I was really missing family, so in spite of Covid, I took a quick trip to Santa Barbara recently (taking every possible precaution, of course!) I stayed at the Kimpton Goodland in Goleta, as it is very near my brother Rob's Santa Barbara home and it was also convenient walking to several restaurants where we could pick up take-out food. First thing I did was wipe down every surface in the hotel room with Clorox wipes.
Daughter Libby and granddaughter Ruby arrived soon after I did for a fun weekend. We had both brought several favorite games and spent most of the time holed up in the room, bringing back our morning coffee and take-out meals.
The first full morning, the two of them slept in while I went for an early morning walk around Lake Carneros with my brother and sister-in-love Chris. The walk was especially fun because of all the wildlife that has become much bolder in the absence of people. There were lots of little cotton tails, and Chris stopped in her tracks ahead of us on the trail to let a skunk scurry into the bushes.
On our second day, Ruby mentioned that she had never visited any of the missions, as she went to a private school during fourth grade when she would have studied California history, so we headed up to the beautiful Santa Barbara Mission. The sanctuary was closed to visitors, but we walked around the grounds, exploring the gardens and the ruins of the old lavanderia, aquaduct, and tannery.
Then we headed down to Stearns Wharf for an outdoor seafood lunch at the end of the pier. In the afternoon, we visited with Rob and Chris on the deck in their backyard.
The last morning, we had a wonderful outdoor breakfast with my other sister-in-love, Dreena, at the Shoreline Beach Cafe, which had its tables set up right on the sand! We were joined by a very persistent seagull.
It was a great little weekend, and my little "family fix" is helping us get through this very strange time.
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