“Am I getting lazy?  Do I even know how to travel and have adventures anymore?”  These were the questions I thought to myself on my most recent trip.  It appears that I have become old and cliche, and I’m at the point where all I want to do on vacation is eat, drink, and relax like everyone else. Even my beard and mustache have made it to old man status.  And you know what?  I’m completely okay with all of it.

The trip was forced.  A massive fire in Redding (the Carr Fire) closed down the Shasta County Superior Court (where I work) for the week.  With no work, and seeking to get away from the smoke for a few days, I packed my car and drove south to the Central Coast.

My plan was to visit my aunt and uncle in San Luis Obispo, and to visit my sister in Santa Barbara.  My aunt and uncle recently inherited a home in SLO, so I was eager to see their place.  It was great seeing them, but unfortunately I do not have any photos from my time there!  They are very wealthy these days, cultured and wise, and we drank and dined the entire time I was in SLO.  They drink a lot more than I usually drink (my uncle and I averaged several scotches and a bottle of wine each per day while I was there), and I’ll admit I was pretty hungover on the mornings after our dining excursions!

Next I went to Santa Barbara.  Originally I was just going to crash on my sister’s couch at her apartment in Isla Vista, but when I walked into the place, I realized right away that my college days are now DEFINITELY over.  I had no interest spending my night in Isla Vista and reliving my college days.  Instead, I caved and got a hotel room…because again I’m getting old, pampered, and lazy.  The room was a lot nicer than a college apartment couch!

I spoiled my sister for a few days, taking her to the beach, out to dinner, and out to breakfast.  At the beach I took a few pictures, and realized how good I have become at relaxing and adulting, not even caring about the swim in the ocean destroying my hair or the fact that other people were seeing me in such a state:

For dinner we went to Tre Lune, an Italian restaurant in Montecito.  I’m telling you, it’s probably one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to in life, and I now make an effort to go there whenever I’m in Santa Barbara.  Everything there from the atmosphere to the food is perfect.  My sister and I tried to recreate a photo from the television show Parks and Recreation (of Ron Swanson eating at Mulligan’s Steakhouse), to show how excited I was to be at the restaurant, but for some reason instead of looking like a Ron Swanson photo, the photo looks like I’m posing for some cheesy dating website.  Oh well…

Look at this guy!  Just a kid!

As if day one wasn’t spoiling enough, for day two we went to Cajun Kitchen and had eggs benedict and tri tip for breakfast.  Then we went on a short, vanilla day hike to Inspiration Point (the cover image above).  Inspiration Point is the kind of hike that basic people go on when they want to say they went hiking.  Like I said…my adventure stock has been falling lately.  I need to break out in the near future and do something EPIC, like the good old days.  An east coast road trip?  Scotland?  Italy?  We’ll see what the future holds.  For now, I’m back up in smoky Northern California, and it’s back to work starting tomorrow.

Cheers,

Rob