I would have to say that if any place has "disappointed" me on this trip, it would probably be Santa Barbara. In fairness though, because of time our visit was mainly limited to Main Street, so I am sure that my view would change had I seen more. The other element to it is I've heard such great things, and I think as a result it was a little built up in my head. All that being said, it's certainly a cool and beautiful town. It reminded me in certain respects of Santa Cruz, though I think I liked the vibe a bit better in the 'Cruz. The other part of it is we didn't really have any sites to see ala Hearst Castle, Aquarium, Big Sur et al. I will say that my run along the ocean was pretty darn nice. We found an outdoor store with a climbing wall and the kids hit it full on. The Little Boy climbs once a week and I expected him to be good but the Little Girl is really something. She even had the climbing folks in the store nodding their heads and laughing. She is going to be a great athlete.
After cruising around for about half the day, we took off and called an audible to stop in Ventura (it wasn't in our original "itinerary" -- not that we really have/had one). Anyway, on a lark I asked the Wife if we could try to find Patagonia headquarters. I recognize fully how dorky that makes me sound, but as I stated previously, I am obsessed with that brand and for me, a trip to where it all began is the equivalent of a retail Haj. Lo and behold, thanks to my handy dandy Motorola Q, we found it without too much trouble; attached is a photo of me in front of the original building. One of the dudes who worked there took me around back and showed me the original ironworks toolshed that Yves ran prior to founding the company. I also saw the daycare center that they have for their employees. It was definitely pretty cool for me, even though the Wife spent a considerable amount of time rolling her eyes. I also must say that the coast line along Ventura was absolutely off the hook; maybe the prettiest line of coast we've seen, which is really saying something.
After that we rolled into LA. The Little Girl in particular was for some reason particularly stoked to get to LA. I think she has the shopping gene, much like her mother. We are staying at The Georgian Hotel here in Santa Monica, which is where I stay virtually ever time I come to LA for business, which is a lot. They rolled out the red carper for us, which I greatly appreciate. They have an amazing staff here, which is a major reason I've been coming here for more than three years.
So, we've finally arrived in our final destination. Today we hit the mean streets of Rodeo Drive, but I'll save that for tomorrow.
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