Vineyards of Santa Barbara

Our last full day with Gretchen and Dave was spent touring the vineyards of Santa Barbara. We enjoyed these vineyards more than Napa and Sonoma due to their quaintness and seclusion; and the wines were better too! After tasting our fill of wine, we found a lonesome picnic table overlooking vineyards and mountains and enjoyed some crackers, cheese and conversation. Thanks again, Gretchen and Dave, for coming out! We really enjoyed your company!!

Santa Cruz Island with Gretchen and Dave

Roger's older sister and brother in law (Gretchen and Dave) came out for a visit. We took them to Santa Cruz Island to visit the marine sanctuary. While the way over and back were quite challenging, boating-wise, the bright Milky Way at night and secluded anchorage made it worth it.

Saturday Sailing Pictures

This was a great day on the water! A blue whale swam within 20 feet of us, there were a lot of seals and the wind was steady.

Video of Day Sail outside Santa Barbara

We went out for a sail yesterday. At first it was calm with speeds reaching 2 knots. On the way back to the harbor the wind picked up and here we are doing 6 knots (under sail alone).

Another lousy sunset.

This sunset preceded the first rain and thunderstorm in Santa Barbara since April.

Video not appropriate for children under 16!! A day at the Zoo.

We went to the world renowned Santa Barbara Zoo today. While the zoo was beautiful, we most enjoyed our informal lesson on the reproductive habits of the West African Spotted Horn Turtle. Tilt your head to watch the video.

Side Trip of San Francisco: Napa Valley and Sonoma

While in San Francisco, we took a day tour to Napa Valley and Sonoma. While this is not enough time to really experience the vineyards and surrounding beauty, it was enough time to tour three vineyards and taste 12 different wines.

San Francisco by Train

Because of a usually rough and long passage to San Francisco, we decided to take the train. It was a last-minute whirlwind tour; we stayed in three different hotels (due to limited availability) and saw most of the city by foot or bike. We saw all the usual tourist traps (Fisherman's Wharf: never again), but also found some great (small and quaint) dinner cafes. San Francisco proved to be a fun town and a good get-away from the boat (it was nice having our own bathroom with shower and square bed).

Touring Santa Barbara

Here is a view from the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.



































Here we are in Downtown Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara was destroyed by an earthquake in the mid 20's and everything was rebuilt Mediterranean style.

Mountains of Santa Barbara

Here's a shot of the Santa Barbara mountain range with Stearn's Wharf in the forefront. This wharf was originally built in 1872 and took care of the majority of passenger and freight needs for Southern California for over a quarter of a century.

Boat Food

A couple of you have inquired how well we eat on the boat; while our galley is small and it's difficult to make very extravagant meals, Roger has been able to come up with a few dishes that satisfy the stomach (and the palate). Our storage area is small though, so we have four different dinner meals that we have in rotation. This is one of Christine's favorite and is grilled honey mustard salmon with Basmati rice and French green beans.

Santa Barbara Harbor Sunset

Although initially foggy, Santa Barbara is our favorite town so far in California. The mountains deliver a much needed familiar backdrop, but with palm trees. We plan on staying here for a few weeks while we explore the vineyards of Santa Barbara, the Channel Islands and San Francisco.