We stayed in a hotel overlooking the Stern Wharf.
Our timing was not great for this trip
as they were predicting rain during the entire trip.
View of Stern Wharf from our room.
El Mirador clock tower and observation deck
at the Santa Barbara courthouse.
View from observation deck.
The clock mechanism.
Now that's a house boat!
We decided that we would go whale watching while
in Santa Barbara
Sea lions paws up!
University of California, Santa Barbara.
Saw lots of dolphins.
This is the best shot we got of a whale!
Nice view of one of the Channel Islands and an oil rig.
You can take the bus in one direction for only 50 cents.
So we decided to visit the Santa Barbara Zoo.
Kathleen discovers her genealogy!
Kathleen really wanted to ride the train,
but it was down for maintenance that day.
Kodak moments on the Stern Wharf.
Santa Barbara Mission
Now as I mentioned previously, the main purpose
of this trip was to take the Amtrak Surfliner between
San Diego and San Luis Obispo.
It was amazing how different the scenery was on the
Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo segment in comparison
to the San Diego to Santa Barbara segment.
This segment has miles and miles of
California coast line with virtually no people!
While the forecast called for rain,
it was simply overcast during
this portion of the trip.
Not great for taking pictures,
but definitely worth the trip!
We had decided to stay at Avila Beach overnight
before catching our flight out of San Obispo.
Being a weekday, the town was virtually dead.
All in all, it was a great relaxing trip!