Day 12 - Wednesday - Mystery Day #2

We had two planned "mystery days" on this trip. What this basically means is that we didn't really have any plans and whatever happens, happens.

As with most days, this one began with no alarm clock, which I would say is the essence of vacation. We did some serious sleeping in, or at lest we slept while not being shaken by a passing train.

The plan for the day materialized and we left our hotel around noon for Santa Barbara, a mere 30-40 minutes up the road. As we drove, two things were happening that were instrumental to this trip. As this was a less eventful day than most, it seems like a good time to take a look behind the scenes.

The first is a testament to technology. Throughout our travels, Salina was working the Blackberry into the ground. Whether it was getting directions using the map function or hitting up Yelp for a place to eat, this trip could not have happened without that little pink phone.

The second has been our major source of entertainment through endless hours spent in the car. Last year, we read and listened to a couple Harry Potter books to pass the time. This year, having read the entire HP series, we had to find something new. Enter the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, or as we call it, "Langdon."

Anyway, back to reality. Listening to Langdon while Salina worked her Blackberry looking for a place to eat in Santa Barbara, we cruised on up (the) 101. We decided on a taqueria with high reviews and an interesting menu - meat choices including eye balls, lips, etc. Unfortunately, when we pulled up, a sign in the window said they were closed from 12/2-1/6. What?!

Back to the Blackberry, we found another taqueria not too far away. When we pulled up to this one, the man working inside held up the "Closed" sign and it was back to the drawing board/Blackberry. Down the road we went to the highly-recommended La Superika, which was open but had a line going out the door and down the block. Ugh!

Finally, we found a little Mexican joint that had good reviews, was open, and didn't have a line going around the block. In retrospect, the line around the block should have told us all we needed to know. But, at the time, I wanted to get cruising down the road and didn't like the idea of waiting in line. Little did I know we would be waiting FOREVER for some less than good food at the place we ended up.

I just realized that this post will feature no photos and not a lot in the way of excitement, so I'll keep it short from here. It's just that the hunt for lunch was such a debacle!

We cruised north from Santa Barbara into their wine country. Back to the Blackberry and Yelp to find a couple good wineries. After a quick little side-trip to Solvang, we stopped by a couple wineries and bought a couple bottles. The scenery was amazing and the wines were very good. Can you say weekend trip?

After the second winery, it was back on the road for a drive that would take us within shouting distance of our next big stop, Sequoia National Park. This long drive through the back roads of central California was highlighted by... not a whole lot. Luckily, we had Langdon to keep us entertained.