I did a little research before I went and found that I was going to be driving up the Pacific Coast Highway. I'd heard that it was really a beautiful drive so I was kind of looking forward to that.
Santa Barbara is a neat little town. It's very expensive but it's quaint. I've never been able to spend any quality time there. I usually visit on business and business doesn't really lend itself to being a tourist. Santa Barbara is cool because it's at the foot of these beautiful mountains and also right on the Pacific coast.
View of Santa Barbara flying in from LA.
Sunset on the ocean - a view from the plane.I'd never been to Lompoc but I'd read about it in some of my mystery novels. As I was driving up the Pacific Coast highway, I was a little disappointed. I thought I'd literally be driving right along the ocean line. But that was not the case, at least heading North. There were the Southbound lanes, a set of railroad tracks (for the Amtrak that was still running) and a lot of brush between me and the ocean. So, in some instances it was hard for me to even see the water. Along the way, I saw a sign to Refugio State Park. I decided to pull over because I thought this might be the only chance I get to see the water while I'm here.
View of the sunset from Refugio State Park.
The beach was closed to campers but since there was no one at the gate, I just drove in, took some pics and left.
I thought the colors of the night were so pretty. It was a bit overcast and rainy there. So this was the extent of my Pacific Coast highway view going into Lompoc. Beautiful but not at all what I expected. When I turned off the highway to take the road to Lompoc, it was about 6:30 pm. In about five minutes, it became pitch black. From what I could tell, Lompoc was in a valley in between the mountains. But there was NOTHING on the way out there. Nothing but blackness. That was a little disconcerting. I felt lucky to have the GPS as company.As I got closer to the town, I actually began to see the light. I drove straight to my hotel and stayed in for the night.
When I go to these places, I always try to eat at restaurants that we don't have at home. The next day, I went to lunch with the client and she suggested this place called Burrito Loco. I kid you not. I thought - how good could it be, really? I'm kind of a Mexican Food snob. This place was awesome. In fact, it was so good that if I hadn't been so full from lunch, I'd have gone back at dinner. I got pork in this green chile sauce that resembled something my grandmother would make.
When we were done for the day, I decided to drive around the town and check it out in the daylight hours. I was right in that it was nestled between several mountains. There appeared to be a big ranch presence. Lots of cows or other four legged cow looking animals.
I drove by this place called the McKay-Spanne House.
It was built in 1875 when Lompoc was just a fledgling town. The guy that built it, Henry Wadsworth Fabing seemed to have more faith in the the town than others around him. In 1902, the house was bought by William McKay, who was an immigrant from Ireland. In 1910, the house was bought by Nis Spanne. After that, it was purchased by the Lompoc Historical Society. It was about to be torn down.
So, I wonder why it wasn't called the Fabing-McKay-Spanne house...It was after 5 so it was closed. No tours. Like I said, business travel doesn't really lend itself to being a tourist. I drove out by La Purisma Mission but that closed at 5 and I couldn't even take any photos.
Just driving around town, I realized that they had murals everywhere. I took photos of a few that I liked. I'm not sure how you get to paint the murals, etc but some of them were really nice.
Here are a couple of my favorite ones. This train makes me think of people visiting one another. There are some specters there outlined in white, like ghosts.
This one is just kind of old-timey. Plus it has the city name it in. But seriously, these murals are everywhere.
I stayed at the Embassy Suites. I love that place. They have happy hour and a good breakfast. This particular hotel had this cool garden in the courtyard.As I was driving out of town, I found it to be a lot different than coming in. For starters, it was daylight so I could actually see. It's beautiful.
They had a lot of these churches that were old-timey. This was the First Baptist Church. The city was very green. Lots of mountains and beautiful views.
Heading back into Santa Barbara, I drove south on the Pacific Coast highway. That was much more like what I expected. So many times, I wanted to pull over and just take pictures. Unfortunately, it's very traffic-y on that highway. They had a couple of turnouts that I was able to pull into.
That's me with the Pacific Ocean behind me.
This are the railroad tracks that run along the coast line. They are used by Amtrak. That's got to be a beautiful train ride.
I thought this was really pretty coastline. I drove back to Santa Barbara so that I could stay near the airport. My flight in the morning was at 8:30 am and I thought it made more sense to sleep until 7 and then drive the two miles to the airport so I could be there by 7:30. While in Santa Barbara, I had to try the famous In & Out Burger. I've heard about it from many places but mostly from John when he goes to San Diego.
The line in the drive through was wrapped around the building. I had a single burger meal, which came with fries & a drink. Through the window, I could see them slicing the potatoes to make the french fries. I have to tell you, the fries were terrible. I didn't eat them. The burger, on the other hand, was really good.It was a nice trip. I think my meeting with the client went well and I got to see a bit of California that I hadn't seen before.
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