SeaSET

Erinn and I drove to the coast last week so she could take the CSET. The actual test wasn't much fun for either of us, but it's always nice to get out of town for a bit. She lost her mind scraping her brain clean during the test while I read at a park down the street. Alright, I guess my part sounds pretty nice.

We then took a short drive south to Solvang to walk around and soak in all its Dutchiness, ate a Cream Puff at a local dutch bakery, and continued down highway 101 to Santa Barbara. Again, we parked, walked around the town, and soaked in its niceness. There's no comparison between Solvang and Bakersfield or Santa Barbara and Bakersfield. There aren't any places in town where one would go simply to walk around and window shop.

That particular evening, Santa Barbara was having a farmer's market on State Street. Erinn and I made a few passes at one of the stands getting a bunch of samples of cheese before giving in and buying one called Garlic Jack that is super delicious. I bought Erinn some daisies and she bought some tangerines.

I'm sure Erinn would like me to point out that tangerines are hard to come by in a typical grocery store. You can get "cuties", clementines, or "small oranges" any day, but tangerines must be too tasty to keep around at Albertson's.

We then walked back up the street to our car in time for parking to be free (ah, yeah!) and started a lazy drive home. I love slow drives with no rush. We get to talk, listen to music, listen to movies play in the car, make stops whenever we want. When we got to Valencia, we made an impromptu stop at BevMo and picked up a handful of rootbeers. Then we stopped at Islands for a burger before heading north for Bakersfield.

It was a nice, quick trip. Solvang is pretty, but kind of boring on a weekday, especially if you're not hungry. Bring an appetite and walking shoes. Santa Barbara and the whole area that surrounds it is beautiful.

Original Posting:
http://themanylivesofjules.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/seaset/