A page a day
Life on California's beautiful Central CoastArchive for August, 2010
Rancho Sisquoc
Drove out to Rancho Sisquoc today with some excellent tasting companions. This is the second oldest winery in Santa Barbara County, according to its tasting room staff.
It was fairly busy there for a late Sunday afternoon. Foxen Canyon Road, the route of approach, was same path that Gen. Fremont took on his trip to claim California for the union. He didn’t lose his cannon til he got a ways down the trail.
The small tasting room makes you feel like you're in a cool old barn.
This icebox dates to the late 1880s, when the land grant on which the ranch now sits was acquired in entirety from Mexico.
What can I say? I must have been 6 or 7 when I learned that when there were old skulls around, you were in a cool place.
A lovely picnic ground is a great place to enjoy some wine and a snack. Great winery, worth the drive.
Flowering passion
Sounds salacious, doesn’t it? Sorry, nothing but flowers to see here, folks. But they are pretty ones at least.
On the back fence of my downtown SB sublease.
I thought of my Grandma E when I saw these.. she would have loved their complex beauty.
Huckle at work
He actually managed to turn my screen display upside down by sitting on the keyboard. Silly huckle.
Busted stuff series
Johnny! I told you to stop throwing the remote at the television! Now look what you did.
Goats on guard
These are some of the fire fighting goats that go around the county eating brush for a living. This is where they hang out when they’re not on duty.
They have their own bridge!
They have dogs to guard them, but one of them was passed out asleep under a big oak tree.
Working hard.. or hardly working.
This one was working hard, though! Not sure what kind of dog this is. Very pretty.
Guarding the bridge.
Lil’ Toot
I’ve only gotten to spend a half-hour on the water this summer, which is no good, but riding the Lil’ Toot sure was fun! (Content created for www.edhat.com)
Loading at the Wharf.
If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to get on the water in Santa Barbara, look no further than the friendly crew of the Lil’ Toot.
This water taxi service runs from Stearns Wharf to the Harbor and back, departing twice an hour from each location, year- round.
The friendly yellow service, piloted by Captain Fred Hershman, can measure its success by imitation – recently a copycat water taxi was launched in Ventura.
With a one-way fare of just $4 for adults and $1 for kids, the Lil’ Toot is an affordable way to get a closer look at Santa Barbara’s harbor, learn a little bit about the animals and boats, and feel the sea breeze blowing in your face. We highly recommend it, especially for families with kids.
Many visitors ride the taxi one way and then walk back to their vehicle or hotel. That’s a great way to see some of Santa Barbara’s waterfront and get a little exercise.
Here are our top five reasons the Lil’ Toot is great fun.
Get out on the wharf. In case you missed it, read all about the many reasons to visit Stearns Wharf right here. You’ll find the Lil’ Toot boarding ramp about three-quarters of the way to the end of the Wharf, on the left hand side.
Watching the boats go by.
You’ll get a better idea of what’s there is to do on the water in Santa Barbara. Whether it is surfing, kayaking, fishing, paddle boating, sailing, swimming or sunbathing, you can see just about all water-based activities from the picture windows of the Lil’ Toot. There are more options on the water in Santa Barbara than in many coastal towns because of our beautiful protected harbor. Kayakers and paddle boaters waved to us as we passed them en route from the harbor to the wharf. The sailors learning to sail Sea Shells from the Sailing Center made for a beautiful photograph.
Learning to sail.
Meet the friendly staff and captain. From the ticket-taker to Captain Fred and crew, the Lil Toot is all about friendliness and hospitality. They know the harbor inside and out. Captain Fred has been piloting the water taxi service for eight years and has stories about the various boats you’ll see in the harbor, as well as the wildlife that live there. The boat also offers cruises for private parties if you are looking for something different to do with a group.
Captain Fred.
See some sea life. This summer the Lil Toot crew shared their insight with Edhat about lots of animals that make the waterfront their home. Read about Shaquille O’Seal the Sea Lion, cormorants cormorants, sea critters on the wharf pilings, and the White Sea Bass restoration project. See a nice shot of sunset on the waterfront from the boat.
Harbor hangout.
Kids get to drive. And not just the little ones, either. A grandmother from South Carolina and her two grandsons all took a turn “piloting” the boat during our recent cruise. We dare say that Grandma had more fun. (Captain Fred is really driving, but you get to toot the taxi whistle, too.) And don’t miss the bubbles that emit from the smokestack .. they add a particularly whimsical note to the Lil’ Toot cruise experience.
Fun for all ages.
Apple time
The two apple stands on Alamo Pintado are open! Fall must be right around the corner.
Gala at Dittmar's.
On the tree.
Looks like a big crop. These crispins will be ready later and great for pies.
Too cute
Noah, left, meets Taylor Swift.
Seeing’ Spots Farm in Ballard has some adorable baby miniature donkeys right now. They are so cute! And much nicer than miniature horses, too.
You can walk into their enclosures and pet them. Kids get to go for short rides.
The farm is at 2509 Baseline just above the village of Ballard in the Santa Ynez Valley. They have a website, which you can see here. Their donkeys are pretty famous..they’ve even been on Ellen DeGeneres.
Visitors can go to the farm 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday. They ask for donations to help out their rescue donkeys.
One of the newest babies on hand right now is Black Bart. He’s just a week old and so soft and shiny. That’s Mrs. Marchi holding him in the photo below.
Just a week old!
If you are having a bad day, go see these donkeys. I guarantee they will cheer you up.
Love you Mom!
Stearns Wharf
When we journeyed to Stearns Wharf on a recent overcast summer day to check out another of Santa Barbara’s favorite tourism destinations, we overheard one tourist say to another: “It’s just like Fisherman’s Wharf!”
Our reply, had that exclamation been pronounced in our direction, would have been: “No! It’s not! And that’s why we love it!”
Rather than be a tourist-only haven and Mecca for schlock (though to be fair, you can purchase kitsch on Stearns Wharf … but you can’t watch a cheesy movie that reenacts its past), local residents visit the wharf regularly to fish, dine out, take the kids for an ice cream or run to the end.
Here are some of our favorite reasons to head out on the wharf. Just don’t call it a pier.
To fish or watch people fish. You can only fish from the very end of the wharf, but there is almost always someone out there trying their luck with a pole. One enterprising resident pelican knows this, and will nip the fishermen on the ankles if he isn’t rewarded with a treat If you don’t have a fishing pole in your suitcase, you can rent one at Stearns Wharf Bait and Tackle, the last building at the end of the wharf. Read about what it’s like to fish at the wharf.
To admire Bud Bottom’s famous dolphin fountain. You can’t get onto or off of the wharf without passing the local sculptor’s piece, celebrating local marine life. (Unless you take the Lil Toot water taxi over from the harbor, which drops you off near the end of the wharf. $4 adults, $1 kids.) The fountain has been there since 1982, and is Santa Barbara’s signature artwork. It’s not appropriate to jump in it on a hot summer day, although we have seen people try, but tossing in a penny for good luck is certainly OK as you head out to the wharf.
To count the planks. What!? Yes, to count the planks. The very same planks that make it dangerous to wear high heels on the wharf, or no shoes at all, and create the very satisfying clank, clank, clunk sound when you drive your car onto the wharf (which you can do, but be prepared to have your parking pass validated at a local business or spend a few bucks for the privilege of parking on redwood.) Back in 2004 the dedicated staff of Edhat counted the planks on the wharf, and you can see the story about the experience, which also explains why the wharf is not a pier. Another fun thing to count on the wharf is the birds. Here’s a story about that.
To go to the Sea Center. The Ty Warner Sea Center, part of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, includes exhibits about marine life, including seawater touch tanks that are great fun for kids. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for teens, and $5 for kids. If you don’t manage to see a whale during your Santa Barbara visit, the Sea Center is a great place to learn about the big creatures that live in the Channel beyond the wharf. The History Museum staff is responsible for the educational placards placed around the wharf railings, which have great information about local tides, seawater-growing plants, the sand shifts in the harbor that change with the seasons, and more.
To snack or dine out. There are a lot of dining options on the wharf, from the casual (Char West or the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company), to the popular patio at Longboard’s (an especially great spot to sip a beer on a hot summer day) to the pricier Harbor Restaurant, or the historic Moby Dick’s. Burned in a fire in 1998, the best thing about Moby Dick’s is arguably the view from its giant windows onto the harbor. A local summertime tradition is to get ice cream on the wharf, and the smell of baking waffle cones from The Great Pacific Ice Cream Company on a foggy morning is especially enticing. Of course, you can also bring your own picnic and eat it on one of the red-umbrella adorned picnic tables that are across from Moby Dick’s. Just watch out for those hungry seagulls!
It is a local institution dating back 138 years. Stearns Wharf is the oldest and longest working (wooden) wharf in all of California, according to an article we wrote about the wharf (with much subscriber help) in 2005. J.P. Stearns, Santa Barbara shipping magnate, built it in 1872. It was built to bring lumber ashore for Santa Barbara’s rapid growth as settlers arrived in the early days of our little blue town by the sea, long before it became the worldwide tourist destination we know today.
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Note: This content was created by me for use by www.edhat.com. For reprint permission contact leah@edhat.com.
A.C. Postel Rose Garden
Kids have so much fun running and rolling down that hill.
Should you need a reason to stop and smell a lot of roses; beautiful, colorful, perfume-scented, picturesque, lovingly maintained roses; the place to go in Santa Barbara is the A.C. Postel Rose Garden. Across the street from Mission Santa Barbara and a favorite spot to picnic, toss a Frisbee, let the kids run around, and so many other activities for generations of Santa Barbarians.
Unless you are allergic to roses or pretty flowers just aren’t your thing, we really can’t think of a single reason why someone wouldn’t want to go to the Rose Garden (well, maybe if there was a downpour, or it was the time of year when the bushes have been aggressively pruned). Here is our short list of reasons to visit.
Should you need a reason to stop and smell a lot of roses; beautiful, colorful, perfume-scented, picturesque, lovingly maintained roses; the place to go in Santa Barbara is the A.C. Postel Rose Garden. Across the street from Mission Santa Barbara and a favorite spot to picnic, toss a Frisbee, let the kids run around, and so many other activities for generations of Santa Barbarians.
Unless you are allergic to roses or pretty flowers just aren’t your thing, we really can’t think of a single reason why someone wouldn’t want to go to the Rose Garden (well, maybe if there was a downpour, or it was the time of year when the bushes have been aggressively pruned). Here is our short list of reasons to visit.
For the views. You may have to crane your neck to see the ocean, but Mission Santa Barbara is right behind you in all its historic majesty. Edhat photographer Dan Seibert uses the lawn adjacent to the garden as one of his favorite wintertime photography spots. A great place to people watch, you might catch a wedding taking place, or a competitive late afternoon Frisbee match.
To admire the dedication of the volunteers. The corps that takes care of the garden is among the most dedicated group of unpaid helpers around. They know their stuff when it comes to roses, and they keep the gardens perpetually looking lovely. Their efforts have been rewarded with numerous awards for the garden over the years and several quite recently. Read about their efforts, and find out how you can help, here, or call 805-564-5433. They also have a primer on what types of roses grow best in Santa Barbara’s climate.
To run around. Whether you are running past the Garden, to the garden, around on the lawn as kids love to do, or walking, exercise meets beautiful flowers and equals a special harmony. Fido and Fluffy are welcome in the garden, as long as they are on a leash and you pick up after them. Children not only love to run down the hill towards the rose bushes, they also love to roll down the hill (get ready for grass stains). Frisbee enthusiasts frequently play on the lawn, and one weekend we saw a wedding party playing a competitive softball game on the lawn in their suits and gowns. One of the story links below includes a video of two local kids slipping and sliding – in their wetsuits – on the garden lawn after a big rain.
To learn about roses. Did you know there are rose varieties in the garden named Voodoo, Mellow Yellow, Artistry, Brigadoon, Opening Night and Granada? And celebrities are featured with their own roses… the Marilyn Monroe, Barbra Streisand, and Henry Fonda are all on hand. Each month, the garden volunteers designate a particular flower as the Rose of the Month, and expand on its history and legacy in their newsletter, which you can find: here
For the smells. Even a block away from the garden, as long as you are downwind, the gentle sweet smell of roses will come wafting your way. Like a favorite grandmother’s perfume, it’s a smell that easily becomes embedded in memory.
To picnic. Whether it’s a store bought sandwich or the most perfect Martha Stewart-packed picnic basket your imagination and budget can devise, take a blanket, a book, and some sunscreen, and get ready for a leisurely afternoon near the Rose Garden. Parking is plentiful and free nearby, including in the Mission Santa Barbara visitor parking lot, and the weather is perfect for being outside pretty much year round. Just remember to pick up your trash when you’re done.
Note: this content was created by me for use by www.edhat.com For reprint permission contact leah@edhat.com
See more great photos here: http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?nid=35705
