Out And About: Santa Barbara

Around this time last week, Alex and I travelled to Santa Barbara.  The trip was part of an extended birthday celebration/gift that included tickets to see one of my favorite artists, Banks, who was to perform at the Bowl.  Two days prior to the show, we walked, ate, drank, napped on the beach and shopped a bit in this truly pretty place.  Tucked in between the mountains and the sea, Santa Barbara's air is clean, crisp and a little salty.  We stayed at the hip Goodland Hotel, where I admit to feeling a little out of my league, but where the laid-back, cool California vibe was quite entertaining.  Among the places we visited, my favorites were the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden, The Textile Studio, Raoul's, American Ale for cocktails, and of course, the Bowl, where I danced (my-you-know-what-off) to the sounds and amazing voice of Elizabeth Banks.  Take a look a few images from our past weekend:

Many thanks to NS and KT for taking such great care of the kids while we were away.  

As an aside, let's all hope that the recent oil spill that contaminated the pristine Santa Barbara coast is cleaned up quickly and effectively, so that no more wildlife or plant material is lost forever.