On the Pier

You just wouldn't believe how fantastic the sights are out here. The boats always mesmerize all of us. There's just something about being able to load up in one of those and sail off into the wild blue yonder; it's a fun thought even though I get terrible motion sickness in the car and have never sailed before. I'm sure I'd be sick as a dog the entire time we were sailing, but it's fun to dream.

This little crab was just busy working away on this rock, running in and out of the water while we watched. I still can't believe we can lean over a railing and see such things in everyday life. I love the starfish too. One day we were walking on the beach and saw an otter carcass had washed way up on the beach in the night. It looked like a pile of furry seaweed until we walked all the way around it and it was barring it's nasty little teeth in the final moments of it's life, and that's how he stayed. It's just amazing to me.

We walked all the way up the pier to the Maritime Museum where we did a little academic project and learned all about steering a ship and submarines and deep sea diving; it was quite entertaining to say the least.
I thought this little boat was so cute, just loved it. The rest of the day we spent doing various other things... we ate lunch at a place Dale found called Sambos, just across the street from the ocean.

We went to the Museum of Natural History where we learned about the Chumash Indians and mammals and various birds and had a two-minute nature walk, and of course saw dinosaur bones. After the Maritime Museum we went to the Train Museum, which was funny because it's just one small building that you peek through open doors to view but can't enter, and a caboose. The train wasn't running that day, the one you ride, but it wasn't a total loss because the kids saw lizards in the flowers and they chased them around so that was fun.

Santa Barbara wears me out; it's such a long drive that we feel like we have to pack the day full of activity or it's a waste. Frankly, I'd rather walk over to the park and then sit on a bench than to drive an hour and walk all day, but that's because I wake up tired and spend the day working tired and the thought of a fun-filled busy day makes me tired. But the kids love it and darn it, that's something.