Next stop: Santa Barbara

Live is one beautiful trip.

If you have been following the blog for awhile, you know that Joelle likes to drive. I like to hang out the window and take pictures, and say, “Pull over Jo; this looks cool.” This arrangement  works well for us.

We wind our aimless way up the coast and see the exit for Santa Barbara. The TV show Psych tales place in Santa Barbara. For years, I’ve been watching Gus and Sean tool around a pretty cool looking place, in The Blueberry (a Toyota Echo). Sue Grafton’s character Kinsey Millhone (The Alphabet series books) lives in fictional Santa Teresa, which we all know is really Santa Barbara. Sounds like a picturesque place to visit.

Joelle steers Steady Betty down the exit ramp.

Santa Barbara is basking in the sunshine this afternoon, and the sidewalks are bustling with pedestrians. Every intersection seems to be a 4-way stop, which is very convenient for tourists (like us) to make decisions about which is the best way to turn. The sidewalks and parks are also noticeably populated with homeless people. These sad souls are sleeping  under trees, panhandling, and shuffling their way along. Every city, unfortunately has homeless, but their numbers seem swelled in Santa Barbara. I cannot begin to speculate why this is so, and every block we walk, we encounter more of these folks.

Joelle and I aren’t really shoppers, but how can we resist a store named Punch, with vintage psychedelic clothes out front?

 

Where would I wear this, anyway?

We escape without making any unnecessary, and in my case, embarrassing purchases. Joelle put her foot down on the orange hat. Thank you.

We also managed to resist all three Turkish emporiums. We know it is impossible to fit those hanging lanterns in our carry-on luggage once we return to John Wayne Airport.

End note:

In researching the exact make and model of The Blueberry, I found out that Psych is actually filmed in Vancouver. Another illusion busted.