Santa Barbara Amazingness

Santa Barbara was just fabulous. Honestly one of, if not the best trip we have taken so far. We've been bad about traveling. We tend to fall into the Vegas trap, which is fine and dandy, but when all is said and done, you leave wondering where all your money went, when you really could be doing so much more. So we did more.

First up, we stayed at the gorgeous Harbor View Inn. I seriously recommend it. We had a deluxe oceanview room in the new building, and it was the most beautiful room ever. The balcony was massive. In fact, there were two! There was a huge Kohler tub in the bathroom (with a separate shower, my passion in life). The decor was Spanish/Tuscan/Delightful. We were welcomed with a bottle of champagne which we promptly devoured. We ordered a brownie for dessert, and though it was decent at best, it hit the spot.

The next morning we somehow woke up bright and early. Early enough to catch the beautiful sunrise over the ocean (not sure how this was managed, as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, but trust me, this happened). We sat on our big balcony and took in the view and sounds of the ocean. It was cool, but there was no fog or drearyness in sight. Room service brought us a lovely breakfast, and after that we were off to explore.

First stop was driving along State Street, which our hotel was conveniently located on. We wanted to check out the Courthouse, since it has a bunch of historical significance and whatnot. We actually mistook a church for the courthouse, which was a little awkward as there was some Mexican service going on at the time. We did end up finding it and were able to snap up a ton of pictures around the place. It really would make for a cool wedding venue. All weekend we kept finding perfect places to get married. Unfortunately, we already are! :-P


We decided to head to the beach, and realized we needed sunscreen. On our way to Rite Aid we somehow managed to get sidetracked by a cheese store (!!) and went on inside. Oh. My. God. The cheeses there were just divine. They kept luring us with samples. And then we saw it. Wine. Lots of it. A wine tasting menu. And a cheese platter. We had to do it. So we did. This was seriously one of the top highlights of our trip. So impromptu. So fabulous. So... delightful!

So I got a little piss drunk. What, I'm a lightweight! I enjoyed everything so much we just had to come home with some cheeses. And wine. Adam loved #2 the most. I prefered #1 or #4. Adam's fave cost $14. Mine were $50 and $55. I swear I didn't know the prices while we were tasting! So we bought Adam's wine :-P I really wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much. I may develop a habit...

After the cheese festivities, we finally made it to the beach to sprawl out and bask in the sunshine. Ahhhh. For some reason, we got restless after not too long and decided to check out Rusty's Pizza Parlor for a late lunch (because we weren't piggy enough with all the cheese earlier).

We got a couples massage at the end of the afternoon at Avia Spa. Very nice, swanky little place - with a price tag to match. We weren't really sure about the point of the couples' part, since neither of us did any talking - we may as well have been in separate rooms. But I guess it's nice to be near each other in the event of a massage emergency? Speaking of which, my masseuse deknotted me of quite a few pesky knots, but I could swear afterwards that one ended up at the base of my head, and I was having an annheurism. Really! Adam didn't really believe that one so much, but I am still afraid of sleeping now. Anyhow, now, completely zen-ed out, we decided on Indian for dinner. We chose Taj because we saw Indian people near it (not kidding). It was freakin delicious! That meal did us in for sure. And very affordable, may I add.

It was a positively amazing day. On Sunday I woke up early again and caught the sunrise (who am I?). Beautiful. Then we were off to the Four Seasons for brunch. Now this place was high class. LOL we had a Clifton sitting at the table next to us and we eavesdropped on their conversation about the days of yore when they would brunch on the countryside. We were very entertained. The food was decent, Adam made up for the expense of it all by drinking his body weight in mimosas. We walked along the property afterwards and somehow wound up at the pool. Whoops! So we hung out for a bit :-)

We lounged on the beach in front of the resort for a while and then decided to catch a game of miniature golf before heading home. But we missed our pup and the place was packed, so we went right for home. It was an amazing vacation, shared with an amazing man.

And, I almost forgot! On Thursday evening, our actual anniversary, we went for a ritzy dinner at good ol' Ruth's Chris. And we exchanged gifts. I got Adam premier Laker tickets for when they play the Nuggets next week, and he got me a little photo album. That says "Our Honeymoon" on it. That when I opened it had a little note on the first page that said "Remember that honeymoon we never got to take...?" And when I turned the page, it had flight and hotel info for a trip... to MAUI! MY AMAZING HUSBAND IS TAKING ME TO MAUI FOR OUR HONEYMOON!!! I was totally floored. I can't believe he planned this himself! We're going to be staying at the Westin for a week at the end of summer and I absolutely cannot wait. He always has to top me with gift giving... Not that I'm going to mind :-P

Phew, that was a long post! Oh and don't go getting the idea that we're outrageously rich swanky types who travel and dine at the top eateries all the time- this is so out of the ordinary for us and it all feels positively heavenly. We're having an amazing year and I can't help but feel entitled to it after last year! Don't hate me!