What I bought on vacation

Santa Barbara might just be the best shopping city in the world.  This black patent leather purse was purchased at Yellowstone (527 State St, Santa Barbara (805-963-9609, sorry, can't find a website, just the plethora of yellow type pages places).  The purse is big enough for a cell phone, camera, flat brush, IDs, money and keys.  Sometimes you just want to carry a tiny, tiny bag but sometimes you don't.  The strap, which is long enough to go over your shoulder, tucks into the bag when you want a clutch.  Cost: $32.

This picture does not due this dress justice.  I bought it at Black Star (430 State Street, Santa Barbara 805-962-5611, ditto from above on the website).  It's cotton, lined, sits right above the knee and was only $18.  

World Market (aka Cost Plus/World Market, 610 State Street, Santa Barbara 805-899-8311, http://www.worldmarket.com/home.jsp) appears to be working their way across country so maybe they'll be here soon.  OK, you can purchase on line, but it's so much more fun to fly across the country and wander around.  

Cafe du Monde coffee ($6.99/lb) is, if you like strong coffee, what you want.  So what if it looks like mud when you add milk.  It packs a wallop and tastes good too.  I bought one can of decaf as an experiment and stocked up until I get out there again.  

These cocktail picks were in the 50% off section and cost something ridiculous like $1.75.

I had lunch, as I always do, at Natural Cafe (508 State Street, Santa Barbara, 805-962-9494, http://www.thenaturalcafe.com/).  It consisted of a bowl of roasted red pepper soup (with chicken stock and cream) and a decent sized salad with lots of goodies included jicama and a peach smoothie and bread for, I think, less than $10.00 and I got to sit outside.  Natural Cafe has never disappointed me.

Fish Tacos (or how I spent my summer vacation)

Six days, four fish tacos and I wish it could have been more (days and tacos). Day one, as is tradition, I get my rental car and drive straight to Huntington Beach.  I stop at Rubio's on the way down Beach Blvd. and get two fish tacos and and large iced tea (brewed).  Get myself all comfy on the sand and chow down.  Rubio's fries their fish and there are usually two generous pieces in the soft corn tacos, lots of cabbage and salsa.  Folks, it doesn't get much better than this (OK, Wahoo's is better but we'll get to that later).  Being on the beach, eating fish tacos.  I am as pretty close to heaven as I am ever going to get.  

Next day, I get my fish taco on the way home from the beach.  Normita's Surf City Tacos is on the northwest corner of Beach at Indianapolis (same corner as Hilltop Liquor; if you need a landmark, that's it).  This is a small place (not a chain and one store) with a couple of table outside and a few stools inside.  They fry their fish too and add a lot more goop than Rubio's and it makes for a spicier taco.  They also give you a generous portion of chips.

Wahoo's, pictured above is by far my favorite (in general and for this trip in particular).   Parking at Huntington Pier on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend is not fun but we eventually roll down the windows and ask a guy if he is leaving and give him a ride to his car.  I'm surprised the place is not packed but am somewhat relieved because we are starving.  Wahoo's grills their fish and, as you can see, the dinner platter comes with a huge portion of rice and beans.  They also have brewed iced tea.  I could eat this stuff morning, noon and night.

Last place was somewhere in Santa Monica on my last day.  Don't even know the name and it wasn't memorable enough to write it down.  This was more of a fish fajita than a fish taco so I was somewhat disappointed but the spanish rice was probably the best I've ever had.