after enjoying a snack at The Spot and hanging out briefly at Carpinteria State Beach...
Bert wanted to check out a place right off this exit...
in the poetically named small town of Summerland. There was a small park that boasts nice views of the coast along with a trail down to the beach.
Sadly, the flags were half mast. The day before (Sunday, June 12th), 49 people were shot and killed at a gay nightclub in Orlando, FLA. Fifty three more people were wounded. Such a terrible tragedy.
The park had some benches along the edge. There was also another bigger grass area and restrooms.
You can see the short paved trail that leads to the beach.
Going down the ramp...
As we got closer to the beach, we saw this.
It might be difficult to see but in the far far distance, you can see several oil rigs out there. We later found out how pervasive the oil and tar was on the beach. TC had some difficulty trying to remove the black tar from her feet later that day. It wasn't that thick, but it did stain the bottom of her feet. if this ever happens to you, the secret is nail polish remover
There weren't really a lot of people around. We saw a few folks walking their dogs. No one was in the water either (probably because of the oil)
The houses at the top of the hill were pretty nice and I'm sure they enjoy the views. This house had it's own staircase that led to the beach.
This explains a lot...
So while the views are pretty, don't go swimming here! It also had an "oily" odor so there's that too...
Article/news story:
"Summerland Beach oil prompts health warning and beach closure" KEYT New, August 21, 2015
"Summerland Beach's oil seepage mystery" CoastalCare.org, April 2011
More info on Summerland:
wikipedia + info on the oil spill + www.californiabeaches.com
Lookout Park
2297 Finney Rd.
Summerland, CA 93067
Cosb.countyofsb.org/parks + reviews from y*** and a site with great pix and maps, www.lotsafunmaps.com
We had a nice time exploring this little beach area. Santa Barbara was next on the agenda...we had some time to kill before checking into our hotel.
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