The hotel we stayed at was the Hotel Santa Barbara. It was really nice. The location was great, right in the middle of downtown. The room was a little small but since there was only the two of us, it was just right. They also have quiet hours form 10pm-8am so no parties! We had to sign a paper saying we understood about the quiet hours, so I wonder what happens to people who are loud. There was a free breakfast too but we didn't get up early enough for it. We ate breakfast at Joe's Cafe across the street. That was really good as well.
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| Views from our hotel window onto State St. |
On Saturday, the 25th, we got to Santa Barbara around 12:30pm and had lunch at a little cafe off of State Street. Then we went to the Goleta Butterfly Grove. Every November-February, thousands of Monarch butterflies converge here on their migration from Mexico. This year there are less butterflies because of the drought. All you have to do is look up and there are butterflies are fluttering around. It's pretty magical. You can also walk up through the mesa and come out onto a cliff overlooking the ocean. It's a beautiful view and very romantic. If you go there between Nov-Feb definitely stop by & see the butterflies!
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| It's hard to see but there are huge clusters of butterflies on this tree! |
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| The beautiful Pacific Ocean |
After seeing the butterflies, we went back to Santa Barbara to check into our hotel. Our room wasn't ready yet so we had to wait about 20 minutes in the lobby for our room. When we got to our room we just relaxed until it was time to start getting ready for dinner. I made dinner reservations at Bouchon. I wasn't sure if Noe would like it but when we got there I was pleasantly surprised. It's a cute little restaurant. The host was super nice and friendly. He took my coat and gave me a little beeper to click if I wanted my coat back at any time during dinner. I didn't click it but I kinda wanted to just to see how it worked. Our waiter was also great. I think his name was Kevin. He was also super friendly and very knowledgeable about the wines. We got to taste a few to decide which we wanted to go with our dinner. I had the chicken and Noe had the duck. My chicken was really good and I tried his duck & it was good too. After dinner we went to Eos for some dancing. It was pretty early still so there weren't many people there, which was actually fine with us because I hate when clubs/bars are super crowded. On the walk back to our hotel, a homeless woman told me I looked pretty so it was a good end to the night.
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| The only picture i have of us all dressed up. |
Today, Sunday, we got up and had breakfast at Joe's. I was surprised to see that it was raining. I checked the weather while still at home and it had like a 20% chance so I didn't think there would be too much. Then we checked out of our hotel and headed up north to Solvang. It was about a 45 minute drive but it's a pretty scenic drive so it goes by fast. We got to Solvang around noon and walked around and looked at all the cute shops. If you want to feel like you're in Europe but can't get all the way there, then Solvang is a nice substitute. The windmills are adorable and there are lots of cute little resturants everywhere. We were disappointed that we ate breakfast before we got there so we ended up getting a snack at one of the many bakeries. After walking around the main streets, we stopped by the Santa Ines Mission. Mass was currently going on so we didn't go inside. We just walked around outside.
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| Solvang |
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| Mission Santa Ines |
After the Santa Ines Mission we decided to head back to Santa Barbara and decided to check out the Santa Barbara Mission. We got back to SB around 1:30pm. The Santa Barbara Mission is beautiful. It costs $6 to go on a self guided tour through the mission. It was really nice. There's a cemetery that was really interesting, it's crazy to think about the people who lived 100 years ago at the mission.
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| Santa Barbara Mission |
After the mission we went out to Stearns Wharf for a late lunch. We ate at the Longboards restaurant. It was ok, nothing special.
We ended up getting back to Garden Grove around 6:30. I was sad our weekend getaway was over. It was the first time we've ever gone someplace overnight that we'd never been to before. We've done weekends away in San Diego and Vegas but this was new. Since I was in charge of picking pretty much everything we did (the hotel, the butterflies, Bouchon, Solvang), I really wanted them to be awesome things to do. I was afraid that if they sucked, he would never want to go away again. Luckily it all worked out and he's already talking about taking a trip up PCH all the way to Seattle. We'll see if that ever happens but I'm hoping it does!
And no we did not get engaged this weekend. I know I had a few people asking me if I thought it would happen and I did not expect it so I was not let down hahaha We specifically talked about it this weekend and he says since he's on the 10 year plan (as in we need to be together for 10 years before we get married which yeah I think is ridiculous), engagement is still a few years off. That's ok with me, for now, I need to finish school first. So next year I might be expecting it a little more hahaha
Now it's time to celebrate my last week before school starts again & I'm working my ass off until December.
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