Around Santa Barbara

Sunday May 8

Woke up fairly late and sat around the breakfast table chatting until around 11. Diana took us on a tour of Santa Barbara starting with the botanic gardens where she acts as a docent (guide).   From there to the Mission which is an ancient (by american standards) building; very dark and Spanish inside.  Started by Benedictine monks who came up from Mexico and persuaded the local fairly easy-going Indians to help them build in return for food and shelter. The locals lived on acorns from the California oak which had to be detoxed before they could eat them, so were quite glad of a change of diet to corn.  The mission still operates today but with fewer monks. There was a monk's cell with his outfit – one of those huge  black-brimmed hats and some wooden platform sandals. 

Later visited the courthouse – another elaborate and beautifully landscaped Spanish building, and then the pier where most of the Santa Barbarans like to stroll on a Sunday afternoon.  It was very windy and we enjoyed the spectacle of yachts sailing past on their gunwales.  Saw a pelican flying past and previously a vulture.  I guess we’ll see more of those when we hit the desert….