The old mission in Santa Barbara is known as the "Queen of California Missions" - founded in 1786 by Spanish Franciscans, it was part of Spain's plan to solidify control over this part of the North American continent. The church in the first photo is actually the third structure on the site, built after the previous two were destroyed by earthquakes.
We also toured the Santa Barbara city hall, which is beautifully decorated with Spanish tiles and ceramics. You can climb to the top of the clock tower and get a magnificent view of the the entire city, including the harbour and mission district. Lots more photos of both the Mission and City Hall on my Flickr page.The most striking part of Santa Barbara is the abundance of beautiful gardens and elaborate streetscaping. There are tropical plants, flowers and trees everywhere. The city has also initiated a program to fill the streets with public art - an example in the pic below. We stopped at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and took in a wonderful special exhibition called "Made in Hollywood: Photographs from the John Kobal Foundation". About 40 portraits and set shots from the 1940s and 50s were on display - some of the iconic photos depicted Marlon Brando, Clark Gable, Elizabeth Taylor, and so on. Many of the negatives from the collection were re-printed as platinum prints just for this exhibition.
It was impossible to leave Santa Barbara without checking out State Street, the famous shopping and pedestrian district. Think Yorkville, only with better foliage. There are dozens of cafes and outdoor restaurants and endless little alleys filled with incredibly expensive shopping. I consumed what was probably one of the best cheese danishes I've ever had a little bakery and then we climbed into the car for our trek to Palm Springs.The drive was supposed to take about 3 hours, but lasted about five, due to the INSANE traffic through L.A. We were both in cranky mode by the time we arrived in Palm Springs, but the hotel cheered us up. VERY nice. And swanky. And strangely cheap. We discovered why when the hotel clerk asked us what we were planning to do. When we answered "hiking", he just raised both eyebrows. It turns out it was 102 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday. And my friends know how much I LOVE the heat. This is definitely the "low" season in Palm Springs. We seem to be two of about 10 people in the hotel. But we are determined to conquer the elements :P
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