Today we just burned up miles navigating the tangled web of freeways between Redding and Santa Barbara, California. Nothing exciting or special. So much so, that we have decided to catch Highway 1 and continue our way down the coast so we can travel through "Main Street" of the costal towns on our way to San Diego.
We started out a little late this morning. I had picked up a rock chip on the windshield that threatened to become a massive infringement on visibility if I took it off-roading in Mexico. I thought it best to have it fixed beforehand. I contacted a local glass shop during breakfast and had the chip fixed shortly after that.
The freeways are efficient but deny the ability to experience the surroundings. Charm is as much as you can appreciate of the gray concrete. As we approached San Francisco we talked about staying there for the night when we suddenly realized it is Super Bowl weekend! Not only would that have been poor timing but it would have been impossible to secure accommodations.
There happened to be a Film Festival taking place in Santa Barbara. Apparently stars such as DeCaprio and Depp were around but we didn't see them. Many of the local restaurants were busy with film buffs but we still found a few good beers/drinks and some nice food.
Santa Barbara has the look of a typical 50's California town. Cute and quite peaceful.
Mile 1389 - Day3 - Satrurday, Feb 6th.
Arrived in San Diego. After breakfast, we drove through Santa Barbara and hopped on "the" 101 and took it to the beginning of highway 1 along the coast. The GPS's estimation of our arrival time jumped from about 2 hours to over 5. What did she know?
It turns out that those little electronic seeing eye devices know quite a bit. After what started out as an easy cruise down 1, things became quite congested. Far too much stop for the amount of go. It wasn't much past Santa Monica that we redirected our guidance system to take a path of less resistance.
Even though the freeways were surprisingly congested, it wasn't all that long until we made our first stop, in Kensington. A friend (Mike) used to live there and suggested we stop in his old neighborhood bar. We agreed to go say hi for him and hoist a pint (and a Margarita) in his honor. Ponce's Mexican Restaurant is a nice little place!
Finally to our hotel for tonight. The downtown Holiday Inn is a place we've stayed at many times on previous trips. Walking distance to the Gaslamp District and all that goes on there.
Surprise! After settling into the room, we took a stroll down to Gaslamp for the evening's entertainment and enjoyment. It had not occurred to us, until we reached the fenced off blocks of Gaslamp and the more colorful than usual people, that Fat Tuesday is coming up rapidly. San Diego is celebrating. The whole area that we were interested in visiting now costs $60 per person to enter, so we can go and spend more eating and drinking.
After a stop at a pub just outside of the party area, we chose to visit another favorite. Phil's Barbecue close to Old Town has the best BBQ around. People were lined up around 3 sides of the building just waiting to get in. After some fancy maneuvering, we were able to find a couple of seats in the bar and avoid the wait.
We are going to stay in San Diego for one more night. We have some things to do before we head into Baja.
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