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Published: June 19th 2018
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While the entire trip of our journey from Seattle to Los Angeles was spectacular and unlike anything we'd ever seen before, I have to say that I feel we saved the best for last! We entered Santa Barbara unsure of what to expect. Yet, it blew us away with its beauty, history and culture. After checking into our boutique hotel, we made a beeline to La Super-Rica, a taqueria just outside the city that we'd read about for months. Apparently, famous chef Julia Child was a major fan of the establishment, known for its innovative and delicious tamales, which are also incredibly fresh and authentic. We both got chicken tamales with Verde sauce and we were pleased to find that there wasn't a major crowd.
Until that point, I'd always maintained that the best meal I'd ever had in my life was a sirloin and potatoes I'd eaten at a little steakhouse in Manhattan (you can
read more here about it and others like it). Maybe it was the fact that I was bone tired after walking around the city all day in uncomfortable shoes, but I devoured that meal in what felt like seconds and every single bite was heaven. Yet,
as soon as we finished our tamales, which came out still steaming in their corn leaves, my husband and I both agreed that it was the best meal we'd ever had. Mrs. Child was correct!
After our early dinner, we headed to the historic Old Mission Santa Barbara. We took a tour of the facility and learned all about its past while taking in the ornate furnishings. It was so interesting and gave the entire trip a sense of significance. We tried to find a place to park on our way back so we could go shopping along the main downtown section of the city, but after finding that it was congested with cars and difficult to get in and out of, we decided to just go to the local grocery store instead! We bought two slices of yummy cheesecake from the deli and sat in the rental car with the heated seats on, taking in the lights of the city and basking in how enjoyable the trip had been so far.
After Santa Barbara, we kept heading south and eventually made it to Hollywood and Los Angeles! We stayed in a small motel that was arguably the
most bare-bones lodging of our trip, but that was totally fine with us because we didn't spend much time there at all! Instead, we soaked in all that we could of the two towns, as we knew it would be a while before we were able to return.
In Hollywood, we toured Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Walk of Fame. We also just got iced coffees on La Cienega Boulevard and just people watched for two hours, hoping to catch a glimpse of a celebrity although none ever walked by, or if they did, they were in a great disguise! We spent our one morning in Hollywood eating flannel cakes and drinking martinis at Musso and Frank's, a storied downtown establishment known for entertaining stars such as Clark Gable and Ernest Hemingway back in the day.
In Los Angeles, we enjoyed taking a cable car up to the top of a mountain and touring the Getty Museum. This art establishment was filled to the brim with gorgeous original paintings, sculptures and more. There was even a live musical performance in the promenade when we were there! We also enjoyed taking a celebrity home tour to see where some
of our favorite stars reside! We felt a little bit like fish out of water in some of these locales, but it was a great way to see pop culture firsthand, experience a different perspective, and get up close and personal with cinematic history.
We headed home with slightly heavy hearts as the East Coast, while it may be home forever for us, isn't quite as breathtaking in geography as what we saw driving along Highway 101 and Highway 1. I've never seen boulders and mountains juxtaposed with the ocean quite like that and I'll never forget the site as long as I'll live. I hope that we can bring our kids back here one day and allow them to feast their eyes on all that this big, beautiful world has to offer. I'm thankful to the West Coast for showing me that our country can be interesting, eye-catching and full of history and stories. We just have to go out on a limb and discover them.
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