Meghan has been wanting to go down the river for a few years now, and Latimer had an opportunity to take her down as his helper or "swamper". I didn't know what I would do for two weeks without my two favorite peeps, so I decided to take a week vacation to Santa Barbara to see Melissa and Christian.
I'm not going to lie: I LOVE SANTA BARBARA. I had the best time. We went out for fish tacos and mango margaritas right after I flew in. And let's not forget the dessert...cupcakes at Crushcakes...so damn good. The next day Melissa and I went to the Farmer's Market, and I was in heaven. Farmer's Markets are amazing. I support them 100%. About a year ago, I read Barbara Kingsolver's book titled "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle". I highly recommend it. I will never look at all-things-food the same way again. The rest of the day we wandered around the shops in Santa Barbara before heading to the beach where we sat and read for several hours. I got home to a HUGE vase full of daisies, roses, and lilies that Latimer had sent me from the river. Oh, and Christian took away my beer privileges because I spilled a Moretti all over his leather chair. Opps.
The next day, I went for a long run with Latimer's cousin, Owen, and Owen's friend Jeff. The rest of the day was spent soaking in the sun under the big oak trees that surround Christian and Melissa's property. They have an abundance of wildlife on their land. When we stayed here over Christmas, we saw a bobcat hanging out in the yard. I've also seen hawks, turkeys, and various small birds. Ricardo and Lucy (the house finches) built a nest in the cactus plant near the front door, and they hatched while I was there. Baby birds are really ugly, but I still love them. That night we had a BBQ at John and Mary's (Lat's uncle and aunt). All the aunts and uncles were there as well as Lat's Nonni and Great Aunt Amelia. No cousins were there except for Owen and I. On Monday, Melissa and I had breakfast with some of her girl friends. We shopped. I got a massage and a tarot reading which was pretty interesting. And then the beach. Of course. The next day was similar, only we had pedi/mani appointments instead of a massage. The big deal of the day was that Christian showed me the trail network system he's creating behind the house. There are loads of poison oak everywhere, but it will be amazing when he completes it.
On my last full day in Santa Barbara, I met our friend Josh at the SB City College track, and we ran some laps and stairs together. I went to visit Lat's Aunt Carol since I was in the neighborhood, and we had a great talk before taking a long walk on the beach. She and I found a lot of beautiful sea glass and shells... I think she's a lucky charm because I have never found that much cool stuff on a walk before. I headed home the next day, and Lat and Meghan got off the river the next day after that. It was a good reunion, and we all had good trips!
