A Walk in the Garden: Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden was not as beautiful as I expected and not as accessible as I had hoped. There are 78 acres of gardens, but very few plants were flowering and many looked very dry or even dying. This is probably the wrong time of year for the best viewing and I think they are short-staffed. One can't expect a garden to always be perfect, I tell myself. However, many of the trails involved very steep slopes and, as we were told, rough terrain. So, we walked through the upper area and called it a day. There were some very interesting and beautiful areas, though. See for yourself:

These Jumping Chollas look like cartoon animals to me.

Giant Redwood trees in the background - young ones, probably only a few hundred years old.

A "Beaker" cactus for you, Meghan.

This is a very old Giant Sequoia.

It was a baby in 1150 AD. Think about it.

After that, we walked Ledbetter Beach in Santa Barbara and watched the para-boarders sailing across the water. I had never seen para-boarders and it was fascinating to see them wade out with those huge sails and get up on their boards. I still can't quite understand how they get to a standing position, even after watching them do it.

This parasurfer was a real veteran. Watch him take off.

Then, we cruised through Santa Barbara. I loved the whole feel of the place, probably because it was too expensive for me. The buildings, the sculptures, the rental bikes, the wharf, and even the marina.