Travel Journals: Santa Barbara - Art, Arias & A Visitor

An unusual hike on Monday. We climbed up into San Ysidro Canyon accompanied by the music of water flowing over rocks as it made its way through the canyon. We've taken many hikes in the six weeks we've been here. We've seen numerous dry creek beds and water catch basins, but not so much as a drop of water until today.

San Ysidro Canyon

One morning we awoke to a fog-shrouded neighborhood. For our early dog walk, we planned to drive to the old mission and then climb into the foothill neighborhoods. We drove to the mission in the fog. Then as we began our ascent, block by block we climbed out of the fog until we stood in bright sunshine.

Our dog walks are always interesting. Just like at home, Rowdie gets us up and out early. We found lots of treasures on our early morning jaunts, whether we walked on the beach or just through the neighborhoods.

Neighborhood Attraction

Neighborhood Delights

The fog lifts from Arroyo Burro Beach.

A moment's rest

After the morning walk

One morning I set out on my own with my camera to see what photo opportunities downtown had to offer. There were plenty.

Sunday morning early, State Street

Public Library

Santa Barbara County Courthouse

On Tuesday, we chatted with Paul and Aidan via FaceTime. Paul carried his iPad out the side door and showed us the path shoveled in the deep snow out to his garage. It was bleak. We were grateful to be right where we were.

The Queen of Finding Things has been at it again. She discovered a free concert at the main downtown library at noon on Thursday. We sat in a large meeting room, water colors and oil paintings by local artists on all the walls, and listened to arias from various operas. The Santa Barbara Opera has been preparing to produce Falstaff in a couple weeks, and this was a way for them to showcase their talent and warm up for the big event. A lovely event.

Baritone Daniel Scofield sings Falstaff

Soprano Sara Duchovnay and Tenor Sergio Gonzalez, accompanied by Tatiana Vassilieva

Sopranos Courtney McKeown and Sara Duchovnay

On Friday our friend, Jan Search, arrived for a visit from Minneapolis. We didn't waste any time helping her forget the snow and subzero temperatures she left behind. We found a good happy hour at Stella Maré, where we sipped local wine and ate delicious appetizers. The French restaurant is tucked in an off-the-beaten track street on the edge of Santa Barbara. From there we went even farther off the beaten track.

We attended an art opening at a gallery in a home on a dark lane in the hills of Montecito. It wasn't easy to find. We had tried once in the daylight without success, but we had the Queen of Finding Things with us. After we parked the car, we followed a path that was so dark that I had to use the flashlight on my iPhone. As we walked in the cool evening darkness, we had a laugh when we turned around and saw four flashlight beams bouncing off the pavement behind us.

The opening featured the paintings of Whitney Brooks Abbott, a local artist who is a friend of a friend of ours in Point Reyes. Her oil paintings and drawings are beautiful. I urge you to follow the link to her website, because a picture is worth a thousand words.

Domestic Scene

Gaviota Peak Trail

The rest of Jan's visit was a whirlwind of restaurants, hikes, wine tasting, strolling downtown Santa Barbara, cooking meals for one another, fresh seafood and the culmination - a day trip to Santa Cruz Island in the Channel Islands National Park. We took a long hike featuring stunning views, ate lunch in Scorpion Canyon under the shade of eucalyptus trees and finally saw a whale!

Approaching Santa Cruz Island

Kelp Bed

Morning Mist


Carol, Marc, Jan on the Scorpion Canyon Trail

Morning Glories

Scorpion Canyon

Whale! Really!

A hiker with flair

Rain has finally come to the Central Coast as we prepare to depart. We've had two straight days of steady rain. This morning it stopped and we took advantage of the break to take a final Santa Barbara dog walk. We made it about fourteen blocks when the skies opened up and let us have it on our fourteen-block return. Truth be told, I love walking in the rain.

Thanks for following our latest adventure on my Travel Journals blog. I hope you've enjoyed the text and the photos. We set out early tomorrow morning on our return trip. We'll stop to see friends in Gold Canyon, Arizona (southeast of Phoenix) and in Santa Fe. Then, it's the long haul home. Everyone in Minneapolis has said, Stay where you are! Don't come back yet! On the second day of March, the temperatures are behaving as if it were the middle of January, the month we escaped. We thought about staying, although not really seriously. Our grandson, Julien, turns three years old next week. Ellen has told him that his party will be when G'amma and Papá get back. We can't put that off now, can we?

I'll sign off with a few final images.