There is so much beauty and so many things to do (or not do) in the Santa Barbara area, why travel long distances for a vacation, especially if you only have four days? So, I and my cohorts in crime Kendal and Paco packed up the wagon and headed for a secluded guest cottage just outside Los Olivos for some much needed R&R. We knew we’d made the right move as we looked back at the June gloom fog licking over the mountains, heading for our little get-away. Interesting walks while waiting for the morning fog to clear, as cows followed me hoping I would feed them and Kendal encountered curious thoroughbred horses keeping a wary eye on Paco. The only company (and sounds, besides an occasional vehicle on Figueroa Mtn. Road) were non-human, including lots of birds, a pack of coyotes one night, and cows and a buck and doe who came into the picture-perfect valley across from the cottage each evening as we relaxed with a cool beer on the veranda. Took short day excursions to La Purisima Mission and the pools along the upper Santa Ynez river where the water was heavenly for a swim, but the real treat was the solitude and quiet of our lovely little, but all too temporary, abode. The weather was perfect the whole time, and armed only with iPhones, we managed to capture some moments to remember it all by. Thanks to VRBO and cottage owner Mark Trabucco for a memorable respite! As luck would have it, Santa Barbara emerged from the gloom as we came down the San Marcos pass, making the transition back to real life a bit easier.
