Weekend Getaway: Santa Barbara

This month, for personal and professional reasons, The Boys* had to come out from New York to Santa Barbara, so I decided to fly down for the weekend. It was a bit pricey, but, not only would I get a chance to see two of my favorite people in the world, I would also be able to cross a few more missions off my list. Win-win.

I always intend to visit Santa Barbara when I drive down to L.A., but it suffers from being a bit too close to that city (and you just want to get there already, and not stop and play tourist). On the one occasion that I did pass through, I only had time for lunch at La Super-Rica Taqueria.** I drove by the Santa Barbara Mission; however, it was Memorial Day weekend and the annual festival of I Madonnari (Italian street painting) and therefore I realized instantly that it would be insane to try and find parking anywhere near there, so I headed back to 101 and up the coast.

What I didn’t realize was that there’s so much to see and do in Santa Barbara (beyond the Mission) that it merits more than a detour, and has earned its place as my first weekend getaway.

First on your list should be the Courthouse, one of the loveliest you’ll ever see. Located at 1100 Anacapa Street (on the corner of Anapamu Street—and, yes, there are many similar sounding and confusing street names in this city), this building is a marvel inside and out, with hand-painted ceilings, spiral staircases, Spanish tiles, carved doors, and gorgeous murals depicting early California history. From the tower, you get a great view of the surrounding city, ocean, and mountains.

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art is one of the top ten regional museums in the country, and can serve as a nice respite from shopping on State Street. While we originally went to the museum to see the sand mandala created by the monks of the Sera Mahayana Buddhist Monastery in South India, the exhibition that really caught my eye was that of stop-motion photographer Ori Gersht, who had some incredible pieces inspired by one of my favorite artists, Henri Fantin-Latour.

Ori Gersht, Blow Up: Untitled 4, 2007

What can I say? I have a weakness for flowers, even when they are exploding.

Speaking of flowers, worth a trip into the hills is the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden on Mission Canyon Road. The gardens, which cover 78 acres, feature indigenous plants of California, with a meadow section, redwood section, desert section, etc. We were lucky to catch a number of plants in bloom, especially cacti. Absolutely beautiful.

Another fascinating freak of nature, and I’m not talking about the dolphins down by Stearns Wharf (although, dolphins!), is the Moreton Bay Fig Tree at the intersection of Chapala Street and Highway 101. Planted in the 1870s and now a city landmark, it is ginormous.

Of course, as any viewer of Sideways can tell you, Santa Barbara County is also wine country. Just over the San Marcos Pass and through the Los Padres National Forest is the Santa Ynez Valley, home of killer pinot noirs and chardonnays. If you don’t have time to go vineyard hopping, on any trip down 101, I highly recommend a detour to the small town of Los Olivos and a visit to the Los Olivos Tasting Room & Wine Shop. While in the neighborhood, be sure to stop in at the Disneyesque town of Solvang and the La Purísima Mission just down the road in Lompoc.

  

Yes, almost all of the stores and
hotels in Solvang look like this.



La Purísima Mission


Finally, a shout-out to the Bath Street Inn—a large, comfortable Victorian Bed & Breakfast close to the center of town. My room was actually larger than it seems in pictures and I had a lovely balcony to boot. In addition to afternoon tea and evening wine and cheese, they serve a delicious, filling breakfast, with homemade granola and such dishes as stuffed French toast and baked eggs (which were so good I raved about them and they printed out the recipe for me unasked). A great place.

 

Word to the wise: If you ever fly in to the Santa Barbara Airport, be aware that the relatively short taxi ride from the airport to downtown will set you back about $45, including tip. The shuttles you see parked right next to the taxis outside the airport will make the same trip for only $27-30.

* See future posts on Utah. One of The Boys took the profile pic on this page.

** La Super-Rica Taqueria at 622 North Milpas Street is reputed to be Julia Child’s “favorite taco stand”; however, a local who knew her swears she told him she had no idea where that rumor got started. Regardless, the roasted pasilla chile stuffed with cheese and the chorizo tacos were almost worth the ridiculous wait in line.

Madonna Inn

I really only have two things to say about the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo:
1) the pictures don’t do it justice, and 2) I can’t wait for an excuse to go back.

Almost exactly halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, where Routes 1 and 101 cross, it is the perfect stop on any trip between the two cities. While perhaps expensive for the area, you can find good deals by poking around the rates on their website. Regardless, you will get great value for your money.

When I first heard about this place—that it was kitschy, with every room having a different theme—I pictured a slightly seedy roadside inn, whose only value was the concept. What I found instead was an incredibly designed, completely modern hotel, with a friendly staff, excellent food, and fabulous rooms. Yes, it is completely kitschy, but in a good way. The closest I may get to a modern fairytale castle. If you want to get an idea of the variety of rooms, take a look at Caveman, Crazy Dazy, Vous, Wilhelm Tell, and, my personal favorite, San Francisco. There are over 100 different choices. And, while you can’t reserve a specific design, you can submit a request for any room that falls under the rate you have reserved. I submitted three choices within my rate block and got my top choice, Traveler’s Yacht.

I love nautical themes and immediately loved the room, which was quite large, with an extremely plush carpet that was a joy to walk on barefoot. The amount of detail and thought that must have gone into the room is truly incredible.

What really got me was the bathroom. I would kill for a bathroom like this, especially the tile, which was inset with anchors on the floor, and starfish and seahorses in the shower stall. Even the fixtures looked like little ship’s wheels.

I can’t wait to see what they have done with some of the other themes.

The restaurants are designed with similar elaborate care, especially the steakhouse. By the way, those banquettes you see in that picture are not red, they’re pink, the Madonna Inn’s signature color. Since I was there after they had begun putting up Christmas decorations, it was even more extravagant than usual. More importantly, although not a big steak eater, I must say that my rib-eye was delicious (the cocktails could be improved however).

Finally, don’t miss the men’s room urinal in the restaurant complex, complete with waterfall. Go ahead ladies, knock and take a peek. Everyone does.

Asilomar

Asilomar, or rather, the Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds, was designed to be a YWCA retreat by Julia Morgan, the Arts & Crafts architect of Hearst Castle. Asilomar is actually a made-up word roughly meaning “refuge by the sea.” Located in Pacific Grove on the edge of the Monterey Peninsula, the over 100 acres of beachfront land is certainly that. It is hard not to feel the quiet pull of nature while there—within moments of checking in, as I entered my room, deer ambled by my window. The ocean is just steps away and the grounds of the center connect to the beach over a short boardwalk over wild dunes.

Leaping into the yard of Scripps lodge

Asilomar is now a conference center, but, when there is space available, leisure travelers can book rooms separately. The historic buildings designed by Morgan are listed in the National Register of Historic Places and that’s where I chose to stay. Rooms of various types and sizes can be found in these lodges, all with private baths, as well as a common living room and fireplace in the center of the building (great for reading). Prices are very reasonable for the area. Guests are provided breakfast in the main dining hall and can eat other meals there, but, in general, the food is nothing to write home about. Since I had been warned not to eat there, I chose to eat other meals in downtown Pacific Grove and nearby Monterey.

Scripps lodge



View of the grounds and ocean from Scripps



Scripps room

The rustic lodges of Asilomar are probably not to everybody’s taste, especially given that there are no telephones or televisions, but I thought they were heaven. The beds were comfortable, the rooms were clean, and the setting can’t be beat.

Sunset at Asilomar Beach