I'm in Cambria, California. A small town about 6 miles south of Hearst Castle. We arrived here yesterday evening after a drive down the coast on Highway 1. Yesterday was Thanksgiving Day, so the whole town was shut down by 6pm, with the exception of the Hotel and a few gas stations. Lucky for us, we brought our own "Sushi Netta". We made rice with our rice cooker, mixed in vinegar and sugar, and then made sushi hand rolls. This morning, we'll have the hotel breakfast snacks, and then head off for the Experience Tour at Hearst Castle.

update 1

Now we're in Santa Barbara, CA. About 2 hours drive farther south from Cambria. Hearst Castle was pretty cool. Definitely worth it for a short few days trip down the coast. Weather got a bit wet by the end of the tour, mostly drizzle, but cold enough to make you want to be inside. We had lunch at Robin's restaurant which was pretty good with some Asian style dishes to keep the wife happy. I suppose you'd call it a "fusion cuisine" style place.

update 2

Great weather in Santa Barbara! Despite heavy clouds and drizzle on the way down, the next day was sunny and warm for Fall. We ate dinner at Fat Burger on State Street - a 7 mile long street filled with shops reminiscent of Palo Alto or Mountain View, but longer and better! Lots of college kids were enjoying their time at the many bars, restaurants, cafes, movie theaters, and assorted stores.

We had only one day to see Santa Barbara. It is a very nice coastal town. The downtown is clean and well kept, and the whole town is circled by high hills in the background. It has a European feel to it. We drove down to the beach where our 2 daughters collected many good quality sea shells, and then we walked onto the Stearns pier which was just ok. Like Santa Cruz or Monterey, you might think the pier would be a good place to see authentic fishermen bringing in the day's catch, but in reality they are always tourist sites full of gift stores and restaurants. The views are nice looking out on the ocean and back toward the town.

Next we went to the "Santa Barbara Botanical Garden" - situated up in the hills a few miles from the coast. The garden was pleasant, but I was expecting something like San Francisco's botanical garden. Instead this was a large area of trails through the hills, dedicated to native California plant species in their natural habitat (i.e. outdoors.) There were oak trees, cacti, and various other Chapparal type native plant species along the trail, but you can see similar things just walking around the trails in the San Francisco Bay Area. If I lived in Santa Barbara I would go frequently to the "Botanical Gardens" to enjoy a nice quiet nature walk, but I'm not so sure it's worth it for a tourist visit. One interesting part there was the small dam and aqueduct built 200 years ago to supply water to Mission Santa Barbara. At least that appealed to the engineer in me.

After the Botanical Garden we dropped in at Mission Santa Barbara. I've been to many Missions before so while it was worth seeing, not much new was found there. Hopefully it was educational for the kids, and even the wife. It is important to understand the Mission system as part of California history.

By the time we finished looking through the Mission, the sun was low in the sky so we drove around some of the super wealthy districts near the coast to get a final feel for Santa Barbara, and then started our long drive home. Overall, I'd say Santa Barbara is best experienced as a place to drive around and soak up the atmosphere, rather that a place with any specific points of interest.

We drove home via highway 101, which is much faster than the Pacific Coast highway. We got home around 11pm Saturday night.
8:27:08 AM      comment