Wednesday, November 13, 2013, Santa Barbara, CA

It was a pretty long drive to Santa Barbara, CA, from Grover Beach (about 90 miles each way), but we realized we may not be any closer for a long time, so off we went. We left by 6:30 (can you believe it?) since we had scheduled a tour at 10:30. We took the scenic route, Highway 154, over the mountains and passed some breathtaking views. We also passed Lake Cachuma on the Santa Ynez River where it was clear that the area was suffering from a drought. The lake was at about 40% of capacity. It did not even reach the spillways of the dam.

We parked near the south end of State Street and walked by this tree. It was even marked on Google maps as the "Moreton Bay Fig Tree." It was more than 150 years old and there was no way to adequately capture the expanse of this tree. If it was in your yard, it would fill the whole yard and shade the neighbors as well. I suspect the roots would not be kind to the floor of your house.

The town is really proud of its courthouse and for good reason. It is an architectural masterpiece. Our docent, Gordon, filled us in on a lot of the history of the area and the building. It only dated from the 1920s as a replacement for the earlier courthouse which was destroyed by an earthquake. The town council appropriated $700,000 for the construction and ultimately spent $1,350,000. By contrast, a few years ago they spent $400,000 cleaning the murals after a small fire left behind some smoke residue - that's inflation for you! 

The tour started in the "Mural Room." The artist was associated with Hollywood, so it was a big production with a few of the characters looking a lot like some movie stars. This room was where the town council conducted business. Now it can be rented for weddings and events.

The amazing murals are painted on muslin.

David's new camera does a great job with low light.

In the upper left corner, there is a square that they left to show how dirty the murals had become (including smoke damage from a small electrical fire).

This map (in the law library) reflects early explorers belief that California was an island.

Fountain at the streetside of the entry arch.

This is the rear of the entry, taken from the sunken garden.

View from the clock tower.

This was as close as we got to the mission (twin towers on the right) and the seminary (the tall tower on the left) - their exploration will have to wait for another day.

I wish I could really have a chat with old Ben, but then I would break his heart if I told him how we have perverted the government they created.

Everywhere there was art, architecture and trees making this one of the most beautiful cities we have visited.

Tried to sneak in this magnificent theater, but it was locked up pretty tight.

This building would fit right in my favorite city, Charleston, SC.

The Reagan Ranch Center was on State Street and was a very nice tribute to the "Great Communicator." 

Remember the 70? This was Reagan's favorite chair at the ranch.

We ran into the the same folks we toured the courthouse with earlier. They had taken the train down from Nipomo for the day and told us they were going to the Art Foundry next, so we tagged along.

The Art Foundry was in an area of Santa Barbara that seemed to include only wineries and art studios. It was mighty tempting to slip into the tasting rooms for a sampling of the local wines, but we had a long drive ahead of us and we were running out of daylight. In the "what a small world" category, it turned out that the Art Foundry works were some we had seen (and really liked) in a shop in Cambria. We quickly toured the studio seeing the steps involved in making a bronze casting from start to finish. It would have been interesting to see the glass blowing technique that produced the jellyfish, but that must have been in another studio. 

We drove home along highway 101 and Joani was able to catch a few really nice shots of the ocean mists in the fading light. It was a long day but well worth the drive. We have already planned at least one more visit before we leave the area.