Santa Barbara, California occupies some of the state's prime coastal real estate. The city has even trade-marked the tagline The American Riviera - that should tell you something. It's a popular destination for its natural beauty, beaches, Spanish colonial architecture, restaurants, and outdoor activities. Located just two hours north of Los Angeles, it's also a hotspot for celebrities of all types to escape the city for a relaxing weekend. If all of this sounds like mucho dinero to you, well, you're not wrong.

One look out my window, and there was no mistaking where I was. The early morning sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds and buildings. I lay there watching the light show thinking, I MUST GET UP.  The sun was shining and I was in San Francisco, one of the most beautiful cities in the world - but I did not want to get out of my bed. You may be thinking I had a wee bit too much wine the night before, or perhaps there was another, more seductive reason to linger. But no, it was the bed itself that wooed me.

I don’t think there are many people who will disagree with this statement: Food is an important part of every culture. It follows then that one of the great pleasures of travel is the opportunity to taste the local cuisine. There's something about sharing a favorite dish with a friend or stranger that makes it taste even better. We truly do bond over a meal.

A frolicsome sea otter, noisy (and stinky) sea lions, and hundreds of migrating pelicans were among the first inhabitants to greet us as the Elkhorn Slough Safari (a 27 ft. pontoon boat) motored slowly away from the harbor. 

Wallace Stegner wrote a vivid novel with an equally compelling title: Angle of Repose. That title came to mind when I visited historic Holman Ranch, the 400-acre property in Carmel Valley, California. The ranch grounds themselves are in a lovely little valley of their own, sitting in an agreeable angle of repose among the oak-studded hills.