A hot one!

The morning was was clear and warm from first light, as the sun rose over the mountains lighting-up the Ocean and picking out the Pier, in silhouette. People were already fishing, jogging, and swimming in the open-air pool. One enterprising (homeless) guy was hard at work producing huge sand sculptures, in the hope of getting financial patronage from passers-by, later! Another was still to begin assembling his amusingly themed toss-a-coin pitch. Back at the hotel we had breakfast and sat awhile its Spanish courtyard, before Skyping 'our Jen'. We then took off to find the Hop-on-Hop-off circular trolley bus, managing to catch the first tour of the day and being whisked off to Santa Barbara's main points of interest.

The tour lasted ninety minutes and our guide 'Richard' was really informative, taking us to the Old Spanish Mission, past the homes of the rich and famous, and several other points of interest.

Here, small condos close to the Ocean now retail at around $1M and full-size homes, anything up to (say) $25+M! (Below is an example of what $25M will get you!!)

One local 'Mr Real Estate' is Ty Warner, the inventor of Beanie Babies who now owns vast tracts of Santa Barbara property. Another guy who made his money from being in Santa Barbara property was Fess Parker, an apparently likable guy who also played the role of Davy Crockett in the 1950's  TV series. Tour over and we decided to visit the Ronald Reagan Ranch Centre, owned by the Young Americans Association (an educational foundation). This proved an interesting side-trip and the staff were both very informative and genuinely friendly. The late Ronald Reagan's presidential and 'off-duty' life at his Santa Barbara mountain ranch provide the focus for the Centre.

Having visited it, we felt that we had gained a much better understanding of the man and why he is still so admired, here. Emerging into the heat of State Street, we headed for Joe's Cafe, for a drink and some air conditioning!

This followed by a stroll through the downtown shopping area and then back-to-base, to cool down again! What could be more appropriate to remind usof today than the Lovin Spoonful's 'Summer in the City'!