Santa Barbara, CA

We got to Santa Barbara after two days of driving from CO. We were there for three nights. Santa Barbara is sometimes called the American Riviera. It is about 90 minutes north of LA and has so much to offer. We absolutely love this town and were so happy to spend time here as a family. We took William here once before, for one night when he was a baby, and it was great to come back!



Walking to the beach on our first night.



Our hotel was so close to the beach that we went there each night, as well as during the day. Night beach walks in Santa Barbara are a tradition for our young family. Chris and I took our first night beach walk here when I was pregnant with William in the summer of 2007.







William was definitely an explorer on the beach and led us on a few expeditions.



Taking in the view from our room.



Dinner at Stearn's Wharf. It is a cool pier with a few restaurants, shops, and an ice cream shop. We walked there on our second night for a relaxing family dinner over the water.








Riding the trolley in downtown Santa Barbara. William is holding "Barbara" (aka "Babs"), a stuffed flamingo we bought for our dog Nora at the OffLeash pet store seen in the background. William took her under his wing for the trip and took great care of her until we got home and gave Babs to Nora.





Playing shuffle board at Carr Winery. Santa Barbara is known for producing world class wines. It is where the movie Sideways was filmed and set. We got to sample a little wine while we were there, and William got to play some games.



Playing at a park on the beach!



Hot tub session at our hotel on our last morning. Notice the fog - Santa Barbara is notorious for morning fog that breaks up each day around noon. The fog is one of the reasons the wine is so good - it makes for an excellent grape growing climate!



Santa Barabara