Mid-trip update sans photos...

Today is our last day in Santa Barbara - time flies! We have had a fantastic time here and we have done lots of things. I will post some pictures once we get home - I don't have the transfer cord with me right now. Anyway, Rachael and Justin have been wonderful hosts - they picked us up from the Santa Maria airport on Friday evening and drove us into Santa Barbara for some late dinner at the Brew House. On Saturday they gave us a tour of Santa Barbara, beginning with breakfast at a cafe on the beach (who knew wheat germ pancakes could be so good???), a trolley ride to Stearn's Wharf, the farmer's market, and a tour of State Street. In the evening we went to Bouchon, a French restaurant which is hidden away behind bushes so you'd never know it was a restaurant when you walk by it on the street! Very good food, good ambiance. Saturday evening we went over to David and Joann's house (friends of Rachael and Justin) to hang out on their patio - they are really nice! On a side note, the weather here is lovely - pretty much moderate all the time. On Sunday we went to a movie (do not see Stepbrothers even if someone will pay you to go... :)), then went to church, then to Palapa for very good Mexican food and margaritas. Monday evening we met up with David and Joann again for happy hour at the Hollister brew house, then we went over to their house again for stuffed peppers (very tasty :) ). Tuesday, Aaron and I drove around to four different wineries/vineyards to do wine tastings. It was beautiful driving - we headed up on highway 101 which is right by the ocean and next to the mountains - beautiful! We went to the Firestone Vineyard (all of you Bachelor fans may recognize the name), the Roblar winery, the Sunstone winery, and the Sanford winery. They are near different small towns, so it was fun to drive through all of them - some are quite tourist-y, like Solvang that has windmills and Dutch architecture. The great thing about the wine tasting is that you pay $10 and get to taste 6-8 different wines, then you get to keep the wine glass! Anyway, Tuesday evening we had Indian food at the All India Cafe - some of the best we've had. Excellent naan! Then we hung out with Rachael and Justin - played some Phase 10 (we've played a lot of Phase 10 this trip! :) ) and opened one of the bottles of wine we got at Sunstone. Today Aaron, Justin, and I went to Cajun Kitchen for breakfast (more wheat germ pancakes - different than the other cafe, not quite as good but still tasty). I got my hair cut this morning by Joann - you'll have to wait for pictures, but it's short! :) I like it alot, but I don't recognize myself yet in the mirror. We met up with Rachael for lunch at Something's fishy, a sushi bar. Really good spicy yellowfin roll and at half price! Nice! :)
So that is the trip so far - I am waiting for the laundry to get done so I can finish packing. Tonight we go back to Vegas - it's kind of weird to leave Santa Barbara and yet not be going home. Hope you are all having a good week!