Rate-a-Dive

As I continue along on my travels, I will do my best to chronicle the restaurants along the way so that anyone who follows along the same path, will have a guide on which places to hit and which to avoid.  I will be rating each by three different criteria: vibe, grub and spirits on a scale of 1-10 and then provide an overall rating.

Beachside Bar & Cafe -- Goleta California

Vibe -- 8

This bar/restaurant is a very locals only type of spot.  Most tourists are going to hit the main drag of Santa Barbara, but my friend Billie suggested this spot because it was right on the water.  The patio actually sits right on the sand.  The feel is very casual where you can come dressed in shorts or if it's a big night on the town -- wear jeans! Ha!  The view is spectacular and it's a stone's throw from UCSB.

Grub -- 4

For the restaurant being on the water I expected the fish selection to be great, but unfortunately it was pretty narrow, though I loved the oysters.  I actually had salmon with a hollandaise (sp?) sauce, rice pilaf and vegetables.  The fish was not very moist and the sides at Denny's were better! Ugh!  Upside is the service was fantastic and setting sorta made up for the food quality.

Spirits -- 8

I sorta dropped the ball here because I don't remember what type of beer I had there but it was a locally brewed pilsner.  It was served amazingly cold, which after a long drive was just what the doctor ordered!!

MAO Rating -- 22

Re-Connecting

Though I have lived in California nearly my whole life, I think I sometimes forget how beautiful it is.  Driving up the coast today was a big reminder.

Today I drove up from San Diego to Santa Barbara (horrible fire in Camarillo that I understand has burned over 60,000 acres was still burning) and met up with friend of mine who I traveled with some thirty years ago.  Billie Sager and I met during our year of travelling in Up With People -- we were a "cast couple", which is pretty much on par with what my seventh grade daughter says when she likes someone by passing them a note.  Innocent as the day is long!

Billie has lived in Goleta, which is a few miles past Santa Barbara for nearly twenty years, which is crazy because I have been in SB many times and had no idea she lived there (thank you Facebook).  Her smile and energy are the same as they were many years ago and it was fun to hear about her career, daughter and the stories surrounding what brought her to California from the Black Hills of South Dakota.

After dinner, I hit the road for another half hour and landed at Refugio State Beach and Campground.  Yes I really did camp out my first night on the road.  This place is gorgeous. It sits right on the ocean in a small cove.  The camp ranger, a women name Rheta (Rita) from Minnesota told me that I was very fortunate to have found open camp site, because they are normally full (the place looked deserted), which was a bit hard to believe.

MAO in America - Day 1

I have been planning on taking this cross country road trip for over two years and each time it got derailed for some reason or another.  Thus, to finally be at the day of reckoning is almost surreal.  I have both a feeling of excitement and anxiousness because as most of my family, friends and colleagues will testify to, I’m not really very good at being alone as I get bored quickly.  In fact, I’m not very interesting, I don’t really tell good stories and I have a short attention span – thus, as I understand it, there is an over/under bet going on at Formula regarding how long this adventure might last…I’m betting six weeks.  What’s your bet?

The idea for this road trip is actually not an original one.  As a professional idea thief, I stole this idea from two of my closest friends who did a similar trip sometime over the last 10-15 years.  My closest friend and fraternity brother Bill Boyer took this same trip, with a relatively similar itinerary about 15 years ago, though his was a bit more rustic.  He bought a van, pulled the seats out of the back and camped along the way.  I actually came out to meet him on the road.  I flew into Chicago, we stayed at my sister Deanne’s house for a couple of days then hit the road, visiting Notre Dame University, Detroit, Toronto and ultimately ending up in Montreal, where I flew back home and he continued on his journey through to Nova Scotia and then back to SD.  We had a blast.  In fact, we still re-tell the stories of that trip so many years ago. 

A few years later my friend Chuck Renfroe did a similar trip though his was done in a bit more comfort.  Rather than travelling in a van, Chuck made the smart decision to buy a motorhome and actually sleep in comfort.  I met Chuck over thirty years ago, when we both travelled in Up With People.  Chuck is one of best guys you will ever come across and after just a few minutes of meeting him, you will feel like you’ve known him your whole life.  All of the “scum crew” which all of our friends from UWP were affectionately known by, visited with Chuck either when he came through our town, or in the case of me, flew to Vegas for a few days of debauchery…and golf.

Though my decision to do this road trip was not an original one, it was one that I have looked forward to for many years.  More to come later, as I have actually yet to leave my SD home, but I would be remiss if I didn’t give a huge shout out to my brother Gary who drove all the way to SD from Barstow to “remind” me how everything works in my VW Eurovan because he is a camping veteran.  Though he only spent a few hours with me in SD, it meant a lot that he would  make the trip.