Avila Beach to Santa Barbara:Butterflies and Farmland

My handsome adventurer

Monarchs spending the winter in the trees. The look like dead leaves!

while listening to a presentation on the Monarchs, this little guy flew in and landed on cue on the photographs

flew in to pose for me

my traveling snack that we picked up at Trader Joes in San Francisco

and Danny's traveling snack

moving inland brought agriculture and mountains

our first glimpse of oil rigs out in the ocean

This fella was right outside my car window waiting to cross the road

we saw dolphins swimming near the shore

eucalyptus flower pods

Ellwood Butterfly Sanctuary

The menu at Roy's

the dessert menu at Roy's

Today was a day of beautiful driving. The weather held out all day and we only had one little sprinkle. We drove along the coast for awhile, stopping once outside of Avila Beach to do a little climbing. I can't stop Danny from ferreting out a trail!! We went to Pismo Beach State Park to find the Monarch butterfly sanctuary. This is where the Monarch butterflies west of the Rocky Mountains spend their winters. The Monarchs hang in clumps along the branches, looking like dead leaves. We would have missed them if a volunteer had not pointed them out. Once we saw them, we saw them everywhere. We were amazed! We sat and listened to a volunteer give a short talk about the butterflies and learned some things we did not know. I didn't know that the Monarchs we have at home come for Mexico. Every Monarch east of the Rockies comes from Mexico! We have been so amazed at the change in terrain as we drove away from the coast and drove more inland. We drove along  the mountains and in the hills and valleys with agriculture all around us. They were harvesting and planting on both sides of the road. We ate lunch in a mexican restaurant in Lompoc. We stopped at Ellwood to find another Monarch butterfly sanctuary. We had to walk about 1/2 mile back into the woods to find the sheltered area where they were clinging to the branches. The light was fading so we drove on to Santa Barbara where we are spending the night. Our hotel is 3 blocks from the main shopping street here so we were able to walk to dinner at Roy's. This is a very small bar/restaurant that was recommended by our hotel. We thought it was funny that the hotel said "don't get the pork". I ordered filet mignon wrapped in bacon and Danny order Chicken Marsala. Unfortunately for me, my steak arrived very overcooked and had to be sent back. Danny had completely finished his meal by the time mine came back to me, but both meals were delicious. I was curious about the "purple vegetable" in my steamed/sauteed veggies and when asked I was told it was beets! I can't believe I ate beets and they were good! The owner (Roy) was onsite and extremely apologetic about my meal and offered to give us free dessert! I had Chocolate Mousse and Danny ordered Chocolate Torte (flourless chocolate cake). Once again both were delicious. We went back to the hotel and picked a movie to watch from the free DVD library. Tomorrow we will go to our end destination, Los Angeles. Until then.....

Avila La Fonda Hotel

The Avila La Fonda Hotel

the Front Lobby

Yes that is the tub IN the bedroom

gas fireplace and FREE snacks...also a piece of chocolate cake for my birthday!

the FREE snack basket

Bose stereo and a DVD player tucked into the cabinet below

large shower with shower heads on both ends

towel warmers above and below

coffee pot with REAL mugs...i thought of my friend Sara Beth who likes a real mug in a hotel. This coffee pot grinds the Starbucks beans that they provide before it brews the coffee.

the patio outside of the french doors of our room that looks out on the street.

We ate here for supper and had a good meal...not great but good.

my going away gift from the hotel. I could pick a spanish tile or this little box of chocolates...no brainer here.

This boutique hotel was another great find. Spanish architecture in design and decoration provided a real cozy feel to the hotel and the rooms. The hotel is located about two blocks from the beach and is an easy walk. There are steps down to the beach from the street. The hotel has cookies in the lobby and in the breakfast area as well as wine and cheese in the evening. They even had fresh baked pie at 8 pm! The rooms have a gas fireplace (no smoking logs) and the tub is IN the bedroom. There is also a BOSE sound system and DVD player. The hotel has a free DVD library to select from with a pretty current selection. There is a basket of snacks in the room that are all FREE if you are hungry. There is also a "pantry" downstairs that you can purchase on the honor system from. That's where you will find the chocolate and the cheapest bottles of water around. We really enjoyed our stay here!