Everyone slept well last except Pam and Gina,  who when they woke during the night, had two cockroaches running across their beds. Pam quickly ‘dispatched’ them with her cycling shoe!! She lives by the rule in UT, ‘if it is outside the house it lives, if it is inside the house it’s dead’ !!! On the way out of town we passed the Embassy Suites which looked like a nice place . . .

. . . and is where ‘Larry the Cable Guy’ stays when he is on the road. No wonder cable rates are so high!!!

We create quite the scene when our peloton rolls out of town in the morning, often literally bringing traffic to a stop. Lot’s of red flashing lights attached to panniers!!!

We had a 16 mile ‘gentle climb’ out of Lompoc this morning and before you knew it there was a NICE two mile downhill. Yippee!!!

On the way down we passed through a narrow canyon where there was room for the southbound lanes, but not for the northbound . . . so they built them a tunnel. First time we have seen that!!!

Soon we were back on the coast, and passed El Capitan State Park, where we were to have stayed except now for the ‘campground mechanical problems’ and Gaviota State Park, shown above, which looked quite nice. Would have been nice to camped under palm trees!!!

At the 50 mile mark we entered civilization again, the twin communities of Goleta and Santa Barbara, combined population of over 100,000. A great system of bicycle paths kept us off Hwy 101 and the busy streets. We rolled by an example of an old gas station . . .

. . . that is just waiting for some restoration $$$$. Probably the kind of place where the attendant wore a white shirt,  a  hat at a ‘rakish angle’ and a bowtie. The ‘Postman Always Ring Twice’ was filmed here in the 1980’s. We have passed a number of movie location sites on this trip. No need to venture too far out of Hollywood for great movie backdrops.

Just another golf course, yes, but the first time we have seen off shore oil drilling platforms. They look like aircraft carriers to me, anchored out at sea.

There was a five mile trail connecting the two communities of Goleta and Santa Barbara that ran through  residential areas. Along the way was this Teen Sports internet radio station featuring the ‘Queen of Teen’ . . .

. . . and the King, making a local appearance. Hard to believe the teen listeners would even know who Elvis is!!! When we were eating out the other night, Frank Sinatra was playing on the Muzak and it was interesting to hear one of the young servers explaining to several others  who the ‘Rat Pack’ was!!!

. . . quiet areas along the way . . .

. .  and the first splashes of bougainvillea colors along the way . . . hopefully more to come . . .

. . . I decided to eat lunch before entering Santa Barbara and stopped to use this horse riding rink viewing stand of a local riding club . . . Connie was almost engulfed by the aloe type plants growing on the side of the court.

Great setting close to Santa Barbara . . .

. . . and as I rode through the Santa Barbara College campus it was evident EVERYONE on campus must own a bike . . .

. . . so organized, they had many bike lanes and round abouts along the way . . .

. . . as I left campus, I noticed a yoga class taking place on one of the green spaces. By the time I got my camera out they were on to the ‘COBRA’. Denise, our resident PT expert thought they had quite good form (no tight glutes)  . . . of course, they are in their twenties and much more limber that us oldsters!!!

. . . on into Santa Barbara where the avenues are wide, have a nice paved shoulder AND an additional running/walking and two way biking lanes adjacent the roadway. VERY non-motorized friendly!!!

. . . only a couple of streets off route was State Street, where Joe said the beautiful people hang out, so most of us thought we would fit right in and cruised down the avenue. LOTS of shopping available.

. . . more great flowers and architecture . . .

. . . even a poochie dog club!!!

. . .  as I entered State Street I heard some great piano music and thought the music was being piped in via outdoor speakers . . . but here in front of Starbucks was the source. A young man playing an upright with a crowd gathered around listening . . .  nice going Starbucks. . . but as I rolled on I realized there was a piano on nearly every corner being played by folks who just wandered by, and if they had the ability, stopped and played a song or two. Nice, really nice. So the west coast has piano music, Rich says in W Virginia they have had outdoor weatherized pianos on street corners for years . . . guess the trend from either coast has not got to the Midwest yet. Of course, our snow may have something to do with that. Hard to play a piano with mittens on and Sorel boots!!!!!!

Leaving town on the wide boulevard of Stearn’s Wharf . . .

. . . lined by palms . . . NICE!!!

. . . and the long wharf that had several restaurants . . .

. . . another version of the Wisconsin Dells ducks!!!

. . . either the star of  the local production of ‘Jesus Christ, Superstar’ or just one of the beautiful people of Santa Barbara!!!

. . . after our 70+ mile day we finally arrived at our home for the night, another Motel 6. Nice setting right outside our room. Only 1 more night of camping on the trip!!!!

. . . great sunset starting to light up the Motel 6 as we left at 6:00pm for dinner . . . hoping to catch the Senior, Early Bird Special?????

We settled in at ‘Teddy’s By the Sea’  . . .

. . . where we saluted emJay’s Retirement party which was probably just about wrapping up, two time zones away in MSN. Can’t wait to share tini’s with her and catch up on the last six weeks. Love you , Smoochie!!!

.

. . . quite an assortment of entrees and everyone found something to fill their tummies . . . several of us had the Cedar Plank Wild Salmon. YUM . . . NO PASTA WITH RED SAUCE tonight, Joe!!!!

. . .Teddy and his staff were very friendly and had provided us with a great meal and evening . . .

. . . ah the lights, firm bed, real towels and coffee at 6:00am lured us back to our Motel 6. All the basics . . . and so much more!!!