Summer Road Trip 2016 - Day 4: Santa Barbara's Moreton Bay Fig Tree & Carpinteria's World's largest Torrey Pine

Before leaving Santa Barbara, we made a quick stop to see the famed Moreton Bay Fig Tree...

While San Diego boasts its own Moreton Bay Fig tree (the Tallest one actually, next to the SD Museum of Natural History; over 80 feet high)...

McConnell's Ice Creams and Yogurt on Mission

With a visit to the other location under our belt, I thought that we should at least visit the original location of McConnell's...

Dessert was on our minds (ok, MY mind)...

They have a very small parking lot which happened to be full so we made do with street parking, next to another location of Cajun Kitchen..

OMG, I haven't seen someone drape a sweater around their neck since the 80's. Hello...

Sorry, I'll stop being the fashion police for a few seconds. Let's go inside shall we?

Boathouse at Hendry's Beach

We cleaned up a bit before heading to our dinner destination which was conveniently...


here, at the beach!

Arroyo Burro State Beach (aka Hendry's Beach)

It was time to hit the beach but instead of the touristy beach near Stearns Wharf, we went to another popular, but more "local" hangout.

The official name is Arroyo Burro State Beach but it is known by locals as Hendry's Beach..

El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park + a bit of Filipino American history at the Chapel

Across the street from Handlebar Coffee Roasters and Three Pickles Deli is a notable historic landmark..

known as El Presidio de Santa Barbara.

This is separate from the Mission and located in what used to be the old Chinatown of Santa Barbara...

Handlebar Coffee Roasters

I almost forgot...we had coffee here at Handlebar Coffee Roasters,

which is located in the buildng right next to Three Pickles.

While Bert was ordering our food, I went next door to get our super late coffee drinks...

Three Pickles Deli & the History of Jimmy's Oriental Garden

Our next stop was an educational foray into Santa Barbara's history...

but first, we had lunch at this building across the street from El Presidio of Santa Barbara...a place with its own unique history...

SBPM Revisit - I'A Fish Market & Cafe + Flagstone Pantry

Before heading over to Franceschi Park, we made a quick stop back here,

at the SB Public Market to pick up a few items for dinner...

Franceschi Park

Although we went back to the SBPB, I'll skip ahead to this post which details our visit to a local (but hidden) viewpoint, Franceschi Park...

The park is up in the Missions Hills Ridge neighborhood and was named after Francesco Franceschi, an internationally respected horticulturist who introduced many plants to the area.


Along with the park, there is a road named after him. His dilapidated (and abandoned) mansion is still there as well...

McConnell's Fine Ice Creams (State Street location)

I remember seeing McConnell's ice cream several summers ago in Solvang.

This time, we would try it again in beautiful Santa Barbara...

Santa Barbara Museum of Art + Santa Barbara Courthouse & Sunken Garden & even more tiles

Everytime we travel, I ask Bert and TC to write down a few places they want to visit for our travel wish list (places to visit, foods to try, etc).  This way, they have a "say" in the trip. For our second day, this stop was TC's choice...

She was very interested in seeing the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and thanks to the nice musuem worker...

The French Press

Within walking distance of Cajun Kitchen was our coffee stop...

We'd seen it the other day...

and wanted to give this place a try, as is our custom whenever we are on vacation...

Filipino Community Bldg, Santa Barbara

My same friend recommended that I check out this place of historical interest...

located at 425 State St. is a building with this sign...

Cajun Kitchen, State Street

One of my good friends who used to work at UCSB recommended several places to eat for us...

One of them was the locally owned Cajun Kitchen at the State Street location...

Summer Road Trip 2016 - Day 2: Santa Barbara Waterfront, Harbor + Stearns Wharf

We were up bright and early this particular morning...

taking a morning stroll by the waterfront which was walking distance from our inn...

Scenes from State Street, Santa Barbara

A few snapshots from our little stroll along State Street in Santa Barbara...

We would end up going to this Museum the very next day...

Rori's Artisanal Creamery @ the Santa Barbara Public Market

I was worried about not finding parking in Santa Barbara but we managed to score a spot in a lot off State Street.

Our first stop was the nearby Santa  Barbara Public Market...

Summer Road Trip 2016 - Day 4 Highlights

Before leaving Santa Barbara, we made sure to catch a glimpse of this famous tree...

Look it up on google. San Diego has our own in Balboa Park, but this one is much much bigger...

Summer Road Trip 2016 - Day 3 Highlights

We were off to an early start...

making our way to Goleta, where UC Santa Barbara is located.

One of my good friends hooked me up with a librarian friend of his who works at the university...

Summer Road Trip 2016 - Day 2 Highlights

Whenever we visit a city for the first time, we try to hit up the "must see" places so that if we ever go back, we won't have to do it again (ha ha). But really, in our past experiences with Santa Barbara, it was mainly a "pee stop", buy a quick snack and then leave.  This time, we would check out a few spots on our "lists"...

Doing everything super early in the morning when NO ONE  is out is also a plus.

Having it cool and overcast was also another big plus...