santa barbara, ca

It can be!

Jean Baudrillard waxed eloquently about it in his book America.

I am here now, in my glass coffin surrounded by VCRs, obsessed with death.

I eat a burrito, a spooky mummy for beans, as a hummingbird probes for kniphofia's nectar like a pirate skeleton with a cutlass.

this place truly is hell

I mean it is warm today. The nerve of SB to go over 75 F!

Stevie D is srsly rocking the tank top and shorts and his presence increases the already high SB QOL by a notable margin.

In Baudrillard’s Santa Barbara “you always hear the same question: ‘What are you doing after the orgy?’ ”

OK Stevie and I have actually been discussing this, sort of, re: convos with SB coffee house baristas

people here are so distracted by "what will we do after the orgy?" and you have to wonder where that interest was at during the orgy itself.

https://dankbowlkitchen.com/

I will never eat here, and I will never understand how it remains open.

but i must admit, these are the dankest bowls i've ever seen

Looks like something I'd try. The name doesn't put me off, if that's your objection.

the food is bespoke hot pockets. the aesthetic is weed puns.

I suppose Rebelution, the restaurant, would thrive here

i've always wanted to build my own daddy

i am a free daddy absolutist

SEETHING that user quincie did not take me to the Dank Bowl Kitchen and instead took me to the amazing taqueria and the amazing beachside seafood spot etc

which ones!?

Is La Super-Rica still a must?

Yeah but then i think all those “classic” california institutions are great or at least super fun

I still enjoy it. They put a unique cream sauce on many items. We eat more Cuernavaca, Los Agaves, and Corazon though.

I only learned of Dank Bowl recently, from this thread, and am saving it as a Punishment Meal for S! Who inflicted my punishment meal for that parking ticket we got when I was all “no we don’t need to pay for parking here” at Reunion on East Beach: I have now eaten at the Santa Barbara Denny’s

Is La Super-Rica still a must?

The unique cream sauce is a marvel!!

we tend to get the rain we wanted all at once

I’m out of town and wondering if I should have left a flotation device for the pony!

SB Unified let school out early. Had to ford a few small rivers to pick up the kids. Partners says there are cars abandoned in flooded areas downtown.

All of Montecito is under an evacuation order.

yikes

That is a lot of rain on Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo coast #castorm #AtmosphericRiver in just past 24 hours #cawx pic.twitter.com/9ankUZAU5E

— Alex Tardy Skiwxman (@SanDiegoWCMwx) January 10, 2023

We're doing PCH from LA to SF in December (dream of mine). We did Big Sur to SF last year, so that will be a repeat.

We're going to make SB the first stop for two nights after LA. Thinking of staying right in town instead of in wine country. Are there any good hikes within a short drive of SB?

I was thinking of going SB > Hearst Castle. Is Hearst Castle worth doing? If so, where do you recommend staying near there if we are pushing on to Big Sur the next day?

Inspiration Point is the classic hike. Parking is on a residential street and can be annoying later in the day. With kids, it can be fun to pick up arroyo burro trail from Stevens Park or drive to Toro Canyon - both let you start with a play structure. You can take Arroyo Burro all the way up to Inspiration Point and more if you want a full day kind of thing. Rattlesnake Canyon has an enjoyable loop with some good views, and it can be quieter than IP.

We enjoyed Hearst Castle. I'm no expert on the area, but we stayed in Cambria at a hotel called El Colibri and it was small but nice. They had a path you could walk from the hotel to a pebbly shore.

PCH is currently closed for 50 miles south of Big Sur as several (9! iirc) large sections of the highway washed out over this winter between Big Sur and San Simeon. Hopefully it will be open by next winter but I'd put a contingency plan in place in the event of closures.

Old West Cinnamon rolls can be a fun stop at Pismo. A colleague loves the chowder at Splash Cafe also in Pismo.

Elephant seals by hearst castle. Pideras blancas trail to the lighthouse (inaccessible to civilians) is a nice walk

PCH is currently closed for 50 miles south of Big Sur as several (9! iirc) large sections of the highway washed out over this winter between Big Sur and San Simeon. Hopefully it will be open by next winter but I'd put a contingency plan in place in the event of closures.

Yes, I've seen that. Contingency is driving the 101 around, up, and down to Big Sur, which obviously is less scenic and much longer, but Big Sur will make up for it. I was hoping to hike Julia Pfeiffer and Partington Cove but it looks like one of the closures is between there and Big Sur, so we will see.

Sufjan, thanks for your feedback on HC and the other recommendations! I will check them out.

Wind caves @ gaviota is a quick hike if ur looking for something off the highway. Either bishop’s peak or madonna mtns in SLO (madonna is easier, bishop is more interesting)

If ur forced inland bc of road closures consider Pinnacles NP outside of soledad/hollister

Gaviota looks great, but park is closed. If it reopens before Dec, I think that might work.

Contingency is driving the 101 around...

I see your Southern Californian dialect is already dialed in 🤣

Is that a Southern California-only thing? Blame it on Hollywood.

It's the only place I've ever heard it. The 101, the 405, the 5, the 10 . . .

The mother of a friend of mine applies it to every roadway when she visits. The Pico, the Wilshire, the Olympic . . .

Well, NY has the LIE, the Northern State, etc. We just ignore the numbers and give everything names.

~1 min:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt-tG6ufH90

ok, lol

Any recent updates on the tri-tip bbq place in the back of the gas station in Buellton? Will they be open with food on a Monday? Information on the web is spotty at best.

I forgot to track that place down! TBH tri tip is not much of a driver for me—it ain’t no TX brisket or St. Louis ribs—but I did have some really excellent tri tip tacos from a food truck outside Figueroa Brewery in Los Olivos recently. FYI Industrial Eats in Buellton has been closed since the owner’s death last month, not sure on reopening status.

Almost went there today for a day trip (coffee, museum, books, dinner, etc?) but decided to wait for a less windy commute up the coast

Santa Barbara had not lost any charm after 3 years of living here, btw. Makes having to go back east (more like Deep South, ugh) to visit parents a drag.

My son and I visited UCSB last year; he was considering applying for grad school there. My question was, Why wouldn't you want to go to school there?