Get Away

We stayed at a marvelous little place called, Inn of the Spanish Garden. We loved it. We got a great deal here, which caused us to change from our original plan of staying at the Canary Hotel. We don't regret staying at this Inn at all.

It was wonderful!
We forgot to take pictures of our room. But, it was a gorgeous mission style - Spanish tile floors, dark wood doors, great stucco work...

Me & My love

Mission Santa Barbara was lovely.


The Courthouse is incredible! The tiles inside were beautiful.
Our first night here, we ate at a great place called Elements.
We both had some of the best fish ever. I had Sea Bass & he had Halibut.
The view is the courtyard, all lit up. It was so pretty.


We got a great view of the city from the top of the clock tower.

Santa Barbara Historic Park



Stearn's Wharf

The sand was so soft here. I loved that.

Our second night we ate at a very busy place next door to the theater - Opal Restaurant.

Scott said the pasta he had was the best ever. I had a tasty pizza.

(I had a lot leftover, but then dropped half of that on our walk back to the hotel. Ah!)

All the food was a success. We lunched at Paradise Cafe. I had a perfect burger. I got it & was amazed how big it was - a 1/2 pounder. But, then I ate it in about 4 minutes.

Scott ate his Ahi Tuna salad almost as quickly.

We had breakfast at Tupelo Junction. Scott loved his scramble & we were both very impressed with my french toast. They made it from baguettes!

We happened to be in town for the Farmer's Market. It was a really good one. Scott was especially glad to get to buy some Cherimoyas & Sapotes. We didn't buy any of the artichokes, but, they were cool looking.

We had a great time of rest & fun, but we were so glad to get home to our kids.

They were apparently pretty good from their grandma. But, we missed them a lot!

Addition: I forgot to tell you of the things we did, that we didn't take pictures of...

We also went to the Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens. It was a very pretty walk/hike, but not what Scott was hoping for as far as the garden. It was very wild & wooded - not a whole lot of manicured grounds. He has now decided to open the kind of Botanic garden he has been looking for himself. We are presently looking for investors...

On the last day, we drove a little more south, before our trip home, to visit the Reagan Library & Museum. Scott went with his company last year, and has been wanting me to be able to go. It was very neat. What an amazing man Reagan was!

Our Way Down

Scott & I got to take a little "babymoon" get away this week. It was so nice! We stayed in Santa Barbara for two nights. We drove Hwy 1 scenic drive all the way down.

Big Sur Coastline

We took the "experience tour" at Hearst Castle. It was 2 hours long, and is only 1 of 5 available tours. We thought it was very neat & hope to go back for more tours in the future!

We ate our picnic lunch at San Simeon Bay, just below from the Castle.

Happy Again

After many tears of sickness yesterday, the kids are on the mend. They are happy & playing again.

When I told him to smile, this is what he did. I promise he understood the instruction.

She understands, too. But, she just thinks the model stare is more flattering to her face.

Inside Day

It could have almost been called hot weather yesterday. Today it is raining & gray. That's okay. We can use some moisture. And, my kids seem to be sick today anyway. We'll just stay inside. I can't really tell what's wrong. Some mild flu or something. They have low fevers. Peyton is fussy & sleepy. Gillian is sleepy, but not too fussy. She is being so strangely mature about the whole thing. This morning, she told me a few times "Mommy, me sick". She asked for breakfast, but didn't eat it. She told me her tummy hurt & she wanted to take a nap (!). So, she has been in bed since just before 9. She has gotten up to go potty, then she asks for more nap. Wow. I hope they feel better soon.
I am going to bake some bread today. It is a good day for it.

The City

My sister in law, Kim, is moving this weekend. She used to live in the Great City by the Bay. I really like that place. So, I took a trek up there this week with the kids, to spend the day chumming around before she left. Anna came with us, and so did Krista & her munchkins.

We had lunch in this pretty park that is partially on the roof of a downtown mall. I had packed some of the Jamaican Meat Patties. They turned out to be quite tasty.

Watching the waterfall.

We rode the recently restored carousel, from the old Playland by the Beach. It is now part of the kid's Zeum museum.

Peyton was the only kid who really loved it. He was super happy.

Homemade Balls

My sister Leah made these fabulous balls for Peyton for Christmas. I love them & so does he!

Princess

Yesterday I cleaned my floors Cinderella style. It looks pretty good. I feel like a princess.