Santa Barbara and the Channel Islands Car-free!

Car-less vacations, in general, are more discovery-oriented, less task-oriented ("It's Tuesday. We must be in Kansas."). Traveling by train allowed me to sit back, relax, reflect, and have a more intimate connection with my surroundings. Riding my bike made it possible for me to get a "sense of place" as I leisurely pedaled my way through town, the countryside, and along the Pacific Coast.

My Amtrak train trip took me from Tucson to Los Angeles via the Sunset Limited, then from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara on the scenic Pacific Surfliner. My folding bike was happily stashed away in the carry-on luggage area on the Limited and in a bikes-only area on the Surfliner. I arrived at the Santa Barbara Amtrak station at about 3:30 in the afternoon, snapped my bike together and pedaled to my lodging (I received a 20% hotel discount for participating in the Santa Barbara Car-free program!)

With my free bike map in hand I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Santa Barbara, including the mission (at right) and equally impressive 1929 Spanish Colonial County Courthouse. I then rode along a bike/pedestrian trail, past East Beach, West Beach, Leadbetter Beach, and finally to  sweeping ocean views at Shoreline Park. A scrumptious veggie burger at the Natural Cafe (508 State Street) put the final touches on a great first day.

The Long and Winding Road
Santa Barbara Bike Coalition offers a series of online bike tour brochures. I decided to take the Santa Barbara to Goleta trip (40.3 miles, 919 feet total ascent). The weather was ideal: low 70s and virtually no wind. The highlights of the trip included kicking around the UC Santa Barbara campus (and taking in a wonderful Andy Warhol exhibit at the art gallery) and a traffic-free cruise along Coastal Trail. Oh, another memorable experience was a guy who saw my bike and did a double-take. After spending some time gawking he said, "Wow! Nice bike!" I thanked him for his kind words and pedaled on.

My lazy day three included more exploring in and around Santa Barbara (the photo at left was taken along one of the bike-pedestrian coastal trails), a short train trip to Ventura, checking into the Marriott (free night using rewards points), and another leisurely coastal ride along the deservedly famous Ventura coastline. The receptionist at the desk told me that there would be a $10 per day parking fee. I turned around, pointed at my bike, which at the time was relaxing in the lobby, and said, "That's what I'm driving!" She chuckled and said that they'd gladly waive a parking fee. Bike and I jumped on the elevator, entered our spacious temporary abode and settled in for the night.

By dumb luck this was the Annual Chumash Tomol Journey to Santa Cruz Island   (the Chumash indians lived on the Channel Islands from  around 9,000 years ago until they were forceably removed in the early 1850s). The photo at the right shows the Tomol and the four very intense and committed Chumash paddlers. It's considered a great honor to be be chosen to paddle this traditional craft to the island. A group of Chumash who went out to the island with us assembled on the bow of our vessel and softly chanted as we neared the Tomol. I had a nice chat with one of the Chumash tribal members. We then had the good fortune of getting in the midst of a dolphin pod - hard to say but at least 50 of them. Everyone was in a very festive mood when we finally finished our 27 mile trip and disembarked at Scorpion Cove.

I took a 9 mile hike (round-trip) to Smugglers Cove. The photo  at the left is pretty representative of what I saw during my hike: rolling hills, grassland, and oak trees that were twisted by the prevailing  winds. The island has lots of wildflowers, but not this year -- it's been much too dry. On my way back to Scorpion Cove I saw an Island Fox, an endangered species that's only found on the Channel Islands; it's also the smallest fox in the Americas. A rare treat indeed!