I was in the cab on the way to the bus station and my driver told me that he used to live in Houston, but a friend set him up with the fare to go to Washington to find better work. On the way it stopped for a night in Santa Barbara, and after a walk on the beach and a look at the mountains, he decided he didn’t want to leave and never got back on the bus the next morning. That was 22 years ago.
It’s a prime example of the Santa Barbara experience – how the place can infect you very quickly. It happened to me in 2009: I went out for a visit, then promptly went home and collected my belongings.
I’m going to do a feature story on the area for GoNOMAD’s main site, but this is just a fair warning to visitors this spring, summer, and fall – you will most likely not want to leave.
Here are a few photos from my most recent stay in town. For more, visit Wake and Wander on Facebook.
Wake and Wander 
Say hi to Kinsey Millhone.
Wandering through Santa Barbara is the way to go. There are ton of great places to see that aren’t exactly the tourist map and they are totally worth it!! Hiking is one of the few ways you can get breath taking views and for free!! Looks like you were exploring the mesa area and around leadbetter beach. Great beach and the surf is always pretty good in the winter if you are into that. Looked like it was a beautiful day too! I miss SB so much, it has been a good deal of time since I have been back. Thankfully a dear friend of mine is getting married there this summer and I can go back! Lots of hiking and wine tasting in my future!