Blessings *** Excitement and Anticipation *** Reprised...

Blessings: We were terribly relieved to receive a phone call from Margaret's sister-in-law, Sue, on Monday morning, letting us know that a scheduled heart catheterization performed on Lee earlier that morning showed no heart disease. We pray that other physical challenges he's been facing are resolved in the very near future.

Excitement and anticipation: While we've made every effort to keep politics out of the blog, we just have to express our excitement over this week's transfer of power in Washington. We hope that a spirit of bi-partisanship will prevail in the days/weeks/months ahead that will allow our new president to move forward quickly with many of the daunting tasks he has before him. Watching the enthusiasiam of the millions who made their way to Washington to see this inagural gives us hope that a new era of respect, love, dedication to country, and cooperation has arrived. We certainly pray so, as well as for President Obama and his beautiful family.

"On The Road Again" - Finally...

We're not normally spontaneous travelers; for us making the decision to take a trip someplace eight or nine days before departure was very spontaneous! The unseasonably hot, dry weather (which we were actually complaining about when it first arrived!) made the thought of spending a couple of nights right on the ocean soooo tempting. Turned out that the timing for our get-away was weather perfect.






With two dogs and ALL their paraphenalia (plus a couple little bags for us) we headed out Saturday morning - first stop the foothill arts community of Ojai. Not wanting to waste any of the day, but unable to check into our Santa Barbara hotel too early, we'd planned this little side trip to a town neither of us had seen before. We'd checked our on-line sources for dog-friendly restaurants in the area and found a listing for Manny's Oak Pit, just a few miles outside Ojai.
As we pulled into the parking lot the aroma was heavenly. We made our way to a large patio, with a water-fall and a huge fake bull on the hillside behind it. Larry had a burger, while Margaret went straight to BBQ - an "oink-oink on a bun", barbequed pork with cole slaw on top! Then we drove the last few miles into Ojai and found a parking lot right next to a lovely municipal park; it was the perfect place to let the dogs walk off some energy and for us to get a feel for the town. Indications of just how art spirited the community is were everywhere - from the bandshell in the park, to the local community theatre, and the flags for various other events flying everywhere. It's a place we'll return to, I'm sure, because we could have spent a lot of time poking around in the shops and galleries had we not puppies attached to us. Instead, we called the hotel in Santa Barbara to see if our requested early check-in was available. It was and were were on our way again. Route 150 out of Ojai took us on a winding path that skirted many of the fingers of Castaic Lake. We wish there had been more safe places to turn out and take photos of this lake - quite spectacular.

The Fess Park DoubleTree Resort...

We want to say upfront that we aren't "resort" vacationers! (During Margaret's many years in the travel industry, one of the hardest things for her to do was to "sell up". The destination is the treat, right? A hotel room is just a place to shower and rest at night, right?)

All that said, this was our first trip traveling with both dogs, and the hotel's literature guaranteed we'd have one of THE most puppy-friendly hotel experiences available. (It turned out to be true!) The resort complex is enormous. After check-in we found our room in the Azalea building at the far end of the property, a single story, eight room structure with tennis courts behind us, but no other close amenities. Hmmmmm.. We carted in our bags and dog supplies. Then we opened up the shade covering the patio door, and stretched out on the lounge and chairs provided, drinking in the most amazing view of the ocean, clear from the foothills in the east to Stearns Wharf and the marina beyond to the west.

The room had a luxurious king bed, with a bench at the end (better access for short legged dogs!) plus a large desk and seating area. Not interested in anything the hotel had stocked in the honors bar, we removed all those uber-expensive items, stored them on top of the armoire and refilled the fridge with our own bottled water, sodas, velveta cheese to disguise Sassy's allergy pill, the canned pumpkin Nica prefers mixed into her dry dog food, and Margaret's favorite non-dairy coffee creamer! (Hey, if you are packing a cooler, why not???) One of the nicest features next to our building was the beautiful fountain that could be heard throughout our building. We also appreciated the stake marker with a prayer for peace printed in various languages that stood just two doors down from us.

We fed the dogs and allowed them to get acquainted with their new surroundings. Then we heard a b-i-i-i-g-g-g boof from a few doors to the east - it was our first sighting of Molly, an eight month old yellow lab. We just had to take a picture of her in all her magnificence, illuminated by the setting sun. Not long after, Bourbon, a huge chocolate lab, crossed into our patio space from the other side to say hello. We'd definitely found a traveling dog mecca!

As the sun got lower and lower in the sky, thoughts of dinner began to surface. Nica and Sassy were still a little wired in their new surroundings - and at least tempoarily, very territiorial - not quite ready to sleep peacefully in their crates should we go out. As we were a bit tuckerd anyway, we decided that the luxury of room service one night was worth it. Before long we were dining on chicken picatta, with fresh steamed brocolli and mashed potatoes. Knowing we had a full plate of activities ahead of us on Sunday, we closed up the patio slider against the evening chill, got into our comfiest sweatsuits and curled up in front of the television for a relaxing evening in.

Sunrise in Santa Barbara...

Santa Barbara's shoreline faces south. This time of year
the sun almost appears to rise over the Pacific - a little disconcerting! This video was shot around 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning from our hotel patio. We hope this gives you a sense of the peacefulness and beauty of this stretch of California coast.

Beach crawling...

By 9:30 the sun was bright, the air temperature was near 80, and the beach paths were filled with people on foot, bicycles, four wheel bikes, scooters, skateboards and Segways. We'd talked briefly about renting a two-seated four wheel bike, but decided that we needed to take Sassy and Nica on a long, tiring walk before we left them alone. Not long after sunrise Margaret saw tents being raised along the beachside sidewalks on Cabrillo Blvd.; the first tent was almost directly across from our room. The Santa Barbara Sunday Art Fair was going up before our eyes! As we headed northwest to Stearns Wharf, (see the wonderful bronze dophin sculpture at the head of the Wharf) we passed artisians from all disciplines, displaying and selling their wares. We walked nearly to the marina, than turned around and headed back towards our hotel, this time taking in the amazing collection of arts and crafts available for sale. About two thirds through this hour and a half long stroll up and back down the beach path, Nica decided she'd had it! When our little dark gray dog gets too warm she simply throws herself on the ground in the shade, a puppy "boat anchor", until she's rested and ready to go on. There were a couple more stops as we traveled the last few blocks back to the hotel - one for Nica, insisting she needed another break, and the other for us when Larry bought Margaret a tiny ceramic "Love" angel from a Santa Barbara artisan - a precious momento of our trip.

Mission Santa Barbara...

We're such creatures of habit! When it was time for lunch we immediately headed towards a sports bar we know well on State Street, the main business drag. Madisons has great sandwiches of all kinds and its burgers are first-class. We always sit out on the street patio, far enough away from the big screen TVs so that we can hear ourselves think! Then it was time to drive up the hill to the Santa Barbara Mission, often known as the Queen of the Missions, so named because of its incredible beauty. The noon mass was still going on while we were on the grounds so, unfortunately, we were unable to get inside the main chapel on this visit. But the rolling front lawn of the church was a beautiful place to view the grounds, the gardens, fountain and the old lavatorium (clothes washing place).

If you've read our "bucket list", you know that visiting all the 21 California missions, spread from San Diego to San Francisco, is on our list. At the end of this trip we will have visited six of them.

We're really on vacation...

Back from the mission, we lounged on our patio until the sun got too hot and bright, (hard to believe in January!), then moved to a shady spot on the hotel lawn. Vacation mentality had completely set in! Knowing that we'd be leaving Sassy and Nica again in the room while we went out to dinner, we decided another tiring walk was in order, this time heading towards the other end of this incredible stretch of beach. Later, as the sun set, the view towards Stearns Wharf was filled with spectacular color. Santa Barbara is definitely a "foodie" town and we couldn't wait to have dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant we've enjoyed before, Bucatini, where we feasted on carpaccio and pastas. Downtown Santa Barbara was filled with people - playoff games taking place on a three day holiday weekend in a college town! Back in the room all the walking and sun had taken its toll on all us. See the tired puppies...

Monday morning...

It was warm enough to comfortaby leave a window open overnight; we loved the smell of the sea air and the sounds of the crashing surf. The dawn skies were cloudier, and there was more haze on the horizon than on Sunday morning, but it was no less beautiful. We took the dogs for one more walk, heading southeast on the beach path, before climbing into the car. We hated to leave, but we had a lot more sight-seeing to do.

Mission Santa Ines...

On the outskirts of the town of Solvang is the Mission Santa Ines. One of the most striking features of this mission is the abundance of California pepper trees, with gnarled trunks that appear almost hand-carved, and clusters of red berries hanging from each branch. These magnificent trees covered a pathway on the grounds with pictures painted on wood planks depicting the fourteen stations of the cross. Nestled amidst the foothills, there is a tremendous sense of peace to be found on the grounds at Santa Ines.

Solvang...

The Danish village of Solvang is charming - beautiful architecture and friendly people. We were grateful to learn that the Viking Garden Restaurant, a place we'd eaten in before, was dog friendly on their patio. And, what's better than breakfast for lunch??? We both had eggs, Danish sausage, and abelskivers, Danish ball shaped pancakes, served with applesauce, strawberry jam and powdered sugar - delicious. It's a town that caters to shoppers - having the dogs with us was a blessing because it kept us out in the streets, not in the shops! Located just to the east of Solvang is the horse ranch owned by the original "horse whisperer", Monty Roberts. Grapes are growing in the infield of the training racetrack on the property.

Mission La Purisima Concepcion...

Located just outside Lompoc is the Mission La Purisima Concepcion. The grounds on which the mission stands is now a California state park. While services are held at a number of the missions in the California chain, this does not appear to be the case at La Purisima. We did see livestock on the grounds - goats, sheep, mules, horses and an enormous bull - and the gardens are being maintained. We were the tiniest bit intimidated by signs entering the park that warned about poison oak and mountain lions... We're glad to report that we that didn't see any of either! There are many good websites with lots of information and pictures of all the California Missions. We're adding one to our list of favorite links if you'd like to do a little on-line exploring of your own.

What a great trip...

View Larger Map

When we left Lompoc, we were about 230 miles from home. We were able to travel a few miles on CA 1 out of Lompoc, back to the 101, and were so glad for the opportunity. The vistas of cattle country on this winding two/three lane highway are incredible! We made one stop at a pet-friendly restaurant in Calabasas (in the San Fernando Valley) - a good place to get a bite to eat and to wait out the late afternoon LA rush hour traffic. Then we hit the road one last time, arriving back in Costa Mesa a little before 7:00 pm. We'd covered 423 miles in two and a half days, and had been blessed with perfect weather throughout. It was a very memorable trip, but all four of us were very glad to be home again.

"[Santa Barbara] Here We Come..."

Barring any unforeseen difficulties, Sassy, Nica, Larry and Margaret will be en route to the beautiful beach city of Santa Barbara early Saturday morning. It's been nearly three months since we postponed our Central California get-away. Thanks to the unseasonably warm and sunny winter weather we've been experiencing we've decided to make a two night stay at the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort "part A" of that adventure. A photo-journal of our travels is sure to follow!

"The [Dogs] In Our Little Girls' Lives..."

At least once every day, weather permitting, Larry packs Sassy and Nica into the car and takes them to one of a number of local parks for a little on leash recreation. He often comes home with tales of the many dogs they meet in their travels. For the past week Margaret has encouraged him to carry a camera so that he can document a few of these marvelous creatures. Included here are Bear, the female Diluted Shar Pei, Diego, the Shiba Inu, Blue, the six month old Golden Retriever pup, Moss, a Corgi/Golden Retriever mix, and five month old Ezekial, a Boston Terrier pup. We hope to add Max and Shilo (the irrepressible Beagles), Guinevere, a beautiful Corgi/ChowChow mix, Shari (another Shar Pei), and others in future posts.