:: Pedantic Platitudes ::

:: Saturday, January 03, 2004 ::

Today, my sister wanted to go to Santa Barbara to go shopping, so I went with my mother and her on the day excursion. We stopped in Santa Maria to go to Costco, where we got lunch from the food court. We then continued to Solvang, where my mother bought some pastries. On the way back to Highway 101 from Solvang, we stopped by "Ostrichland," which is this cute little tourist trap of an ostrich farm. We visited the adorable emus and ostriches. They would occasionally crane their long necks out beyond the fence, but with their goofy looks, I couldn't imagine that there would be any danger. Seeing the fun emus and ostriches totally made my day.

We then continued to Santa Barbara, where my sister and mother went to shop at the May Robinson department store and the La Cumbre Plaza promenade next door. I didn't purchase anything, but I admired the atmospheric shopping area. My sister then wanted to go to downtown Santa Barbara on State Street, where she shopped around for what she wanted. I noticed what wonderful architecture Santa Barbara has. Many of the buildings are just beautiful. Extending from the main street, there are a lot of smaller back areas, too, filled with little hidden shops, restaurants, and atmospheric mini-courtyards that are most reminiscent of New Orleans Square at Disneyland, especially with everything still decorated for the holiday season. There were a lot of small fountains everywhere, too.

We had dinner at a little Italian restaurant downtown. It had a beautiful patio, and although it was pretty chilly outside, the heaters made it nice to dine outdoors. I had a salmon and penne pasta dish; the salmon was wonderful, especially with its pesto sauce and pine nuts, but the pasta was too gummy and chewy for my tastes. We had tiramisu for dessert. We then made the long drive home back to Morro Bay.

Quote of the Day: "You're a long-hair; you must smoke."

:: SL 10:17 PM [+] ::
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