Life at the Oasis didn't feel quite so perfect at 12.30am when the people in the room next door came back talking and laughing very loudly and slamming doors......some people are just so thoughtless. Fortunately Martin was already asleep and they didn't wake him but I was lying awake with my brain buzzing and it really didn't help!
Apart from that life was perfect. We were up early, the sun was shining and we had our complimentary breakfast sitting al fresco......in November, in shirt sleeves, in the shade, at 8am.........perfectly warm and comfortable. Love southern California!
After breakfast we made the short drive to Arroyo Burro beach - otherwise known as Hendry's Beach - where we became victims of our own early start. We had planned a run along the beach to Goleta but it was still only 9am and the tide was too high. Instead we ran back along the creek and found a trail leading up to the Douglas Family Preserve (part of the Arroyo Burro country park). We ran the perimeter trail of this lovely park and then headed back down to the beach by which time the tide had gone out far enough for us to do a couple of miles towards Goleta. When we had done a total of 5 miles we turned back and ran 30 second strides with a minute recovery all the way back to Hendry's beach which made us feel that we had gained some training benefit from a lovely run. As before we found that our legs are not sufficiently recovered from previous exertions to do hard training, I dread to think what my 5k time would be at the moment.
Hard work over with for the day we collected the necessary paraphernalia for a day at the sea from the car and strolled a mile or so towards Leadbetter Beach and Santa Barbara looking for the perfect place to stop. Our first choice proved to be overrun with sand fleas and we were forced to move a little further along the beach to an area where the sand was too dry for these annoying pests. We spent a few very relaxing hours reading, juggling, eating and generally relaxing in the absolutely perfect weather. The only slight disappointment was that there were too many rocks to safely swim and our excursions into the sea were limited to waist deep paddling. In all honesty, once I had cooled down from the running, the temperature of the water was not that tempting anyway but I would have swum if it had been safe to do so.
Mid afternoon, after a brief sojourn at the beach bar, the Boathouse for refreshments, we returned to the car and drove a mile or so inland to Eling's Park which we had found on the internet and which claimed to have a downhill mountain biking course. We made the embarrassing mistake of letting ourselves into what we thought was a bike course and riding round it a few times before realising that it was actually for model car enthusiasts to race their vehicles around. Fortunately we left before we were thrown out or arrested and struggled up a huge hill in search of the real bike course. We passed the various soccer and baseball fields, took a left turn and cycled up another huge hill to the top of the park - which was very beautiful and peaceful with lovely views....but nowhere to cycle. We returned back down the hill and found that the bike trail was just across the other side of the car park - by this time I was thinking longingly of the pool at the motel and sitting beside it with a drink watching the sun go down - to put it in a way that even Martin would get - I didn't want to cycle any further!! So of course we struggled up yet another hill, this time off road with hair pin bends, rocks and loose earth, until we reached the top of the park again.....and then we went back down, in my case at about 1mph with both brakes firmly on.
Unfortunately by the time we finally got back to the motel the pool was in shade but we decided to brave it anyway and both jumped in, much to the amusement of some casual on lookers who had the good sense to sit by the pool drinking beer rather than actually getting in it. What can I say? It was very refreshing....I think I managed 2 lengths before admitting defeat and getting out again. It was so cold that I couldn't breathe enough to swim properly anyway. At least we tried.
After very hot showers we set off on another mission. I really wanted to go to the Santa Barbara Brewing Company for dinner and had rashly said that they had Happy Hour till 6pm. As it was about 3 miles away we decided to drive part way and walk in from wherever we could park. Firstly we got hopelessly lost in side streets as we (Martin) tried to avoid traffic and then, slightly disorientated, we managed to park about 15 blocks away. This would not normally have been a problem, what could be nicer than strolling the streets of lovely down town Santa Barbara window shopping and taking in the sights? Wrong! The end of Happy Hour was fast approaching and Martin galloped along with me lumbering in his wake desperately trying to keep up.....
Once we finally arrived and ordered our discounted beer we could sit back and relax and we spent a happy hour or so with Martin trying to explain the rules of American football to me (again) whilst we watched two unidentifiable teams running round in totally incomprehensible circles with the aim of.......well I never really did get what it was they were attempting to achieve, but the food was excellent and I had way too much Happy Hour Gold Coast wheat beer to care anyway.
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