From Philly to Santa Barbara

We were off to the airport by 5:20 -- the only glitch came when the shuttle from the parking lot waited for USAir crews at the nearby hotel -- we pretty much wasted 10 minutes. But because we had a TSA precheck logo on our boarding passes (why, I don't know!!), we bypassed the long line and quickly made our way to the gate. Yay!

I LOVE Virgin America, from the zen-like pink/purple lighting to the comfortable seats to the lack of serving carts in the aisles -- perfection. 

We even played while we were flying.

What a chill flight.

It took a while to get our rental car and then another while to figure out the new-fangled lack of an ignition key thing. Gjelina was our first stop, an awesome restaurant in Venice. We had some small plates and California-brewed beer -- delightful. And it's always good people-watching there -- deals being made, problems being analyzed.

Pickled smelts with avocado

Heirloom tomato salad

Oyster mushrooms and gnocchi

Soooo good.

We arrived in Santa Barbara at 3:15 and immediately checked in. Bob took a little nap while I discovered a brewpub a five-minute walk from our hotel. Score!

Those glasses were hefty, though, for dubbel and triple beer. We were sitting near locals just like in Amsterdam, but it was a very different vibe -- afterwards, we had a discussion about dreads...

About an hour remained until our dinner reservation, so walked a ways up Stearns Wharf to kill some time (and walk off the beer).

Dinner was at Toma, #1 on Trip Advisor's list of Santa Barbara restaurants. No disappointment here -- it was again a wonderful experience with friendly staff and excellent choices.

Perfectly done calamari

Black spaghetti.

And another version of gnocchi.

Bed at 9:00PM after a long but satisfying day.