Santa Barbara, Trip Two

It was with a bit of caution and a good sense of humor that the kids and I picked up our beloved Kendra for a second stab at... no... wrong word... second attempt at Santa Barbara.

Having already checked Santa Barbara Mission off the to-see list last time we visited we began this sightseeing tour at the Santa Barbara Court House.

Now had I seen the court house as a suggestion on a dry website I would have scoffed at such a boring idea and moved on to where the nearest In-N-Out could be found. (I'm just that creative when it comes to sight seeing.) However, since my fun and bouncy friend suggested seeing it I took it seriously, and, boy, she wasn't kidding! That building was amazing - beautiful architecture, tiles everywhere, paintings, etc. Breathtakingly and surprisingly stupendous. 

I am not a paranoid mother. I don't mind my children climbing trees, venturing out of my sight (to a certain extent), or rough housing. But on heights? NOT FUN! Once I took a picture with the two littles right under me. I saw Simon's little arm go through a slot in the banister and I gasped as my heart jumped into my throat! No, thank you!

Do you see what I'm talking about? No THANK you!

I quickly took some pictures of the gorgeous view and carefully walked down the steep metal stairs to the ground floor again. I'm sorry. I just couldn't help it. Last time we were at Santa Barbara the city struck back, and I wasn't letting that happen again!

See? Wouldn't that make you freak out too?

Next stop was CrushCakes. 

We took our treats to... that's right... Children's World, that dreaded playground where Nathan cut his head last time. I had asked him what his opinion was on returning to the scene of the accident, and he hemmed and hawed and then said, "Sure!"

Simon, the smart one, chose milk over a cupcake. He sucked the thing down and then bummed a few pastry bites off the beloved babysitter.

Alice Keck Park was next as it was right across the street.

We roamed a bit looking at turtles and giant koi fish, played a game of tag, and called for children to stop picking flowers.

We drove about fifteen minutes out of the city to the South Coast Railroad Museum. Unfortunately it was closed. But the grounds were lovely enough for us to wander around just to kill time before dinner.

We love Miss Kendra!

Uh... Kendra... I sure hope you don't mind me posting pictures of you on the website. 

Now this place, Padaro Beach Grill, was so pleasant it was almost worth driving the hour and a half just to have dinner together as a family. I mean, I suppose we could go through a drive through and park ourselves on the beach for the same effect, but I don't know.

So at Padaro's you take your burgers to their lovely manicured lawn and eat at picnic tables while the children play.

This was my teriyaki burger. Kaeley ordered a California burger. When she looked at disgust at the avocado on her meat patty and asked, "Why is all this stuff on my burger?" I did almost take the extra $0.75 out of her college fund to put back in my skinny wallet. I gave her grace this time, but that was the end of her ordering-specialty-burger days!

After dinner we drove the long way home. Simon didn't sleep a wink the entire day. He kept telling us he wasn't tired. Finally, about twenty minutes away from home, he finally admitted to being tired. He then fell asleep. He was so tired by the time we got home that when I asked which place was his favorite his answer was a firm, "No!" He had barely crossed the threshold before he stripped down to pull-ups and socks for bed.

Santa Barbara, you were beautiful this time around and we look forward to another trip sometime soon in order to introduce you to the sponsor of our adventure: the husband. Until then...