Santa Barbara delivers. I had little doubt that I would have a lovely weekend in the city. Thankfully, my travel companion, also, enjoyed my choices in food, beverage and decision to walk everywhere.
He arrived before I did and figured out the bus schedule. Instead of taking an uber into town, we paid $3.50 for the two of us to travel into the city. Forty-five minutes later, and we were off. State St. was busy on Saturday! Lots of people checking out the eateries and shopping. We found a spot that offered wine and snacks before heading to check in to the hotel. There was a public hall that Tom was interested in as well. Conveniently, it was located a couple blocks from the hotel. Great natural light and ample space to explore. I had a glass of wine.
Afterwards, we checked into the hotel. A boutique spot that hosted happy hour, daily. I am a fan of that. In addition, they had a continental breakfast if we were so inclined. That lacked in my opinion. They did have coffee, available, early in the mornings. I had had my eye on a lebanese restaurant. I found that they had a sister restaurant that was more casual and so we walked towards that location. Unfortunately, they were only open for takeout which was not listed on their website. Instead of choosing that option, we returned to the initial decision of checking out Zaytoon. Busy restaurant. Thankfully, they were able to get us in after a 30 minute wait. We stopped by another spot for a glass of wine while we waited. It was cute, authentic and had we had more time, it would have been explored.
Dinner that night included lentil soup and a trio kebab with hummus, baba ghanoosh and garlic dip. It was tasty. The cocktails were spot on and the atmosphere was lovely. We returned to the hotel room to conclude our first night. Sunday morning, we opted to walk to the pier. Beautiful day to be on the beach. Of course, the majority of those restaurants are tourist driven. Shrimp cocktail, clam chowder (sort of a must since we were in California) and french fries. Fun little combination. Walking back up State St, we stopped at a winery so that I could purchase a gift for my friends who were getting married before checking out guacamole at Carlito's. It was fine. Under seasoned, but I saw the attraction and understood how it was appealing to most people.
We were able to check out quite a bit of food and drink. The wedding was gorgeous. My friends chose a beautiful venue to celebrate their love. Unbelievably beautiful spot. We had dinner, cocktails and danced.
Monday, we returned to the beach so we could walk in the sand. I wanted to feel the sensation of the cool sand and water. Lovely. We found a mezcal driven restaurant and checked out the halibut ceviche and guacamole. The ceviche was delicious. Guacamole, under seasoned. I did like how they served salsa with chips and a black bean salsa. Carlito's and Santos both did this. Nice addition to the chips. Probably my favorite food of the trip was Monday. We returned to Public House to explore the tacos at Corazon. I ordered pastor and ensenada (battered fish). I was thankful for my choices!
So, everything was going well. Great food, easy travel and a very manageable trip. We found our way back to the airport. Tom had a connecting flight in Phoenix while I had a direct flight back to Denver. My flight departed at 4 pm. His was scheduled for 4:45. Midday, he received a notice that the flight from Phoenix to Albuquerque was delayed.
I made it home around 9 pm. I needed to find take out and uber it back to central Denver. Tom texted me around midnight that his flight had boarded. I think nothing of it. 6 am, he texts to update me on his lack ok travel. He was in Phoenix, overnight, since his flight canceled. Then, he is told he could fly to ABQ, today, at 7:30 pm with a connection at LAX. Sounds terrific, right? He inquires about the likelihood of connecting in Denver. Yes, that is an available option if he agrees to land in Santa Fe. Of course, that is doable since he lives there. However, he would still have to pick up his car. I call this the Shari return flight of travel when she travels with me. More than once, she has gotten stranded or had to make alternate arrangements. Tom suggested that next time, we travel together. Either he drives up here or I meet him in Santa Fe so we can both feel the pain of missed connections.
All, in all, great trip and I am very grateful to have done it. Thankful to have met Rachel, years back at the Humboldt wine bar. I randomly walked in and we struck up a conversation. Four and a half years later, and I am attending their wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and trip.
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