Santa Barbara

During my stay in CA, I have asked many people for advice on interesting things to see and places to go in the Los Angeles area. One recommendation that seemed to be on everyone's list was Santa Barbara. However, every time I asked what exactly there was to see in Santa Barbara, the response was always the same: the person would pause, stare blankly ahead for a few seconds, and then shrug and simply say, "It's nice."

Curiosity finally got the better of me, so I drove to Santa Barbara to find out for myself. And I hereby report, with the utmost sincerity, that "It's nice". Very nice!

I now completely understand all the generic responses. There are a lot of things to do and see in Santa Barbara (none of which I did or saw!), including museums, missions, Spanish-style architectured buildings, a zoo, a botanical gardens, etc. (Unfortunately, I was only there for a day, and a short one at that.) But what stands out is that the area is very pretty and has a smaller and more charming, almost "quaint", feel to it than the coastal areas closer to the bustling metropolis of LA.

I spent my day exploring the waterfront area, including Stearns Wharf and The Santa Barbara Harbor. Stearns Wharf is essentially a glorified, extra-wide pier with many stores, restaurants, a Sea Center, and other typical Californian establishments. I happened upon a few Sea Center personnel hauling up clumps of kelp from the ocean. They carefully inspected the kelp for fish and mollusks that might be hiding within, and then snipped off seaweed samples to add to their exhibits. I also learned that Santa Barbara was (and still is) a major commercial fishing area.

A long breakwater wall surrounds the harbor area, and you can walk down a path along the full length of the wall, which is cool except that you run the risk of being soaked by huge waves that regularly break against the wall and dump lots of (slippery) seaweed all over the place. I enjoyed a Wild Kingdom moment when I discovered a small sea lion sitting on the rocks just below the breakwater wall. I jumped up onto the wall to snap some photos, and observed that the sea lion had discolored fur and possible injuries around its head and neck. As I began to worry about the poor fellow, some Harbor Patrol guys showed up with a giant net (which looked eerily like the prototypical dog catcher nets in Sunday morning cartoons!). I asked them if the sea lion was sick, and they replied matter-of-factly: "If we can catch him, then he is." A few minutes later, one guy slowly approached the sea lion and then suddenly lunged at him, trying to trap him in the net. But the sea lion took off like a shot and escaped, swimming off into the ocean with terror in his eyes. Hopefully the sea lion is healthy after all!

Have I mentioned that California is the most dog-friendly place I've ever been? Dogs are everywhere, especially Chihuahuas and other small breeds. In Santa Barbara, I did a few double-takes as I observed some boats with a human family and their dog, and other boats with a dog family and their human.

The full set of pictures can be found here.

Huntington Beach

Another weekend, another beach. Huntington Beach is well-known for being surfer paradise, so I ventured southward to see surfers in their native habitat. I wasn't disappointed. The density and quality of the surfers was impressive. The ocean was filled with surfers, who were further from shore than I am used to seeing in Venice, and many were extremely good! It was fun to watch the surfers ride the waves for long periods of time.

The beach was filled with volleyball courts and people, including a few who were flying kites, such as this super-cool shark kite. (Speaking of kites, I saw a totally awesome macaw kite at the local beach recently.) The Huntington Beach pier was surprisingly nice. It was clean, spacious, and for some reason (possibly my imagination) seemed to have an especially expansive view of the ocean. I also witnessed a fisherman catch an odd-looking sting ray, which flipped upward to reveal its mouth before curling up and showing its dorsal fins. I'm guessing it is a thornback ray. And I finally got a decent picture of a sea lion, who was swimming near the pier.

The touristy area around the beach was small, consisting of a Surfer's Hall of Fame with statue in front, a Surfer's Walk of Fame, and ~2 blocks of restaurants and shops, many of which were named after Duke. I didn't see it, but apparently there is also an International Surfing Museum. My main regret, however, is that I just missed the Duck-a-Thon! Damn, that would have been fun...