California Avocado Festival Carpinteria - Visit the California Avocado Festival in Carpinteria, CA. This is a three day FREE event held in October each year and benefits local non-profit organizations and promotes the town of Carpinteria. Santa Barbara county is the 3rd largest Avocado producing county in the USA. This is three days of family fun, food, music, and of course avocados! Cool competitions include the best dressed avocado, largest … [Read more...]
McConnell’s Ice Cream, Santa Barbara CA July 2001
McConnell's Ice Cream Santa Barbara - If you are ever in Santa Barbara California be sure to stop in at the Mission Street Ice Cream & Yogurt Shop, featuring McConnell's Ice Cream. In our humble opinion, McConnell's is the "best" ice cream in Santa Barbara. This shop is located at the corner of Mission and De La Vina streets just a few blocks over from the northern part of State Street (actual address, 201 Mission Street). The prices aren't … [Read more...]
Cold Spring Tavern, Santa Barbara CA – May 2001
Cold Spring Tavern Santa Barbara - If you are ever near Santa Barbara, CA be sure to drive the old stagecoach road into town. This narrow windy road crosses the 154 (Cachuma Pass) in two locations, one near the summit and one lower down the hill north of the summit. The tavern is located about 20 minutes north of Santa Barbara. This road winds its way through a brushy canyon under the large green bridge that was built for Highway 154 to cross … [Read more...]
Mammoth, CA – Driving Distances
Driving Distances to Mammoth Lakes Bakersfield 4.5 hours 260 miles Death Valley 4 hours 214 miles Fresno 4.5 hours 200 miles Las Vegas 5.75 hours 377 miles Los Angeles 5.5 hours 325 miles Orange County 6.5 hours 363 miles Reno 3 hours 164 miles Sacramento 5 hours 290 miles San Bernardino 5 hours 290 miles San Diego 7 hours 400 miles San Francisco 7 hours 300 miles Santa Barbara 6.5 hours 385 miles Tioga Pass 3/4 hour 45 … [Read more...]
Oaxaca, Mexico – Attractions
A Short Walk One day I decided to walk due west and see where I ended up. I left the phone at the hotel, I didn't research anything. I just began walking. I passed by Mercado de Abastos (a market) and then drifted by an extremely polluted river, an ecological disaster so to speak. I spent some time watching people wade back and forth through the water. I witnessed several people use the soil behind small bushes as a bathroom. I watched the wind … [Read more...]
Mt. Whitney, CA – How to Get There
This part of California is located along US 395 in the south eastern part of the state. Los Angeles is about 200 miles from Lone Pine and San Diego is about 330 miles. Driving time from Los Angeles is between 3 and 4 hours depending on how fast you like to drive. Driving time from the San Jose Bay Area to Lone Pine is about 7 to 8 hours depending on the season. San Francisco is about 400 miles from Lone Pine during the summer months and about 440 … [Read more...]
Santa Barbara, CA
Santa Barbara is like a bright tapestry, woven from time, and enriched with the colors of history and culture. Some cities grow old and then slowly die. Santa Barbara never grows old, just more elegant and appreciative of its past. Words cannot begin to describe the intimacy and sophisticated flavor of this city, only experience and a stay here, can do that. In 1925 a devastating earthquake left the downtown in ruins. Santa Barbara … [Read more...]
Santa Barbara, CA – Mileage
Mileages from Santa Barbara to: … [Read more...]
Santa Barbara, CA – Temperatures Rainfalls
The averages in the below chart include the night and day time temperatures averaged together. As a result the day time average temperatures are actually quite a bit higher then the ones listed below. You can be sitting downtown State Street in the middle of January and its 80 degrees out and the sun is shining warm on your face - while most of the rest of the country is buried in snow and or experiencing bitter chill. The typical type of … [Read more...]
Santa Barbara, CA – History
The Chumash Indians thrived in this area of California until just over 200 years ago. The Europeans arrived in 1542 when the Portuguese explorer Juan Cabrillo entered the Channel and claimed the land for Spain. Then in 1602 a ship under the command of the Spaniard Vizcaino entered the Channel to seek refuge from a storm. The day that he and his crew escaped the violent storm was the commemorative feast day for Saint Barbara. Vizcaino and his … [Read more...]