Cruising down the California Coast

Jim and I, on something of a whim, took a Princess Cruise down the California Coast, round trip from/to San Francisco.  It was just a week long and the combination of a reasonable price and being able to get there by just taking Bart, the Bay Area's public transit system, and then walking a a short distance to the cruise ship terminal, made it irresistible.

We like going on cruises but usually take cruises to places that we can't easily visit on our own. We made an exception to this "rule" with the California Coastal cruise; we already were familiar with all but one of the ports.

 

One of our traditions upon embarking on the ship, before we set sail, is to go up to the poolside deck and have a hot dog and french fries...not very fancy, for sure, but certainly tasty. Many people immediately head to the buffet dining room and have a large "feast," but, for us, that hot dog and fries is our perfect way to start a cruise vacation and still leave plenty of appetite for a nice dinner that evening.

Before we could set sail, we had our safety drill.  Fortunately, this was the only time we needed the life vests.

It was after sunset by the time we were underway. Sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge was a special thrill.

SANTA BARBARA

In Santa Barbara, I took a half day excursion to Montecito to see where the rich and famous live.

And then, I spent the rest of the day walking in the downtown area, mainly on State Street in downtown.  Before heading up to the historic and high-end shopping part of downtown State Street, I stopped for lunch at Metropulos, a gourmet market and sandwich shop, in the Funk Zone, a section of town near Sterns Wharf and the Visitors Center that the L.A. Times recently described as the "happening" part of Santa Barbara.  The Funk Zone has industrial origins, but is currently populated by breweries, wine-tasting rooms, art galleries, shops, musical venues, and more. Metropulos has been in its location for over 11 years, long before the Funk Zone's name existed.  Most of the customers having lunch were young local business people; the vibe was much like that in San Francisco's SOMA district during San Francisco's first dot-com boom...very energized. And, my Pastrami Reuben sandwich was yummy.

LOS ANGELES

For our Los Angeles stop, we docked in Long Beach.  We were across from the Queen Mary, which is now permanently docked here and open to the public as a hotel, restaurant and shopping area, and museum.

We had no time for the Queen Mary because we spent most of the day at the Getty Museum.

 

Our bus to the Getty made a short stop in Beverly Hills, just enough time for a quick walk on and around Rodeo Drive.

 

The Getty is high up on a hill, overlooking the 405 Freeway in one direction and out as far as Santa Catalina in another.  It has very scenic setting.

 

            

My main activity at the Getty was to take a guided tour of its impressive gardens.  Jim spent his time in the galleries looking at the diverse art collection which is housed in multiple buildings and galleries.

SAN DIEGO

 

In San Diego, we woke up to a view of the Midway docked next to us.  And we bid it farewell at dusk, as we sailed away

We spent this entire day at Balboa Park, in its museums and park areas.

   

We both visited the Air and Space Museum.

 

 I also went to the Mingei International Museum, a museum dedicated to crafts. Its current "Art in the Americas" exhibit has examples of crafts from each of our 50 states. I was delighted to find a beautiful pottery plate by Maria Martinez, of the San Ildefonso Pueblo until her 1980 death,  as the representative work from the state of New Mexico.

 

It was the Niki de Saint Phalle large ceramic sculptures that initially lured me to the Mingei over Balboa Park's many other museums. I'm a longtime fan of her work but did not know until seeing her works here that she lived her last years (1992 - 2002) in nearby La Jolla.

ENSENADA

 

Our final stop was in Ensenada in Baja California, Mexico.  Ensenada is a "typical" border town in Mexico.  I went into town and wandered around its six blocks of shops to get a feel for the town and to buy a few pieces of jewelry at a shop recommended by our ship's Shopping Host.

LIFE ON THE SHIP

Life on a cruise ship is always fun. To me, it's kind of a combination of being at summer camp and being in a luxury hotel.  One can fill one's days with classes, live shows, bingo, art auctions, working out in the gym, or just sitting in a quiet spot reading a good book.

I always find a few fun classes to attend. This time it was Origami and Napkin Folding. I pretty much failed Origami (fortunately there are no grades given) but did well with my Napkin Folding.

One of our favorite shows on the Princess ships is the one in which the executive chef and maitre d' do a cooking demonstration. This show usually takes place on the last day at sea.  It is a totally lighthearted event where the two of them face off in making a few dishes.

The above picture of the two of them making Tiramisu.

We met nice people, especially Sue and Jack who don't live too far from us when we are home. One night we dined with them in the ship's specialty steak restaurant and, on another night, we joined them in the pizza restaurant.

As always, we ate well and enjoyed the variety of food and dining venues. Jim especially enjoyed the chocolate-themed desserts that were featured in the dining room. As you can see, they are as pretty as they are tasty.

  

 Life is easy and as relaxing or busy as your want to make it on a cruise ship.

SANTA BARBARA, THE AMERICAN RIVIERA

Santa Barbara is called "The American Riviera."

It has a Mediterranean climate, a beautiful coastline with mountains as a backdrop. There are hotels facing the beach, some of them quite elegant. The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in the downtown "Red Tile" historic district makes it not only feel like the French or Italian Riviera, it gives it an added dimension. Santa Barbara has an annual International Film Festival. Ronald Reagan's Santa Barbara Ranch is here, right near the beach and downtown. It was the Western White House during Reagan's presidency and its Exhibit Galleries are open to the public. Julia Child lived her retirement years in Santa Barbara.  In nearby Montecito, such luminaries at Oprah Winfrey, Rob Lowe, and Ellen DeGeneres have/or had homes.

We took a day off from our "Sideways" tour of the Santa Inez Valley and drove south to Santa Barbara, about 35 miles from Solvang.

We started our day at the Santa Barbara Visitor Center which is across from the beach, at the foot of Garden Street.

The helpful people at the Visitor Center gave us maps and tips on what to see during our short visit. I've only been in Santa Barbara once, for a meeting, about a dozen years ago.  Each morning I'd walk along East Beach from my hotel  to Stearns Walk.  I wanted to share this with Jim and, from the Visitor Center, we headed out along the beach on the paved walking/bicycling path that follows the beach. 

For the morning, we parked the car in the lot behind the Visitor Center. Parking is plentiful all over Santa Barbara. The first 75 minutes are free in the City parking lots and $1.50 an hour after that. There is a parking lot on almost every block in the main downtown area, on and off State Street.

We turned around to head back at the Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center where there was a restaurant that was serving breakfast and lunch. Had I not had other plans for lunch, we would have gotten a bite to eat here.

Before getting our car and heading to my lunch destination, we ended our walk with a walk out on Stearns Wharf, California's oldest working wharf, dating back to 1872. It is the longest deep-water pier between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Today, you can walk or drive down the Wharf which has restaurants, wineries, shops, and the Ty Warner Sea Center

By now, it was time for lunch and my destination was Super-Rica Taqueria, the hole-in-the-wall home-cooking Mexican restaurant that Julia Child made famous by declaring it the best place in the area for authentic Mexican cooking.

It was just about noon and, to my surprise, I found parking right out front.  Even more surprising, there was no line out the door.  

I know that Super-Rica is closed on Wednesdays. But this was Tuesday! There was a sign out front saying that for the time being, it is also going to be closed on Tuesdays.  Even worse, there was a "Help Wanted" sign on the door.

So here we were, in the heart of a neighborhood we don't know, wondering where we were going to eat lunch.

After I calmed down, I remembered that the helpful woman at the Visitor Center had asked if I needed restaurant recommendations. I had confidently told her that as a Julia Child fan forever, we were going to Super-Rica.  She mentioned that another restaurant in that neighborhood was giving Super-Rica a run for its money.  I assured her that I would remain faithful to Julia forever and that Super-Rica was my place to eat.

With this in mind, I sheepishly phoned the Visitor Center and got the name of the new restaurant, Los Agaves, which is just down the block from Super-Rica.

Los Agaves is a lot nicer looking than Super-Rica and has a much more varied menu. It was packed at lunchtime, with a line of people waiting to place their orders.  The format is to place your order at the counter and find a table. Your food is brought to you.

Having spent the entire morning thinking of a taco lunch, my choice was for the Fish Tacos. The fish choices are fresh halibut or shrimp.  I went for the halibut and enjoyed a delightful meal.

Jim's choice was one of the day's specials: A shrimp dish in a delicious sauce. 

After lunch, we headed to downtown Santa Barbara's historic district which is on and off State Street, bordered by Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara Street, and Ortaga Street. It is called the "Red Tile" District for all it's historic red-tile-roofed buildings.

Today, this area is a mix of upscale restaurants and retail stores with city government buildings. It's very pretty and we even found an Apple retail store along State Street, with its keeping-with-the-community subtle sign.

We passed a few hours just walking around the Red Tile district, enjoying the beauty of Santa Barbara.  

This is not a real window washer, but a very realist sculpture of a window washer. It certainly fooled me.!

Before driving back to Solvang, we stopped for a cold drink at Cielito, a delightful Latin restaurant whose patio in a secluded courtyard at the back of the historic La Arcada complex overlooks a turtle pond.