North on the 1

Tod & I knew we needed to go somewhere over Christmas and we knew it would be in driving distance, but we weren't really sure where we would end up until we actually arrived, which turned out to be Santa Barbara. We wanted to get away (and get Tod away from the ability to work) to do some planning for 2012. 

We drove north on Hwy 1 and had a little pit stop to admire the ocean here.

Tod hopped some fences and risked his life on a few sea cliffs to get to that spot out there. Can you see him?

We arrived on New Years Eve and after finally figuring out where we were going to stay (seems everyone else had the same idea), we set out to find a good meal. Good indeed! We drove up the mountainside a little and ate at San Ysidro Ranch. It was a magical experience. Sooo beautiful and the food was divine and we felt like we were dining in Carcasonne or some far flung fortress.

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I loved that for an appetizer they brought out briney olives and some radishes. It's really such a better idea than bread.

We loved this place so much that we came back the next night too. Tod loves mushrooms. He ordered mushroom risotto and added the optional truffles on top.

We got to discussing why truffles are so expensive. I wiki'd truffles and discovered that they can only be found with the use of animals. Check out this from wikipedia. Totally cracked us up. It also gave us a fun story idea that hopefully we can develop.

Desert was ice cream with chocolate sauce, caramel corn and whipped cream. Heaven (best if sung like a good Journey song). (No, The Cure. Sing it like them).

As we were sitting there, I realized that I had been in the area before and that we were near Oprah Winfrey's house. We drove by it, I thought just to glance, but Tod parked the car in her driveway and was running up to her door to (knock? peek in? doorbell ditch?) I don't even know, but he turned and ran back quickly when a flashlight turned on and started after him.

Santa Barbara has a great pier that we explored. Tod had an intimate experience with a crab there.

And we spent a lot of time on the beach drawing, planning & relaxing. It was glorious.

If you look closely at the picture below, on the upper left you'll see my hot husband sitting on a far away sand dune sketching.

We came up with some great ideas for this year. Cross your fingers that we'll get to see them materialize.