There and Back Again

Listening to: Are You Still Having Fun? (Eagle-Eye Cherry)
Pondering: Santa Barbara is a paradise; Disneyland is a paradise; the U.S. is a paradise. Paradise is just paradise. Mournful, monotonous, and superficial though it may be, it is paradise. There is no other. (Jean Baudrillard)

I just returned from a 4-day weekend vacation in Santa Barbara, California with my sisters Myra and Mercedes. Everything was pleasant and wonderful, sans the flight to and from in these small airplanes where inside you hear nothing but the sound of the propellers! Scared the crap out of me, truly! I know better to drive next time.

We left San Francisco late evening on Wednesday, amidst the threat of another storm. We arrived in Santa Barbara’s small airport at around 11:00 p.m. At first it appeared that Myra’s luggage did not arrive with us. That did not bode well with our vacation spirits. It did not help at all either that the staff at the airport did not seem the least bit worried that one passenger is without a luggage. Thankfully, they found it twenty minutes later.

We stayed at Brisas del Mar Inn at the Beach. I don’t know why they call it ‘inn at the beach’ when there was no beach nearby and no view of it either. The website said the property is two blocks from the beach, but it felt like five to me. The rooms were okay, though for the first 2 nights, the drainage in our shower was clogged and there was what looked like a stain on the bed sheet on the first night. The noise from banging doors also got quite distracting when weekend came around and the inn was booked to capacity.

On the first day, we took a trolley tour like most tourists do – ha, ha! We spent the rest of our afternoon walking around Stearns Wharf, discovering their very efficient electric shuttles and walking along State Street. We had dinner at the Wharf – can’t remember the restaurant now – where I had a most delightful glass of Riesling wine by Firestone.

On the second day, we drove to the city of Solvang, which is the Danish capital of America. The city is a replica of a Danish village, complete with windmills, horse-drawn carriages, flower-lined streets, pastry shops, smorgasbord restaurants, and old world architectural style houses all around. Oh, what a heavenly place!

The next day, our last day, we had a late start. After returning the car to the rental place, we took the electric shuttle to State Street, started with a very good lunch, a bit of shopping and then walked ourselves all the way back to the inn. In the evening, we packed our stuffs and called for take-out.

My heart is heavy, as it always is when a vacation – short or long – comes to an end. I hope I can get away again real, real soon!