Day 27 – Second day in beautiful Santa Barbara (July 9th)

Tuesday morning Lauren and I dressed and hoped in the car. Lauren had been highly recommended a visit to Carpenteria, just a few miles south of SB. Not knowing exactly where in Carpenteria we should go we got off at the first exit that had a sign advertising "Beach Access".
The very small downtown Carpenteria is quite wonderful. There are lots of small restaurants, cafes and gift shops. It's not at all pretentious (if you're next to Santa Barbara it's only natural to accept your place as "not the fanciest thing around") We walked down the main drag (which reminded me a lot of the main drag of Seaside, OR but plus 30-degrees) all the way to the white sand beach. There was a sign advertising the beach as "America's Safest Beach". Impressive.

After dipping our toes in the water we walked back up the strip to find sustenance. We settled for a nice looking cafe/dinner called the Busy Bee. The food was decent and the management was extremely friendly. After we filled our bellies Lauren grabbed a few hours worth of supplies (read: sunblock, a beach towel, a few bucks, and her ID) and I headed back north on I-5. My destination was the Santa Barbara Golf Course.

When I pulled in I noticed quickly that I was 30-40 years younger than most of the people in the parking lot. This could be interesting... The starter took my money and let me know I'd be paired with Jesse who was already warming up. I took a few practice puts and then made my way to the first tee. Jesse turned out not to be a senior citizen but actually a young guy, a few years younger than myself I'd learn.

I stepped up to the first tee, a short par 4, and teed up. I hadn't so much as swung a club since I returned from a golf trip to Scotland almost two months earlier and I wasn't sure what to expect. In Scotland my driver had been extremely unpredictable (a bad hook is one thing, but it's even harder to deal with when you're not sure whether the next swing will be a bad hook or a bad slice).

I took a long breath, and a slow swing and cracked a high draw 355-yards down the middle of the fairway. Not bad... I bombed it off the tee all afternoon (the first few drives I couldn't figure out how I was doing it, after that I said screw it, just enjoy it). Between the tee box and the cup my play was peppered with good shots and bad ones, but over all I played decent (especially considering I hadn't played in nearly two months).

Jesse was a decent playing companion but a bit more chatty that I would have preferred. He was a natural athlete, a basketball player in college (although based on his build he could have been a quarterback). He no doubt got into golf after college because it's easier on the body and clearly struggled with the fact that it's a hard fucking sport. After every hit he'd say something like "I never play this bad" or "I can't believe how bad I'm playing today". I wanted to put my hand on his should and say "It's okay, most people suck at golf. It doesn't mean you're not athletic, it just means you're human."

After golf I headed back to Carpenteria to meet back up with Lauren. She had spent the afternoon o the beach and had recently posted up on the patio of Island Brewing Company. After we enjoyed a brew or two there we headed back into Santa Barbara. We freshened up after our days in the sun and headed to TAP Thai restaurant for dinner.

My Lavender Drink at Tap Thai - Delicious, if you like Lavender

Yummy Thai food!

On our walk back from dinner we poked our heads into Tiburon Tavern for a night cap. Tiburon looked like the perfect bar for a night cap and it did not disappoint! The only people in the bar were the small group of laborers at the head of the bar and a buxom bartender flirting with them. When they left the bartender told us she needed a cigarette and would we be okay for a few minutes? 'Um, sure?' and she promptly left the premises. Awesome.

-Dan