Santa Barbara, CA

Still there but it is a short drive so I don't stay there overnight at all. As far as eating places you probably aren't looking to eat where I did in Isla Vista. Generally, you'll have to get out of Santa Barbara to find cheaper hotels. If you're rich there's always Fess Parker's place. It is quite nice. I never stayed there but my wife attended a conference there and I went and played golf.

There are a lot of different places to eat all along State street and also down where State street meets the beach. We mostly go there to go to the zoo or for the artwalk. I believe that is off the cabrillo exit down by the beach. There was a Mexican food place there across the street from the beach that was pretty good although the food was pretty spicy. When we played the Ojai tennis tournament 25 years ago I remember eating at a Big Yellow House restaurant somewhere south of Santa Barbara. That used to be a good place to take a team.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.

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Would agree...hard to find inexpensive places there, big time resort destination for SoCal...but there are some values if you look...

Values?...Would agree...best values are out of town north or south...check the standard hotels in Carpenteria South of SB, Oxnard maybe a half hour wouth, or a half hour north in Buellton. That is where we stay when we are doing the budget thing, or can't find a place in SB (often). We stay in the Days Inn,(was in the movie Sideways)about 30-45 minutes north but a nice drive along the ocean. The place is clean, safe, get breakfast..just checked about $70 per night.

There are a few budget places in Goleta (same as UCSB)...Motel 6...stay away from the Holiday Inn IMO, overpriced.

If you can find an opening SB has some great little hole in the wall places along Cabrillo Blvd within a block or two of the ocean...may not always be up to date..but the beach may make up for a lot...

The Cabrillo Inn at the Beach is often written up in travel mags as a place for budget famnilies to get the SB ocean experience, It is dated but solid, and overlooks the beach. The Motel 6 a block off the Cabrillo and the beach was the first motel 6 ever...but can be hard to find openings for , but a great first place to check.

Across the street from these two hotels is the East Beach grill...a great hidden locals gem for for breakfast...right on the sand, very unique. Try the blueberry pancakes if you like such things...

Dinner...Dinner houses...Not inexpensive, but moderately priced and solid choices are...the Elephant Bar at the airport of all places in Goleta, is near the school and very popular among the UCSB kids and families...we had very nice meal there last summer after a collegiate league game...The Enterprise Fish Company on lower state has always been good to us...

44

We did UCSB while following the Dartmouth baseball team last year.

Oxnard is more like 45-60 mins south of SB. And there is a serious traffic bottleneck in SB driving south to Ventura/Oxnard in the late afternoon. Having said that, we slept in Ventura.

Don't be afraid to use Priceline. Last year I found the 3 star Marriott in Ventura on the beach (and on Ventura Fwy) for $50 a night. Use betterbidding.com to review successful bid histories for different cities, including SB, Ventura, etc...

Regardless of where you stay, when you are at games on the UCSB campus and want to grab a quick bite nearby try Woody's BBQ; it is a fabulous little barbecue restaurant just south of campus on Hollister Ave. in the Magnolia Shopping Center. Sawdust on the floor, fantastic burgers and fries, tri-tip, chicken, and of course they have ribs, slaw, etc. Beats most of the other close by dining options.
You can get your Starbucks fix at Camino Real Marketplace, an upscale outdoor mall at Hollister Ave. near Storke;this is only 5 min from ballfield just north and out near the highway (US 101).
One other thing I'll mention is the parking at UCSB; they have a really interesting way of enforcing their pre-paid outdoor parking near the ballpark. You drive in and hopefully find a nearby space, park, and pull out your cell phone to pre-pay with a credit card for the amount of time you want to purchase. Right before your time expires, you'll get a text message asking if you want to add more time. Or you can do it the old-fashined way and pre-pay at a kiosk in the lot by feeding 5's and 1's into the machine, the amount determined by how long you think you will stay. You enter the space number you occupy into the machine, then the system relies on gps camera surveillance to determine if you overstay your time period. If you do, a parking enforcement officer is there within seconds to issue a ticket. Be sure to overpay, because if the game goes extra innings (as ours did) you cannot "add-on"; you have to start over by paying a higher rate for any additional time you need. Great use of technology, and the school is making a killing with parking revenue now.
Good luck...enjoy the tournament.

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Good info Paps...

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Thanks to all; CADad, 44, dbg_fan, & paps. Lots of good info here.
Looks like I better bring an appetite.
Wow, high-tech parking lots! I'm very grateful for the heads up.
Any chance for a fog-free weekend in mid-February?
Mahalo

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Usually/often get a really nice false spring for a couple weeks in February...hope you hit that lovely stretch...

...usually no June gloom (fog) until...well...June...

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Any recommendations for the best route to drive from Sacramento to Santa Barbara? I'd prefer to stay on I-5 for as long as I can before cutting over to Hwy 101.

Thanks!

The two options would be I-5 to the Hwy 41 to 101 or if you don't like 41, take I-5 down to Hwy 126 just before Magic Mountain and cut back to 101. This uses major hwys for the full ride and your car would know the drive over the Grapevine from memory....

Taking the 5 to the 126 will add about 50 miles to your trip. I'd recommend taking the 41 across although it will seem like a long drive getting across. We just drove down from Monterey taking the 101 and it was a nice drive, much more interesting than taking the 5.

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Would agree...pretty much...101 is nice drive as such things go...much rather drive that one than 5..

But I'm not fond of 46/41 as it is two lane, "got trucks", and populated at times by way too much airbag and not enough sense...but your point is well made...rather do the 101.

Besides on the 46/41 you get to see where James Dean took the road to eternity...

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Surprisingly, coming from Sacramento, there is only a 20 miles difference going the I-5 126, 101 route vs I-5, 41, 101 route(according to Yahoo Maps).

Not wanting to join James Dean too quickly and having the option to "cruise" at "rapid" pace down I-5 for a long period of time, I would take the extra 20 miles.

Thanks everyone! I guess my passenger and I will have to make a decision on whether we want to take the scenic or rapid route. My friend is a real chatterbox so either way the drive should go quickly since we will spend the entire drive catching up.

We drove together to Cal Poly last year and took 46/41 to 101. Was not aware of the connection to James Dean but agree that there are a lot of trucks on that route which can slow things down.

Stop! You guys are making this Gaucho alumni homesick!!

Look for the little town of Cholame on Hwy 46 just before you get to Paso Robles (about 25 miles before Paso Robles.) Don't blink cause you might miss it. There is a major street that crosses 46 that is where James Dean in his little porsche speedster hit the Ford...

A memorial has been set up near the crash site...

http://members.aol.com/jaydeebee1/memorial.html

(I have relatives who live in the area - and have been hearing the story all of my life)


08

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Yep...

Where the road from Fresno (41) meets the road from Bakersfield(46)...

Intersection has been moved/adjusted some but...

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08...

Relatives in the area?...

...Might have to do a HSSBW-Sideways-Central-Coast-wine-tasing-tour with you as the tour guide!

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