We had a nice day trip to Santa Barbara. I did not take many pictures. The weather was beautiful. Blue skies with white clouds and in the 70s with just a bit of a chill in the air. The coastline between the city of Ventura and Santa Barbara is very scenic. We like to stop in Carpenteria, a town on the way up, for bagels and Pete’s coffee at a little breakfast place. The 101 takes you past a few other towns on the way like Summerland and Montecito.
Summerland was started in 1883 by H.L. Williams, a spiritualist and real estate speculator. He sold land parcels to other spiritualists and they even had a community séance hall.
Montecito is nearby with expensive real estate and some celebrity residents such as Jeff Bridges and Opra Winfrey. Lotus Land is in Montecito. This is the estate of Madame Ganna Walska an opera singer who owned the property from 1941-1984. She created an exotic botanical garden which you can tour by appointment. The Montecito Inn was built by Charlie Chaplin in 1928.
There are many beautiful sights to see all around the Santa Barbara area. Above Santa Barbara is the Santa Ynez Valley. Solvang in located here. It is a Danish American town with lots of shops and restaurants and a few windmills. You can get Danish pastries and apple skivers. The film Sideways was made around here. There are wineries around Santa Ynez Valley and beautiful rolling hills with oak trees.
We took a long walk around State Street in Santa Barbara and peeked into a few shops and a new bookstore. We could smell the sea air. Below are a few photos taken near and around State Street.
Notes Tied On The Sagebrush 