Part 1 of a much needed escape.

Oh my goodness. I'm sorry for my unintentional absence. Blogging can just be like a vicious cycle. I had lots to post and then it got overwhelming so I put it off. And the more I put it off the more overwhelming it got. Anyone know what I mean? When I finally went to catch up, Blogger was down. And then I started getting kind of mean emails.. about people unsubscribing because of me not posting enough. So I was just kind of over it.

BUT.

We just got back from a weekend in Santa Barbara (and other random parts of the central coast) and I feel refreshed. I'm not even going to bother filling you in on the past few weeks, I'm just starting fresh. So, Santa Barbara.

When we went to San Francisco in September, we also drove the PCH and there were a few key places we missed due to time constraints - Santa Barbara being one of them. I have been to Santa Barbara before, but Matt hasn't, and I knew it was worth a trip. We are obsessed with mountains and Santa Barbara is set against a ridiculously gorgeous backdrop of mountains. I basically just started at the mountains the whole time instead of what I was supposed to be looking at.... and I'm only partly joking.

We stayed at the Presidio Motel - an old style motel that the owners updated. The rooms were fun and clean, the location was good, and the price was right. And I loved the sun deck.

The first night we watched the Bruins game (yeaaah B's!) in the hotel and ate a late dinner at Los Agaves. I'm not an expert on authentic Mexican food, but this was probably the best Mexican food I've ever had. I had ridiculously delicious enchiladas. And Matt demolished his wet burrito before I could take a picture.

The next day we woke up and I found my dream house on the walk to breakfast. Yes, I pretty much find a new dream house in every city we visit. But seriously I want to live here. The second picture is the side of the house. Huuuuuuge house.

Then we went up to the old mission and they were having some sort of festival this weekend where they turn all the pavement surrounding the mission into a big canvas for chalk/pastel artists. We got there early and they were just starting, but how amazing is this? I wish we went back before we left to see the finish products.

The mission itself was pretty amazing - I mean, the Santa Barbara mission is supposed to be the mother of all missions. It did not disappoint.

It's still in use, which makes the sanctuary even more spiritual and enchanting.

Then we went to the Santa Barbara courthouse, which is also still in use. If I had to go to court, I wouldn't even be mad.

As you can see, if you like Spanish architecture, Santa Barbara is pretty much your mecca.

And the view from the clocktower of the courthouse. Breathtaking.

Finally, we walked the beach path and ate some seafood on the pier. This was our view. See the mountains? Well duh, you do. They're gorgeous.

And after watching some UFC (yes, again, we had to keep up with our sporting events while on vacation), we went for a late night In-N-Out run. We usually try to avoid chain places when on vacation - you gotta soak up the local flavor, ya know? But we're not technically Californians. So when in California, do like the Californians do and eat In-N-Out. Besides, we're only in California for three more years - gotta take advantage of In-N-Out while we can, right? Perfectly logical, I think.