Santa Barbara - twinned with Manchester?

---

After weighing up my options, I decided not to hang around LA playing Sal Paradise to Nic's Dean Moriarty as interesting as that would have been, and continued my planned journey north to Santa Barbara, hoping to enjoy some R & R on the beach there.

However, the weather had other ideas. I arrived to rain the likes of which I don't recall ever seeing in England, which is surprising because I'm pretty sure we invented crap weather. Due to a lack of taxis, I had to walk the mile from the bus station to my hostel. Not to worry though, I thought, since I still have the umbrella I bought in Philly. So pressed the button to open said brolly, at which point the top part (i.e. the most useful bit) flew off and got blown down the street leaving me holding a metal rod and looking like a bit of a fool. I'd forgotten that Ross had been trying to modify my umbrella when we were back in Vegas, and this was obviously the result.

I arrived at the hostel looking (and feeling) like a drowned rat. There I was shown to my dorm room, which luckily was half empty, and already feeling the effects of a bout of man flu, I lay down and napped for a bit, waking only to go get some dinner later that evening. My illness was not helped however by the Korean guy in the bed opposite who on several occasions opened the bedroom window to get some air, even after I pointedly shut it again.

The next day the weather was no better and I was feeling like crap. But I decided I really should see some of the town so took a walk down the high street. It's quite a pretty town, Spanish in style, and judging by the class of shops there, there's a fair bit of money here, despite the ubiquitous homeless people everywhere, which seems to be a bigger problem in California than anywhere else.

I walked up to the old courthouse, a really impressive Spanish colonial style building, which is much nicer than Bexleyheath magistrates court, and the kind of place I almost wouldn't mind being put on trial.

After a little self guided tour, I walked back to the hostel via Macy's to buy a new umbrella, then decided to take a trip to the beach despite the weather. This was a mistake. As soon as I reached the seafront, the wind nearly blew my new brolly clean out of my hand, and the rain worsened so much I decided the best way to spend the afternoon was in bed. Which was a shame, as I really liked the feel of Santa Barbara. Hopefully I'll get to go back at some point, when it's not monsoon season.

---

Comments

[Steve]

January and February is the wet season for SB
sorry you got drenched. June, July and August are the best months to visit Santa Barbara IMHO..