Bellosguardo has an amazing history to share with the world. It's a must see! The estate has been…read morepreserved for over 60 years and is truly a Santa Barbara landmark

Touring Bellosguardo was a wonderful experience. It was full of delights and surprises. The art,…read morefurnishings, and instruments are remarkable. I look forward to returning in the future when additional areas of the house are opened to the public.

This is a beautiful wind chime and sculpture near the entrance of Hans Christian Andersen Park in…read moreSolvang, the artwork producing a pleasant sound on a breezy Saturday afternoon. The area is peaceful, and there's a bench right next to the wind harp, making it convenient to spend a few moments here appreciating this unique piece and its history.

This wind harp is located at the Atterdag Village of Solvang care center where there's also a…read morenursing home. This originally topped one of the towers at the Danish Pavilion at San Francisco's 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition. After the expo was over, the buildings were demolished and this wind harp was transported to its current location in Solvang. It plays peaceful music when the wind blows but it's not something I would go out of my way to visit. I was in, took a couple pictures, and left within minutes.

I like walking down State Street when in Santa Barbara. They block a large portion to vehicle…read moretraffic which is nice for pedestrians. State Street has just about any cuisine you may be looking for. They also have lots of cute shops. This is a nice place to spend the day.

Love the Old Town Santa Barbara! With its Spanish architecture and nice Mediterranean vibe! It's a…read moreperfect mix between a smaller town with a relaxed vibe and a place that has many activities to offer: lots of museums, shopping activities, a great restaurant theme, various street fairs and festivals, check out their calendar when you plan a visit! Perfect place for a day trip or a nice weekend getaway from LA! The beach is close, lots of new breweries and spots great for wine tasting! Things changed here as well over the years, some not for the best, but I always enjoy walking the streets of Old Town, discovering new places, feeling far away, yet close enough. Santa Barbara is always a great idea, lots of fun things to do and the charm of the Old Town is hard to beat!

Was a fun roadtrip got there a bit late and it was cloudy unfortunately but it was still a…read morebeautiful sight and relaxing to sit and view with your significant other

Given it being Valentine's Day Eve, it seems quite appropriate to review a Santa Barbara gem. The…read morelocals--particularly UCSB students--know it as "Kissing Point." You don't need to use your imagination why: Simply venture here at sunrise/sunset and you'll be macking with whomever is closest to you due to the natural romance in the Californian air. It also helps that the temperature is sometimes +10* warmer since it is in the mountains. ;) History: Kissing Point is about a third of the way up (or three-quarters of the way down depending on your route) Old San Marcos Road. This was the original stagecoach route to cross over the mountains prior to the current San Marcos Pass/Route 154 between 1861 and 1901. There are a few weathered historical markers along the way but anyone will easily be impressed by the hard work put into carving out the road. How to get here?: The easiest route to reach Kissing Point is by exiting off the 101 Freeway at Patterson Rd and going toward the mountains, turn right on Cathedral Oaks, then turn left when you've reached San Marcos Rd. Kissing Point consists of only two unmarked dirt pull-offs (one now with bollards due to erosion). There is also a third and fourth pull-off much further up hill but with very limited space. What do I see?: The views are from the Santa Ynez Foothills down into Santa Barbara and Goleta Valley with easy landmarks being the Santa Barbara Airport, University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), Old Town Goleta, the Pacific Ocean's Santa Barbara Channel, and almost all of the Channel Islands in the distance on a clear day (from north to south: San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz--the most obviously, and Anacapa Islands). I am spoiled to have this scenic drive only minutes from my house since it offers not only some of the best aerial views (ie particularly from Kissing Point) but also a backroad option to access Route 154 that goes over the Santa Ynez Mountains toward popular destinations including Lake Cachuma, Santa Ynez Valley Wine Country, and Solvang. A few tips: - I have included the precise location on the Yelp map, in addition to GPS coordinates, in the Quick Tips. - Check out my video of the drive down this twisty road with views for days: https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select_video=OgU4LsTKlJ7Eqyh60KKdcA&userid=4DyMRBKrokax6d8LCI3GAw. - People love to drive extremely fast up and down (including myself). Be cautious of mountain bikers and motorcycles, particularly around the two hairpin U-turns toward the top. - As the signs heed, put on your headlights during the night AND day. - Please clean up after yourself. Unfortunately there is plenty of trash and glass bottles left behind. Don't be this person.

This little street is Santa Barbara's oldest. It is stop #9 on the Red Tile Walking Tour.read more

The City of Santa Barbara is beautiful and has lots to do…read more It's a beautiful ride up if you take scenic route. From shopping to the gorgeous scenery you won't be disappointed.. They have beautiful beaches Like East Beach and butterfly beach. It's definitely a must see if you haven't been.

City of Santa Barbara brings back one special vivid memory. I went looking for my college roommate…read more I had the address and I was living in Berkeley at the time. I didn't know she may have been keeping her life secretive. The early 70's were strange times. I was innocent. I thought the overall atmosphere of the city was quiet and quaint. After that one day I never returned. I was told she didn't live there. I'd like to go back just to enjoy the city. I'm recommending. It's a clean city too.

This Adobe is quite well maintained, at least it appears that way. There is a plaque noting the…read morestatus as a California Registered Historic Landmark No. 721. The address 11 East Carrillo St. Is prominently displayed. The doors are locked. There are no posted hours. Looking inside I see a big bankers meeting room table and chairs. So I don't know what is up with the historical status, but it looks like the bank owns it and it is part of their offices. Sorry.

Amazing that this 185 year building is still standing. Stop #4 on the Red Tile Walking Tour.read more

This place never cease to exists. Since being a student to now, there is so much to offer for…read moreeveryone. And of course a tremendous resource for knowledge. I stopped in to visit the new exhibit showcasing local bee diversity. It was simple but so elegantly done. I'm always impressed with things here. Thank you Gauchos!

Yelp tells me it's National Library Week, so here's an updated version of my review of the UCSB…read moreLibrary, a truly wonderful resource. I wrote the original last year when we were still in the midst of a terrible drought. We got a lot of rain this last winter, but nothing like the storm I describe below. Back in the 90s I was a grad student at UCSB and had the privilege of doing research in this library. It's an outstanding resource and staffed with an incredibly knowledgeable and helpful staff. Five stars all damn day! Also back in the 90s here in Southern California we used to have wet winters. Hardly ever rains in these parts anymore. This story took place in 1994, in the middle of an absolutely epic rainstorm. The wind was so strong that huge decades-old eucalyptus trees were blown down all around campus. Roads running through the campus were blocked with these fallen behemoths. The rain was coming down in torrents. It was a full on El Nino type storm event. I had spent the morning doing research and left the Library a little after noon to walk to my apartment about a half mile away I was wearing my trusty REI raincoat. It has a huge hood that completely covers my head and has a bill that extends out to cover the top part of my face. With the hood on and bill pulled down you can keep your face dry but your forward vision is limited to the area just in front of your feet. I was on the path that led back to family student housing, with a backpack loaded with like 15 pounds of books I had just checked out. The wind was blowing so hard it made the rain look like it was falling sideways. I was walking into the wind as fast as I possibly could, staring at the ground and only peeking out from under my hood occasionally to make sure I wasn't about to run into anything. Since it was raining so hard, and had been for hours, the path was virtually deserted. Every time I peeked out from under my hood there wasn't anyone else on the path. I kept my head down and pushed on into the driving rain. Then the damnedest thing happened. I looked up and saw Professor Steven Hawking no more than five feet away, speeding directly toward me in his wheelchair. We were just seconds away from a head on collision. At the absolute last possible moment I jumped to the right, out of his way. He motored full speed right by me. Missed me by mere inches. It happened so fast there wasn't time to process the situation. I stood there in the pouring rain and watched him roll away. I couldn't move my feet. I was shaking with adrenaline. WTF????? I almost collided with Steven Frickin' Hawking. Now, you wouldn't know it from my profile, but I'm actually a pretty big guy. At the time I was 6'2" and weighed 220 pounds. I had a backpack with over 15 pounds of books on my back and I was walking at full speed. Steven Hawking was 5'6" and weighed about 137 pounds. And he had ALS. All the way home this loop played in my head: Oh my god, that was so close! Oh my god, if I would've hit him head on, I might have killed him . Oh my god, I almost killed Steven Hawking! In my mind's eye I could see the headlines, "World's Smartest Man killed by Village Idiot." When I got home I tried to sort it all out. I had so many questions. Like, first of all, what the hell was Steven Hawking doing in Santa Barbara? And what was he doing out in the middle of a torrential downpour with no attendants? I mean, wouldn't you assume he would have at least a caregiver or a gaggle of grad students around him pretty much all the time? Well, he didn't. He didn't even have a damn umbrella. He had to have been soaked. And then I started thinking about the moment I looked up to find him just five feet in front of me. He had to have seen me coming right at him for a long time before I noticed him, but when I looked up he was coming straight for me. The path was eight feet wide. He could have easily steered around me. But he didn't. He was coming straight at me. That was a startling realization. Immediately I pictured a different newspaper headline: "Village Idiot Survives Assassination Attempt by World's Smartest Man." Since I wrote the original review I found out what Professor Hawking was actually doing at UCSB. He had a close relationship with the UCSB Physics Department and was on campus as a guest of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics. The Institute was launching a series of lectures to make Physics more accessible to the general public. Professor Hawking gave the inaugural lecture of the series at Campbell Hall. Mikey C says: Hey Hawking, I'm walking here!