's probably all automated. Takes away some of the romance, doesn't it?



The sanctuary

Mission Santa Barbara today continues to serve the community as a parish church. In addition to its use as a place of worship, it contains a gift shop, a museum, a Franciscan Friary, and a retreat house.

After our mission tour, we walked up and down the touristy streets of Santa Barbara, having lunch at Holdren's Steaks and Seafood. For the first time on this trip I had lunch not driving in my car, and the first restaurant food I had that was not seafood (BBQ chicken wrap and salad).

 

Enjoying my lunch and my new hat!