The Santa Barbara Amtrak Station is about three blocks north of the pier.As I look at the sun-kissed shoreline breezing past my window, the blend of peach and lavender mixing with wisps of grey clouds on this particular evening, I recall my visit to Santa Barbara.
There is always one stipulation on road trips, or in this case, rail trips, and that's constant spontaneity.
The trip begins at historic Union Station, nestled on the north end of downtown Los Angeles. This will be our starting point.
One step inside Union Station, with it's various shades of brown and signs written in art deco font, instantaneously take the traveler back to the 1940's. Though now modernized with MetroRail and Amtrak rail services divided up on the twelve berths, there is still a sense that the history of the building must be preserved.
Historic Union Station, located on the north end of Downtown L.A.Once on my Amtrak train, I'm off on a two and a half hour journey. The train makes three stops before arriving in Santa Barbara; first in Van Nuys, then Simi Valley and after a breath-taking run through the Santa Susana Pass (and three tunnels), in Oxnard. Once you clear Ventura, the train bends left and hugs the shoreline. Turquoise waters with small-capped waves splash against the shore as dolphins jump in the distance. The shore hugs the dry, rugged and rocky cliffs towering over the train.
The temperature in Santa Barbara is seasonal, averaging in the upper-60's and on this particular day, a light sea breeze whips off the nearby coast where sunbathers, joggers and tourists take in the sights.
The Downtown-Waterfront Shuttle, which costs 25 cents per ride with free transfers, stops right outside the Amtrak station. This shuttle will be the base mode of transportation for getting around the city on this excursion. Upon boarding, I notice that the Waterfront shuttle goes directly to and ends at the Santa Barbara Zoo, and while I'm not a big proponent of zoos, this is about spontaneity. Plus, I've heard a lot of visitors on various travel sites talk about how this zoo is sad, depressing and doesn't have all it's exhibits running.
Admission to the Santa Barbara Zoo is $11 for adults, $9 for children and seniors. The zoo itself isn't that large. I made an entire loop and saw all the exhibits (yes, some were closed) and animals in just under ninety minutes. The zoo, like most zoos, features themed sections such as Asian Jungle, African Safari, etc. During midday, most of the animals are sleeping and in fact, the most energetic are the penguins, who zip around in their pool. Perhaps the most depressing part of this zoo is the Asian elephants. They're enclosed in a rather small dirt area and fed food from a zoo official. They look absolutely sad and miserable.
With the late-morning slipping into early afternoon, I decide to try out a local restaurant and they don't get anymore local than Joe's Cafe. Catching the Waterfront shuttle, I make my way back to Stearn's Wharf (the intersecting point with the Downtown shuttle) and transfer to the northbound shuttle.
Joe's Cafe sits in Old Town Santa Barbara on the corner of State and East Cota streets. The institution has been in Santa Barbara since it opened its doors in 1928 and features an impressive variety of food. I elect to try the Philly Cheese steak sandwich, since one, it's an unwritten rule I made up to try every Philly Cheese steak I come across and two, they're like snowflakes, no two places make them the same. The sandwich comes with fries and I top it off with a light amber ale, Amstel Light.
What arrives in front of me is at first a bit interesting, tempting and odd all at once. For one, Joe's doesn't use the usual Mozzarella/white Cheddar cheese, but instead swaps it for a sharp, golden yellow cheddar. In addition to the customary grilled onions, they add sauteed red peppers and mushrooms. The fries are sprinkled with a generous coating of Parmesan cheese.
The first bite is an overwhelming sensation as the flavors of the sharp cheese, the tender meat and the sweet onions collide. And it's incredibly hot! Not spicy hot, but heat-wise, tongue-scalding hot. Once the cheese cools a bit, the meal is everything I expected it to be; in a word, excellent. The meat blends well with the amber ale, the amber ale blends with the starchy fries and the fries obviously blend with the leftover cheese.
The temperature in Santa Barbara is seasonal, averaging in the upper-60's and on this particular day, a light sea breeze whips off the nearby coast where sunbathers, joggers and tourists take in the sights.
The Downtown-Waterfront Shuttle, which costs 25 cents per ride with free transfers, stops right outside the Amtrak station. This shuttle will be the base mode of transportation for getting around the city on this excursion. Upon boarding, I notice that the Waterfront shuttle goes directly to and ends at the Santa Barbara Zoo, and while I'm not a big proponent of zoos, this is about spontaneity. Plus, I've heard a lot of visitors on various travel sites talk about how this zoo is sad, depressing and doesn't have all it's exhibits running.
Admission to the Santa Barbara Zoo is $11 for adults, $9 for children and seniors. The zoo itself isn't that large. I made an entire loop and saw all the exhibits (yes, some were closed) and animals in just under ninety minutes. The zoo, like most zoos, features themed sections such as Asian Jungle, African Safari, etc. During midday, most of the animals are sleeping and in fact, the most energetic are the penguins, who zip around in their pool. Perhaps the most depressing part of this zoo is the Asian elephants. They're enclosed in a rather small dirt area and fed food from a zoo official. They look absolutely sad and miserable.
With the late-morning slipping into early afternoon, I decide to try out a local restaurant and they don't get anymore local than Joe's Cafe. Catching the Waterfront shuttle, I make my way back to Stearn's Wharf (the intersecting point with the Downtown shuttle) and transfer to the northbound shuttle.
Joe's Cafe sits in Old Town Santa Barbara on the corner of State and East Cota streets. The institution has been in Santa Barbara since it opened its doors in 1928 and features an impressive variety of food. I elect to try the Philly Cheese steak sandwich, since one, it's an unwritten rule I made up to try every Philly Cheese steak I come across and two, they're like snowflakes, no two places make them the same. The sandwich comes with fries and I top it off with a light amber ale, Amstel Light.
What arrives in front of me is at first a bit interesting, tempting and odd all at once. For one, Joe's doesn't use the usual Mozzarella/white Cheddar cheese, but instead swaps it for a sharp, golden yellow cheddar. In addition to the customary grilled onions, they add sauteed red peppers and mushrooms. The fries are sprinkled with a generous coating of Parmesan cheese.
The first bite is an overwhelming sensation as the flavors of the sharp cheese, the tender meat and the sweet onions collide. And it's incredibly hot! Not spicy hot, but heat-wise, tongue-scalding hot. Once the cheese cools a bit, the meal is everything I expected it to be; in a word, excellent. The meat blends well with the amber ale, the amber ale blends with the starchy fries and the fries obviously blend with the leftover cheese.
The Philly Cheese steak at Joe's Cafe, different ingredients, but WOW! With my gut now full, I make my way down East Cota St., taking in the sites of Old Town and the various restaurants and small shops that dot the three block section. Across the street from Joe's is a small art gallery featuring and selling works by 3-D artist Charles Fazzino. With themes ranging from Hollywood and New York to touristy kitsch featuring Santa Barbara, it's worth a quick stop.
Next, I hop on the southbound Downtown shuttle and make my way back toward the Wharf. I set about exploring the wooden pier, originally built in 1873 and, at one time, linked with the Southern Pacific Railroad. There are no trains running on the pier now, however five restaurants, a number of small gift shops, an ice cream parlor and a candy store are spread out over the 2,248 foot long structure. Be careful as you get toward the end of the pier as the guard-rail has been removed. You could literally dive right into the ocean.
Stearns Wharf, otherwise known as the Santa Barbara Pier.With five restaurants to choose from, I peek through the windows of each and notice all but one is full - the Char-West Fish n Chips. The menu board proclaims the Fish n Chips a "Must Try!!" and so I do. Big mistake.
First thing you should know is that this plate doesn't feature the usual "chips" that you would normally get. Chips is the English term for fries, but I suppose in Char-Western, it means greasy, super salty, deep-fried potato chips. Nestled on top of the chips are two large slabs of bread-battered tilapia fish, with a wedge of lemon and tartar sauce added to perhaps mask the gastronomical disaster this dish is. The fish has absolutely no flavor, unless you consider oil a flavor. I quickly abandon hope and cut a surgical Y-section through the thick lining of deep-fried batter and scrape out as much of the tilapia as possible. I don't even bother with the chips. What the "Must Try!!" dish amounts to is a $14 disappointment.
Avoid this $14 pile of disappointment at Char-West Fish n Chips!!I realize I can't leave Santa Barbara with a bad taste in my mouth, literally, so I make my way over to the ice cream parlor and order up a scoop of cookies and cream, then pop into the candy store and load up on taffy.
With about an hour to kill before the return trip to Los Angeles, I walk over toward the Santa Barbara Harbor, which features a few more restaurants as well as the Maritime Museum. The harbor sits directly across the street from Santa Barbara City College's football field. The walk back to Stearns Wharf takes about twenty minutes but luckily, I catch a shuttle on it's way back toward the Wharf and then walk the three blocks to the Amtrak station. This trip, though relatively brief, has been filled with a satisfactory investigation of what the coastline of the American Riviera has to offer.
A three-hour train ride (normally it would be two, but on this particular night someone decided to commit suicide by jumping in front of the northbound train), and I'm back at Union Station.
EXPENSES:
Train ticket, L.A. to Santa Barbara - $18.00
Total shuttle fare - $1.00
Santa Barbara Zoo admission - $11.00
Joe's Cafe lunch - $22.00 (tip included)
Char-West dinner - $14.00 (no tip, for sure)
Ice cream and taffy - $6.00
Train ticket, Santa Barbara to L.A. - $14.00
Total Expenses = $86.00
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