Continuing blue skies but cooler weather!

Fresno to Santa Barbara (for genealogy research and fun)

Santa Barbara must surely be one of the nicest towns in California.  For one thing, they enforce a standard that requires all buildings to conform to a Spanish style in keeping with the original look of the town.  They also don't allow buildings to be over 4 floors high and they don't allow billboards or giant signs which advertise the names of the various stores.  Many of the streets are lined with trees and shrubs which give everything such a nice feel.  They also have a lovely area along the ocean which was certainly well used by residents and visitors alike.

You won't see signs like this in Santa Barbara!

I was in SB to do some genealogy research - specifically to get some land records for property my grandparents bought back in the 1950's.  That necessitated a visit to the courthouse, a beautiful building worth seeing in it's own right.  The AAA guide books list it as a "gem" and we've always found that when they say it's a gem it's worth seeing.  We'd actually taken a tour of it on a past trip and were reminded again of how special it is. 

This is the backside of the courthouse.  It looks out on a large garden
and lawn area where people were picnicking, relaxing, etc.

Our genealogical friends who have done some on-site research know that the older original courthouses are so much more interesting than the newer ones, if only because our ancestors probably walked inside the same building in their day.  Once I got the hang of their system I was able to easily find the land records I was looking for and the clerk printed them out for me on the spot.

The other genealogical research I did was to visit my grandfather's grave in the Santa Barbara cemetery.  We've visited many cemeteries through the years but this had to be one of the most beautiful.  It could almost convince me to be buried rather than cremated. 

The cemetery is on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean - a very beautiful setting!

My grandfather's grave is unique in that it displays his signature which I found to be very moving.  I'm sure it was his 2nd wife's idea since her first husband and her own grave also have their signatures.

For fun we visited the SB botanic gardens, the SB Historical Museum, the El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park, Arroyo Burro Beach and we drove up Mission Canyon where my step grandmother was born and grew up.  In those days it was out of town but it's now just another part of SB.  We also looked up the homes where my grandparents lived and where I visited as I grew up.  I loved visiting them because they had horses and apricot trees.  I would pick a bag full of apricots which I would tie around my waist so I could eat them as I rode around on the horses.  Life was oh so good.



Arroyo Burro Beach
Our dog Barney loved running on the beach!

 

Panorama of the inside of El Presidio de Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens
They allow dogs and Barney was happy to get to go along with us.

I sense that many of you are saying "but what about Yosemite, what about Monterey and San Luis Obispo and Carmel.  What about Big Sur, King's Canyon NP, Sequoia NP and any number of other special spots in California."  Happily I can tell you that we've been to California quite a number of times in the past and have seen all those spots and more.  Although we would love to have visited them again but we are were working to be at my Mom's in Tucson, AZ by a certain date so revisiting them will have to wait.