On our own.

So we picked up our rental car and headed back towards LA and the beaches. Stopped very briefly at Santa Monica again and then headed a little farther south to Venice Beach.  It seems like there is always some type of filming going on at the beaches but did not spot any stars.  There were no bikini-clad roller blading women or muscle men on the beach (as advertised in the brochures) but plenty of people on bikes and some sunshine.  Venice is trendy and apparently in the summer is packed with sun worshippers, but today was quiet and lovely. Just a few blocks off the beach is a small area of tranquil canals that gave Venice its name.  There is a foot path along the Grand Canal.  The houses that back on to the canals are an interesting architectural mix from modest cottages to mini-palazzos. Every house has lovely gardens with roses and cactus and flowering trees.  We had a late breakfast and continued north to Santa Barbara. Our original plan was to stop at various beaches along the way but we mostly stopped and looked and did not actually walk any of those.  We stopped at an information center in Oxnard and the woman there was very helpful and gave us alot of brochures, maps and general knowledge.  We finally arrived in Santa Barbara in the afternoon.  The town sits on a curving, sandy bay with the Santa Ynez Mountains as a backdrop.  It is mainly Spanish and mission-style architecture with red tile roofs and a strong Mediterranean flavor.  It bills itself as The American Riviera.  It had been a long day so we ate lightly at a vegetarian cafe and went to bed. The next morning was off to the Santa Barbara Mission.  There are 21 Missions up and down the coast and the Santa Barbara Mission is labeled as the Queen of the Missions..  It sits high on a knoll above the town and its design was based on the designs of Roman engineers.  There was a lovely rose garden with roses named after famous people and colors I have never really seen before.  The history of the Chumash indians at the mission and the handiwork done by both the Native Americans and the friars was inspiring.
         Our next stop would be San Luis Obispo (labeled SLO by the locals), which is located midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Like most of the towns along the PCH the town revolves around an 18th century mission.  It is a college town, home of California Polytech State University so the downtown area was a typical college type town with shops and restaurants.  Had a lovely dinner at Luna Red, a restaurant serving tapas (small portions) of swiss chard wrapped around red quinoa, fennel and walnuts, pizzette, roasted tomato soup and basil and wilted spinach salad.  Very nice.  It was raining pretty hard for the 6 block walk back to our hotel but it was a nice end to the day.  Off to Hearst Castle.  Will let everyone know how that goes.