Santa Barbara, CA

Arriving in San Luis Obispo just after sunset after a day on Highway 1, we were famished. Our hotel had free drinks and snacks, and we quickly gorged ourselves enough to ruin any chance for a normal dinner. San Luis Obispo is a college town, a perfect, modest-sized town of about 50,000, with a vibrant central shopping area.  It also has a well-maintained old Catholic Mission.  With its amenities and location, as you might expect, housing is expensive.  Very little new housing is being built.

Heading south, we took a detour to Lake Cachuma on our way to Santa Barbara. The "lake" was practically empty! When I was a student, our rowing club would practice with an eight-man shell on this lake's broad surface; not anymore. Santa Barbara; what a fantastic place!  The climate is sublime; as students, we never needed to turn on heat or A/C; temperatures were so mild. Its physical beauty is still obvious; flowers, palm trees, wide beaches; an ocean (with offshore islands) on one side and mountains on the other.  Tourism is big business.  But we sensed its congestion; everyone wants to be there. Housing prices are astronomical. 

A modest home near our B&B was valued at 2.25 million, and would be considered a "tear down"; surrounded by neighboring homes costing 2-3 times as much. In the Hope Ranch neighborhood the home prices are tens of millions. When I was at U.C. Santa Barbara the enrollment was 12,000; now it is over 20,000. We simply could not afford to move back to Santa Barbara and expect a home anywhere near as comfortable as we have in Colorado.

We spent an afternoon walking barefoot on the beach, walked downtown through the large tourist area of shops and restaurants, and discovered an extensive farmers' market set up on State Street. The marina was full of yachts, and a cruise ship arrived on our second day there. Near the university, we rediscovered the apartment house where Dawn & I first met; walked to the library; checked out a food market we used to frequent. When I was a student, the girls were all blondes; now they are all brunettes; Hispanic, Asian, Black. Where did the blondes go? So many more buildings, more students, more bicycle paths and skate boards.  And surfboards; at how many campuses can you surf between classes?

It had been thirty years since I last visited this area.  When you think back to "home" it is more than a place; it is also a time.  So many changes have taken place.  I am glad that we made so many good memories when we lived in Santa Barbara, Monterey, Marin, and Sonoma.  They are still beautiful as places to visit, but the atmosphere has changed.  Instead of optimism, there is a sense of trying to hold on to what you have amid changes in the culture and increasing congestion.

 

Along the California Coast

This will be a bit of a sentimental journey. California holds many memories for Dawn & myself. We flew into Sacramento (free United flight), and headed our rental Corolla north to Grass Valley. The Gold Rush towns of the 1848+ era are still there with their Victorian homes, but now they attract tourists, marijuana growers, and those looking for a little slower pace of life.  We were there to check Dawn's parents' home which is being rented and, hopefully, do some hiking. Unfortunately, the Fall rains had already begun. Lots of craft & antique stores to peruse while staying out of the weather; I found a rare book set to buy.

Then off to the wine-growing region of Napa valley. It was expensive, touristy, and somewhat disappointing. We met up with our daughter, who was in Napa on business and who would join us for the weekend. Leaving, we drove through a light, night rain over the hills, to stay in the Sonoma valley. We viewed the cottage where we lived 1972-74 and had breakfast with one of Dawn's cousins. So much growth has taken place in this region! It used to be farms, pastures, and vineyards; now there are golf courses, shopping malls, and many new housing tracts.

Along the north coast, Highway 1 and Point Reyes, the scenery is still exceptional; cloud-shrouded hills, clumps of huge Eucalyptus trees and pines, endless ocean waves, and sheltered coves. The sun would peep through occasionally. We came across a coyote which, while appearing healthy, seemed peculiarly tame and approached within twenty feet of us. Stinson Beach, although a broad sandy expanse, was cool, cloudy, and somewhat somber. Memories: the last time we were there, Dawn and I were dating. Then on to explore Muir beach & woods.

Muir Woods are inspiring. The tall redwoods make you feel like an ant in comparison. Towering redwoods create their own rain by filtering the moisture from passing clouds; collecting it into droplets until enough is present to fall to the ground. On this day real rain fell occasionally. We hiked about six miles at Muir and China Camp and encountered deer and a flock of wild turkeys. The whole of Marin County is a rugged peninsula with a central spine of high hills (mountains?). Looking out from the Marin highlands, the view of San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the city are spectacularly scenic.

After an overnight in Alameda to get Meghan on her flight, we spent the next day following the central California coast. Seventeen-mile Drive in Monterey has beautiful homes on a scenic peninsula with an integrated golf course.  Carmel is full of cute shops and homes and the old Carmel Mission and museum.

Highway 1, leaving Carmel, becomes one of the most scenic drives I have experienced. The road winds its way across the steep hillsides and cliffs where the ocean crashes against rocks below while the hilltops were wreathed in clouds a thousand feet above.

  The weather was perfect, and it seemed the favorite vehicle to enjoy this drive was a Mustang GT convertible; we saw many of them.  Dawn wanted to stop at most every turnout to take pictures.  The trip has stirred her emotions; why did we ever leave California? Of course, we are touring the most beautiful areas of California at a perfect time of year.  Recent fall rains have turned the hills green; the temperatures are perfect; and the summer crowds are gone.