bit longer in 1 place...because we felt like we were constantly moving about. The drive from SLO to SB is about 1-1/2 hours (90+ miles or so). We got to SB about 11am or so, and decided to visit the UCSB campus. My sis and brother in law are alums there, but I've never visited them when they went to school there. I loved UCSB - it reminds me very much of Davis. The campus was filled with bikes, green grass and nice buildings. We, for some reason, ended up in the dorm area, which opened my eyes! The dorms were right by the ocean (though no beach access)...how can one study when you can stare out to the ocean all day? The dorm area had a beautiful courtyard, almost brand new buildings...just very nice and modern! I have to say that Ryerson Hall, Bixby, Gilmore, and the other "Segundo" dorms in UCD all look so dated compared to these here at UCSB. Judge for yourself!
After the UCSB visit, we grabbed a couple of sandwiches from South Coast Deli and drove to the Alice Peck Memorial Gardens, in the heart of Santa Barbara's downtown. I absolutely LOVED this park. There are beautiful lawns, blooming flowers, trees, butterflies, humming birds, a little pavilion over looking a lake filled with water lilies and turtles ... We even enjoyed a little impromptu picnic here! Just perfect!!
We headed to Stern's Wharf, which is the beachfront area in SB after driving through State Street, a street popular for hip stores and nice restaurants. We rented a couple of beach cruiser bikes and rode along the beach, onto the Pier, and around a nearby lake. 
We biked around for about 1 hour - everything was going great until ... when we set our camera on self-timer to take a picture of both of us, our camera fell to the ground and broke! :( Our lens shutter broke, but luckily nothing else was damaged. We were still able to retrieve our pictures and able to take pictures. Our camera just looked "naked" without the lens shutter. We didn't let the camera incident dampen our spirits. We continued our bike ride for another hour.
Tired and sweaty, we wanted something cold to cool us off. We remembered passing by Pinkberry on State Street so went back to try their yogurt. Pinkberry started in Hollywood and is "supposedly" the originator of the whole yogurt concept. They are the first to make it hip and trendy. Copycats are ALL over the place now...of course. I ordered their original yogurt with unlimited toppings (my choice: mango, pineapple, and strawberry) for $3.50. I have to say that their yogurt is darn good!! It is not as tarte as the one they have at Quickly's. I really like it...Yum! Too bad they don't Pinkberry here in the Bay Area.
It was about 5pm already and time to leave Santa Barbara. :( The drive to LA is about 2 hrs away and we didn't want to drive in the winding Highway 1 after nightfall... so we must get on our way.
We got to LA around 7pm and immediately went to dinner at Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) in Arcadia. They are famous for their Shanghai soup dumplings. And yes, yes, yes ~~ their soup dumplings are to die for!!! Probably one of the best that I've had. Apparently, Din Tai Fung started in Taiwan and quickly expanded to many parts of Asia, and eventually to the US (only in the LA area). They are so addicting. We ordered 1 first, and then ended up with 2 orders of the soup dumplings. We also ordered some other items off the menu, but the dumplings were the best!
After dinner, we checked into the Sheraton Pasadena Hotel. After a few days of motels, I was ready to be comfortable in a nice hotel. I had booked this hotel using my Starwood points, so the next 3 nights were "free." When we checked in, they upgraded us to a Club room, which meant free breakfast in the morning and free evening hor'devours. We never made it to take advantage of the hor'devours though! Overall, a very comfortable stay... ahhhhh.... time to relax and chill out!
1 comment:
I tried the Din Tai Fung branches in Taipei & HK! The dumplings are SO good. I don't think I've ever had so much soup coming out of a dumpling before!
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