The Jackson Travel Blog: Beautiful Santa Barbara

This is a strong contender for relocation when it's time to retire. At least for the early part of retirement when we're still active. Like many places in California, it is flanked by the pacific ocean on one side and mountains on the other, and you can get from one to the other in 15 minutes. It's the best of both worlds. Until last week, Santa Barbara was an undiscovered gem to us... just a place where one of my good friend's parents live. Tom and I added in a stop here because Kathleen had talked about how great it was (and because she had graciously offered to ask her parents if we could stay with them). Her parents were extremely welcoming and helpful, and we really enjoyed getting to know them some. They also gave us fabulous tips about where to eat and what to do all along the central California Coast.

So last Tuesday morning we drove just up the coast to Santa Barbara, stopping a few times in Malibu and at some state park beaches.

When we first got to Santa Barbara, we set our sights on La Super-Rica Taqueria - a local taco shack one of my NYC colleagues told us was a must-see. It's apparently Julia Child's favorite taco stand, so with two positive recommendations and a cheap price tag, we mapped our directions straight there. La Super-Rica is absolutely authentic, and its staff is super friendly. As warned, there was a line emerging out the door, and the service is quite slow, but the payoff is that every bit of your meal is hand-made to order - including the taco shells - so of course it's not going to come out as fast as Taco Bell. Our food was very good, and we were glad we got to try out one of the favorite local hangouts.

For the afternoon, we drove into the center of Santa Barbara and explored State Street - the main drag where much of the action is. State Street itself is beautiful - it's one of my all-time favorite city centers. It's green, approachable, varied, and not ostentatious at all. We had a great time wandering around! We happened to be there while a local farmers market was set up, so we got a few things for ourselves and Kathleen's parents. Everything we tasted here was AMAZING. Produce, nuts, pies - you name it - things just seem to taste better and fresher in California!

We headed to Kathleen's parents' in the early evening to check in with them and get settled. They live in a breathtaking neighborhood called Hope Ranch that just feels like paradise. I could happily call this home! Their property includes a barn with two horses, a guest house, and the main house that they designed and built. We chatted for a bit, and then they gave us some restaurant tips for dinner. We went to a great pizza place called Olio and then watched the new X-men movie.

Wednesday morning, we got up bright and early to have breakfast with Janet and Ed. They made the most delicious pancakes (with strawberry sauce!) I've ever had. I need this recipe. They also told us the three must-see Santa Barbara spots before we left town: the mission, the courthouse, and the wharf. We hit all three this morning before embarking on adventure #2: Janet's great list of central California wineries, etc. She printed out pages of detailed information for us - it was SO helpful to have an insider's tips on what to do here! We would've missed out on one of the most gorgeous parts of the California coast had they not enlightened us. I'll save wine country for another post, but here are a few pictures from our morning in Santa Barbara.

1: The Mission