July 18, 2010 - Santa Barbara

Riley loved the mirror-wall 70's decor of our hotel

Relaxing with some magazines after a long car ride

Aunt Amy, Riley and Mommy at the Santa Barbara harbor

Cheers!

I thought Riley climbed up to comfort me, but the picture shows she was just trying to steal my water while I had a warm washcloth over my eyes

So happy to be on vacation

Nurse Amy put a pretty orange bandaid on her skinned knee

Walking Leadbetter beach with Aunt Amy

Riley had fun playing in the surf with Daddy

That bucket full of sand is heavy!

Sand all over her face from trying to eat it off her shovel, silly baby!

We enjoyed the hotel pool

And running around the nearby grass with the beachball

Jen, Joe, Riley and Amy on our way in to the 1st winery.

The wineries we visited in the Santa Ynez valley were all surprisingly kid-friendly; Riley got a tatoo at Foxen Winery

As you can see, the anchor is their symbol

Strolling the grounds of the Fess Parker winery

She loved Joe

Everyone sipping their beverage

I'm not sure what just happened here but I'm sure Amy is the cause of some sort of trouble

The rustic hunting apparel, including coonskin caps, seemed out of place at this beautiful winery

Family picture

A view of the Santa Barbara coast

The girls sitting in the surf

Dancing on the beach

Mommy, Riley and Daddy on East Beach

Happy tourists

Ouch, a little too much sun

Walking down State Street

The Mission of Santa Barbara

A gorgeous alter

Riley and Amy by the huge tree in the courtyard

Our little monk

Riley and Mommy by the fountain

We spent the week in Santa Barbara where we had a wonderful time. As a “congrats on the Ph.D.” gift to Amy, we told her we would take her to a California destination. Of course, this was a bit of a gift to us too, since we would outnumber the toddler 3-to-1. She was a huge help which we truly appreciated. Amy wanted a beach-centric trip, so we chose Santa Barbara. None of us had ever been there before, its just a 5.5 hour drive south, and we were excited to check it out. It didn’t disappoint.

Of course, there has to be a little drama. 2 weeks ago Chad got a really nasty bug, then Riley caught it, and I came down with it just in time for Amy’s arrival. Fever, chills, sore throat, cough, not fun. But I let Amy and Chad take care of Riley, rested as much as I could, packed, then slept in the car. We arrived Monday, and my fever had broken and my energy was back so I thought I would be fine. Unfortunately, that night at dinner the virus settled in my eyes. Tuesday morning I woke up with my eyes swollen, goopy and crusted shut. Its pretty scary to wake up blind in an unfamiliar hotel room! Chad, realizing my symptoms were looking grim on Mon night, had the address of the nearest hospital which happened to be just 1 block away from our hotel. So he and I headed for the ER at 7 am while Amy and Riley slept (already we were so thankful to have Amy with us!). I’ve never had to go to an ER before but this was Santa Barbara so it was the swankiest hospital ever! We went by the “Visitors Services” desk to the “Guest Services” (not patient, GUEST) desk, both which were fully staffed at 7 am, to get directions to the ER. There was only 1 patient ahead of me so we enjoyed our complimentary coffee while we waited. We were escorted back to a room by a really hot doctor (it obvious to me and I could barely see); this is SoCal, apparently everyone really is fit and tanned. As I suspected, I had a virus that got into my eyes. He gave me drops and a reminder of all the over-the-counter remedies to use for my other symptoms and told me not to let this ruin my vacation. I heeded the doctor’s orders!

Tuesday (AFTER the trip to the hospital) we spent some time on one of Santa Barbara’s many gorgeous beaches. Riley had a great time playing in the water and digging in and eating the sand. She had a rough time walking in the sand and it completely wore her out, so she took a long nap that day! Our hotel had a nice little pool so Amy and I relaxed poolside until Riley and Daddy joined us after her nap. We walked the downtown shopping area that evening and found a great brewery/restaurant for dinner. Wednesday my very good friend from high school, Joe Fritsch, drove up from LA. We went wine tasting in the Santa Ynez valley, which became more popular for pinot noir after the movie “Sideways.” Its always great to see him, and it was even better to catch up over some fabulous wines. We had lunch in the Danish town of Solvang, very quaint. Thursday we hit a different beach. It was a gorgeous, hot day and we all had so much fun swimming, walking along the shore, splashing in the waves and reading gossip magazines. Riley is quite the little beach baby and is so happy playing by the water. Friday we visited the Mission of Santa Barbara, a beautiful church full of very old Christian artifacts. After wine tasting at a local winery, a delicious Mexican lunch and a little more shopping, we started the drive home.

Unfortunately, it was during the car ride when Amy came down with the symptoms of our plague. She slept most of the way home and all day on Sat. I feel bad that she came all the way out here and got sick, it was just bad timing. But at least she got to enjoy most of her time with us.

Riley absolutely loves her Aunt; her face just lit up every time she saw Amy. They played together, talked, did their make-up and had a fabulous week. Riley gave her lots of hugs and kisses and can say her name (and says it all the time). She was sad when she woke up Sunday morning and Amy was gone. “Amy! Amy! Amy!” We’ll have to book a trip to Washington D.C. very soon. We treasure the time we spent with Amy and we know she’ll do amazing work at her new research position at the NIH.