Day 2,507 of Traveling the World | Santa Barbara, CA | December 13, 2024

Jan and Mike

Santa Barbara is one of those places that is new…reinvented…different…every time you visit. We were there for a day in April 2022 on a cruise, and wrote a completely different blog, and description, than this one, as we took a guided trolley tour. Our current visit consisted of a very lazy walkabout in the city, putting our noses here and there, and being fascinated with the interaction of the beach and the sun.

The first time we visited Santa Barbara together was on our Mini-moon a few months prior to our Honeymoon. Then, the main drag, State Street, was open to traffic. Today it is a pedestrian-only mall with some vestiges of outdoor dining stalls left over from the pandemic. As we walked along, vendors started assembling booths for a blocks-long farmer’s market. There were comfortable lounge chairs in the street in which to relax, and the feeling, overall, was that life in Santa Barbara is pretty darn nice and relaxed. Since the city contains a state university, there were lots of students laughing and chatting in the coffeehouses we passed.

Overall, we found Santa Barbara to be fairly quiet, with not much traffic, nor many shoppers, just two weeks before Christmas. Most likely, the weekends are a bit more frantic. But it was so sweet not to encounter the overwhelming tourist crowds of summer. It was a perfect getaway!

Early morning shot from our hotel balcony.
An amazing sunset capture…the silhouette of a man in the sun’s reflection off the water.
Walking along the beach, there were a number of palm tree clusters like this.
Our very-decorated greeting upon entering Santa Barbara Public Market.
The hand-crafted ice cream store’s greeting.
Rori’s flavors were unusual…Honey Lavender…Cup o’Joe Spinelli…Black Pepper Pistachio. So many choices.
We had never seen a Slice-of-Pizza Christmas Tree, and then…
…had never seen a Sushi Christmas Tree! The Public Market was amazing us.
These Santa Hat stools were so cute.
Quite a collection of nutcrackers! We count six along the top row (and a gnome!) and 50 on the ledge.
Apparently, this vendor has had problems in the past. We would say that this is, in general, a rule to live by.
The chairs are available for lounging, gawking, eating, drinking – since normal people were shopping, they were available for our use!
Pretty trees and mission-style buildings line State Street.
This exotic-looking shop is Lokum, a Turkish Delight, Coffee, and Baklava purveyor.
We had Mister Softee ice cream trucks as kids, but never had seen a Mister Softee retail store!
These are the State Street barber shop prices. If someone has long hair, this would be a steal!
This pretty tiled bench is outside the Italian Pottery Outlet.
A gorgeous peacock window above a building’s doors. But the building appeared to be empty, with no name, and the doors were locked.
We liked how pretty this theater was, and the list of movies tells us that it is the city’s art house cinema.
Wonder if they were going for the pizza version of Californication?
Throwback! One of the few remaining outdoor dining venues.
This small alley has a lot going on – one of the city’s clocks, a lion-topped entry sign to La Arcada, and, farther down, a covered walkway connecting the buildings.
Sigh. A gold fire hydrant. No words…
Dinner one night was at Reunion Kitchen on the beach. We ate outside, but it was a little chilly as the sun set.
What? Crazy? Why, yes we are. We certainly are. Why do you ask?

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