Santa Barbara Fourth of July Weekend
 

Howdy Folks,

Friends of mine are getting married in SB on the Fourth of July. Does anyone have any recommendations on places to stay and things to do? Will be there from 6/30-7/4.

It looks like the main area to stay is a long State st, though wow are hotel prices through the roof. Yay for holiday weekends....

Look further out if you can, upper State street or Goleta. Lots of things to see and do. Santa ynez valley is just over the hill with wine tasting and small towns. 4th of July is big tourist day. Fireworks and parades. It'll be crowded

Try here. Just south of Santa Babs and just north of Ventura....

https://cliffhouseinn.com/

The Mirmar in Monceito Ca...

Go north about 50 miles to Solvang...a Dannish style village..

If you do go N on 101 you will come to the tunnel at Gaviota Pass, that was filmed in the movie the Graduate ..it is a N bound tunnel but for the movie is was presented as a S bound tunnel...the drive up the coast on 101 is just beautiful... the other was the highway north of Vancouver BC to Whistler..

or up to San Luis Obispo..Madonna Inn and a piece of their Black Forest Cake...

Cambria...the Hearst Castle....and the infamous site of the Black Audi in the parking lot...

The Santa Barbara Winery tasting room at 28 Anacapa st in SB..

That's like calling a Rolls Royce a "Rolls" It is considered to be gauche..

There are some decent boutique hotels across from the beach along Cabrillo Blvd, you can walk to State Street, the Funk Zone (breweries and wineries), the Wharf, etc. Depends on how close you want to be to the action. There are some great beaches in the Goleta area, coupled with a good walk/hike. Our local wine country is a nice day trip. Yep, gonna be $$$$ that weekend.

Long ago in the now distant and bleary eyed past there was a Mexican restaurant on Cabrillio Blvd in SB called the Espana...they serve the best fing Margaritas on the planet...a Liter went down real easy..coupled with the chips and salsa...ummmm. The rest of that story is best not told..

As a mixer they used Limeade..instead of a ratio of 4 water to 1 Limeade they used about 2 water to 1 limeade with a bit of Lime Juice for tart..u can vary for taste..

Holiday Inn Express, Carpinteria,

I have not been in that part of the world in a long time, but the temps, even in July, can get into the high 50's at night. Bring a sweater especially since you are coming from Houston.

https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/Santa+Barbara+CA?canonicalCityId=544856cc5db6fc320 238353421424031798795427cf76295e642a235c0511315

My Mom loved the Santa Barbara area. The HS I went to in Cali played Oxnard, Ojai, Carpinteria and Lompoc. This was in the 70's.

My parents would come to the games and stay in Santa Barbara for the night. He had a Lotus Europa at the time and loved the drive to Los Padres National Forest.

I'd take the bus back and my buds would drive me home until I got my license.

We didn't always go straight home.:cool:

Enjoy. A great part of the world.

On a plane right now to SB. Grew up there from early ‘70’s (moved away 14 years ago) when we’d dig pits at the beach on the 4th of July and have bottle rocket and fire cracker wars. That was disallowed decades ago, along with the stoplights right on the 101. Blood Alley they used to call it.

Tabs, ate many meals at Espana.

Graduated from SB High in ‘79. Got married there (Montecito) in ‘84.

Beautiful town. Glad I left CA when I did tho.

Craigster, my pop “almost” bought the Cliff House Inn in ‘75. He thought 400k was a bit too much!
Tabs is right about his description though.

BRPORSCHE, if you want to live like royalty for the weekend, check out San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito. Have fun.

Hey Tom!

Congrats on the new job!

I honeymooned at the Miramar. Decent place. Carpinteria is quiet and a lot cheaper.

Ha! Too Funny James. Thanks!

Know anyone that needs any nat gas in the state of Texas send them my way... ;)

Thanks Hugh. This may be an option for at least one of the nights. SmileWavy

Mid 50's in July sounds excellent. I will attempt to bottle it and bring it home.

Hike: 7 falls. It's over by the botanical gardens. Beware the poison oak. You can actually slide off the most downstream waterfall into the pool below.

My favorite taqueria in the world is La Superica. On Milpas Street, not far from State St. Hand made tortillas. There's always a line, but the 30-45 minute wait is worth it. Cash only.

Last time I spent the night/weekend in Santa Barbara, we stayed in the Hotel Santa Barbara right on State St. I think we had some online/groupon deal. It was nice to be able just to walk out and do stuff.

As for things to do, this UCSB Gaucho recommends:

Visit the SB mission, Queen of the Missions

Drive over the hill to the Santa Inez Valley for wine tasting (re Sideways) Solvang is touristy, but I like it. Drop in at the Cold Spring Tavern on the way back and have a beer with a Hell's Angel.

The SB museum of natural history and the zoo are both small, but pleasant.

Just walk up and down State Street, and on down to Stearn's Wharf.

Hang out on the beaches and ogle the coeds.

Go up to Camino Cielo Road for the sunset. We used to do it on shrooms. Good times.

Oh yeah, Cold Spring Tavern. It's an old stage coach stop IIRC. Biker bar by weekend, but the tri tip sandwich is fantastic.

Brophy Brothers, across the street from the football stadium Second floor on the working pier. John Cleese hangs there sometime.

Order the Cioppino.

I was reading this thread last night and Joe Bob just beat me to it. Brophy Bros in the harbor, overlooks the loading pier where fresh catch is trucked to local resturants. They don't take reservations so arrive 30 minutes early for a outside table (very narrow deck) about 30 minutes before sunset. The views across the harbor and the mountains is really special. Food is very good as are their drinks!

Check hotels on upper state street (Pepper Tree/Best Western) and Goleta (Ramada by Wyndham off Turnpike) are places we usually stay in. I also agree the Santa Barbara Hotel on lower state right across the street from Joes Cafe (best drinks in town - Francisco is the bartender to work with) and a ton of food and entertainment options.

Recommend renting electric bicycles downtown and you can ride through Montecito or Hope Ranch along the coast. Really great way to tour.

Must see is the Santa Barbara Courthouse. Walk up to the tower for amazing views of the mountains, ocean, and city. The architecture is perfect, mature landscaping, tons of history (Michael Jackson was tried there). It's just a block off middle State street.

Go for drinks at the 4 Seasons Biltmore Hotel across the state from Butterfly Beach. Or stay there if your budget can support it. Mine cannot - but the place is fantastic.

Goleta beach pier is a hold out to an older time. Honestly it has not changed in 55 years since I was a kid growing up there. There is a good restaurant on the beach there (Sandspit Road) but they might be closed now...total shame.

UCSD is a fun area to walk from Goleta beach parking lot. Their campus is beautiful.

Cold Springs Tavern is not to be missed, was an original stop on the Pony Express I believe. When I was a kid it was a hangout for the dangerous biker gangs but now a destination for everyone. Food is very good and ++ the tri tip sandwich. Good drinks too.

East Camino Cielo is a must drive at sunset. Go up San Marcos pass (154) and at the top take a right turn. Very slow speed road, steep drop off/cliff on the West side, will take you all the way into Montecito.

You can't go wrong with food in this city. For Mexican food the high end Los Arroyos across the street from the Montecito Inn is very good. Search YoutTube for Santa Barbara mudslide, there is a video where a Police car was heading up Olive Mill Road and encountered a mud slide after big fires and then seasonal rains. Took out much of town up that road and areas South. Actually closed down the 101 freeway at that point for a month. The Montecito Inn parking garage was filled with mud and water. Boulders the size of big trucks tumbled down the mountain that night.
My go to Mexican food is a very casual spot on Milpas, Taqueria El Bajio, take the food to go and eat on the beach or go local and eat on the street. Their Tacos Dorado is a 3 big taco order and cannot be beat. You can spend more but not eat better.

So much stuff to see. A day trip to wine country is fun. Drive North 101 out of Goleta and you will be transported to a different time. 2 lane highway that hugs to coast until you get to the tunnel that leads inland to turn off to Lompoc or continue to North on 101 to access Solvang, Los Olivos, and points North.

Edit - Damn I forgot to mention the Arlington Theatre. Stop by and ask to see the inside. It's styled as an outdoor arena complete with faux balconies and a starlight dome sky. I have seen many a concert, and all the original Star Wars movies there.