More is More

So…I typed up most of this post a week ago.  I was in the middle of editing it when SCS went down and took my blog with it.  UGH!  I haven’t been feeling well for the past week, so I never had the energy or the heart to come back and see if I had any part of it saved as a draft, until now.  Well fortunately, I did.  So when you read “last week” below, it’s really week before last…

Last week we spent Monday through Thursday in a beautiful Bed & Breakfast in Santa Barbara and we took Tessa with us.  This was our first time traveling with her (other than in the 5th wheel).  Santa Barbara is, hands down, our very favorite destination and we are so fortunate that it’s only a 2 hour drive away (barring any nasty traffic.)  We usually stay at Cheshire Cat which is a B&B we adore, but when we called for a reservation we discovered that they wouldn’t allow us to bring Tessa (although we had previously been told it would be ok.)  So we went searching for a pup-friendly B&B and we found the Old Yacht Club Inn.

On the way up, I told Curt that I wasn’t expecting much because I didn’t want to be disapointed.  But the low expectations were totally unneccessary.  The Old Yacht Club Inn was lovely!  We had a very large room with the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in away from home.  The bathroom was quite large and well-appointed.  Best of all we were just a short one block from the beach.

I have a few vacation pictures to share. (click on them to see them larger) They were all taken with my phone because, although we did take a camera it turned out to have a dead battery in it.  *sigh*

On the way to Santa Barbara we always like to stop at the Summerland Beach Cafe for lunch.  Fortunately they have an outdoor patio that allows for dogs.  Across the street is a lovely little park with a  beach view.

On Tuesday morning we took a long walk along the beach down to the pier.  In the afternoon we enjoyed an awesome Farmer’s Market on State Street.  In fact we got all kinds of yummy stuff (fresh bread, almond butter, pesto hummus, Gaviota strawberries, pluots, cheese, pistachios) and made a dinner out of it.  Here’s a photo of me and Tessa on our morning walk.

Did I mention that I lost a conatct lens the first night and had to wear my glasses the whole time?  No sunglasses – ugh!  My face hurt from squinting for 3 days!  But the weather was wonderful!  It was about 65 when that photo was taken and I think the warmest it got the whole time was maybe 75.  Love love that cool weather!

Here’s the front of the B&B.

And here’s the beach view we got when we walked about 50 yards.

I hadn’t wanted to take Tessa actually onto the beach because I didn’t want her to get all covered in sand when I had no way to bathe her.  Plus, although I LOVE to look at the beach, I’m not much of an actual sand and sea person.  But on our last morning we decided we should see how she would react to beach and sand.

Oh my goodness – she loved it!  She just wanted to run!  We kept her on leash because we really weren’t sure if dogs were allowed on the beach. You know it’s funny – I’ve never talked to so many people on a vacation.  People constantly stopped us to say cute Tessa is and to ask what kind of dog she is.  (Curt says he wants to get a sign made for around her neck that says “we don’t really know!”  LOL!)  We even took her in a store that had a “no pets” sign (Curt was holding her in his arms) and the owner walked right up to say how cute she is and ask about her.  It was quite an experience!

On the way home we stopped in Carpenteria to browse in a few shops.  I scored in an antique store that had a drawer full of all sorts of vintage trims.  These made me think of my friend Melissa Sauls.  Now if I can just channel some of her incredible talent!

Those tiny glittery jingle bells are sooooo CUTE!  Now I need to set aside some time to sit down and play!

Do you stamp as much during the Summer as the rest of the year?  I find that I’m just not motivated to create as much in the Summer.  I really have no idea why, since I’m not an outdoor girl.  Just wondering if other people feel the dame way?

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have a great week!  I had my monthly stamp class last Friday night and I have a couple of samples to share from that.  I hope to get back her in the next dew days with those.  For now, I’m off to work!