Image 1 of 141
The view in front of our RV at Canyon Creek Resort near Winters CA, before it rained
Image 2 of 141
The Jelly Belly factory store in Fairfield CA was all decked out for Hallowe'en
Image 3 of 141
Interesting tree outside the visitor center in Monterey, CA
Image 4 of 141
Hank Ketcham lived in Monterey when he created Dennis, and the playground is part of his legacy
Image 5 of 141
The playground is aimed at 6 year olds, which is Dennis' age (and sometimes ours, too!)
Image 6 of 141
Must have been a whale of a tale
Image 7 of 141
Part slide, part conveyor belt, all fun
Image 8 of 141
Wonder what John Steinbeck would think of Cannery Row today . . .
Image 9 of 141
The jellyfish at Monterey Bay Aquarium are always wonderful
Image 10 of 141
These creatures are almost all water, and yet exhibit amazing colors
Image 11 of 141
Biologically, they're simple animals, but they sure look complex to us. . .
Image 12 of 141
But this is what we came for . . .
Image 13 of 141
And we were not disappointed . . .
Image 14 of 141
Seahorses and their pipefish relatives come in many sizes and shapes
Image 15 of 141
There are about 50 species of Seahorse, and they're found in temperate and tropical waters all over the world
Image 16 of 141
This is the Leafy Sea Dragon, one of the rarest ones. They're about a foot long. The head is at the lower right end . . .
Image 17 of 141
Male seahorses handle the incubation and hatching of the eggs. Women especially find that fascinating
Image 18 of 141
Only the head of the pipe fish shows its relation to seahorses.
Image 19 of 141
The outdoor deck at the aquarium is very popular on sunny days
Image 20 of 141
It's not unusual to see divers in the big tanks - that's how they clean the glass
Image 21 of 141
The decorating of the fish habitats is very attractive
Image 22 of 141
Sand dollars are usually more organized than this
Image 23 of 141
The shore birds exhibit lets you get up close to all those cute fellas
Image 24 of 141
Wonder who's watching whom - and what kinda bird made those footprints?
Image 25 of 141
Wonder what it would be like to be here when the crowds aren't?
Image 26 of 141
The Heerman's Gull is an habitual stealer of food - we watched it skillfully swipe a cookie from a toddler
Image 27 of 141
Heading west through Pacific Grove, where the views are spectacular
Image 28 of 141
There were huge colonies of this plant along the roads. We don't know what it is
Image 29 of 141
Cormorants are most unlikely water birds, being as they're not waterproof
Image 30 of 141
There are some spectacular views along 17 Mile Drive through Pebble Beach
Image 31 of 141
That's the "Lone Cypress" that's become the trademark & logo of the Pebble Beach Golf Course and Resort
Image 32 of 141
Dang that's beautiful
Image 33 of 141
Gilroy Gardens, near Gilroy CA, is the home of Circus Trees like this one - started out as 6 sycamore trees
Image 34 of 141
The amusement rides are mostly aimed at younger kids, and are pretty tame by amusement park standards
Image 35 of 141
Nevertheless, the rides were all well patronized.
Image 36 of 141
These Circus Trees are all 50+ years old, and are scattered throughout the park
Image 37 of 141
The gardens also feature many examples of plants with strange shapes, some natural like this one
Image 38 of 141
This row of arches isn't natural, but it's still fun
Image 39 of 141
The two car driving circuits were very popular, and the kids got to drive!
Image 40 of 141
Another old circus tree. They claim the technique for doing this was lost when the tree-tweaker died
Image 41 of 141
All of these trees were transplanted to the gardens after the creator died
Image 42 of 141
They call this a spiral staircase. It started out as three trees
Image 43 of 141
Sometimes trees do their own contortions when growing
Image 44 of 141
Another popular ride takes about 10 minutes to circumnaviate the park
Image 45 of 141
Lots of topiary - this is our favorite
Image 46 of 141
Another sculpted tree
Image 47 of 141
That's just mind-boggling
Image 48 of 141
Near Santa Barbara, we pass by the Bradbury Dam, built in 1953 to control the Santa Ynez River
Image 49 of 141
The resulting Lake Cachuma is a popular recreation area
Image 50 of 141
We're always fascinated to find wild things where we are
Image 51 of 141
Rancho Oso is a horse ranch with campground about 7 miles off the main road in the Santa Ynez mountains
Image 52 of 141
The cabins you can rent look like frontier buildings.
Image 53 of 141
A small herd of mule deer came to graze most evenings near sunset
Image 54 of 141
Leaving the park one day, we encountered this fellow crossing the road. He's about 5 inches tip to tip.
Image 55 of 141
The resident Acorn Woodpeckers have thoroughly drilled this oak to store acorns for the slow season
Image 56 of 141
We took this picture of the Acorn Woodpecker at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum
Image 57 of 141
There was a flock of about 20 Wild Turkeys hanging around the park.
Image 58 of 141
The spectacular Cold Spring Arch Bridge on CA Hwy 154 between Santa Barbara and Solvang
Image 59 of 141
The equally wonderful Cold Spring Tavern, orginally a stage stop on the old Santa Barbara Road, now a quirky place for great food
Image 60 of 141
Solvang CA is a cheerful Danish community. We lunched in the greenhouse on the left, got dessert from the bakery on the right
Image 61 of 141
The town was settled by Danes in the 1880s, and today is a major tourist town
Image 62 of 141
He does look a lot like Danny Kaye . . .
Image 63 of 141
It's a fun town to just wander the sidwalks, which we did several times
Image 64 of 141
Ice cream break!
Image 65 of 141
The Danish flag and the trademark Danish storks can be seen many places
Image 66 of 141
We didn't take the trolley ride, but lots of folks did
Image 67 of 141
We thought the Antique Center was in an old church, but it was built to look like that . . .
Image 68 of 141
Inside the Hans Christian Anderson museum, a spare of the statue in the park
Image 69 of 141
The Santa Ines Mission in Solvang was was the last Southern California mission, built in 1804, and has been an active church ever since.
Image 70 of 141
Most of the church we see today was restored starting in 1904. This is a display of priest vestments from the last 200 years
Image 71 of 141
That's not a tunnel. It's a doorway through one of the 12ft thick adobe walls
Image 72 of 141
The sanctuary has been electrified, but otherwise remains much as it was 200 years ago
Image 73 of 141
The courtyard gardens are a modern touch - originally, the courtyard was where all the people lived and worked
Image 74 of 141
The Las Purisima Concepci??n Mission near Lompoc is now a state park. Originally built in 1787, it was rebuilt and restored in the 1950s
Image 75 of 141
The mission has a demonstration farm, mostly sheep and goats. Popular with kids
Image 76 of 141
The top bell is wooden. Wooden bells were often used until the bronze ones could be shipped over from Spain.
Image 77 of 141
A demonstration of how candles were dipped way back when
Image 78 of 141
There are 34 rooms in the restored mission, most of them used for exhibits and displays
Image 79 of 141
There are many ways to commute in Santa Barbara. This one is rather interesting
Image 80 of 141
Here's another - outrigger
Image 81 of 141
We ate lunch at this restaurant - ok food, way too pricey - but a nice water view
Image 82 of 141
The tall ship "Spirit of Dana Point" offers cruises from Santa Barbara Harbor
Image 83 of 141
Naturally, the folks on the dock shoot their cannon at it . . . setting off car alarms for blocks
Image 84 of 141
And naturally, the tall ship shoots back.
Image 85 of 141
The ship is an accurate replica of a 118ft topsail privateer from the 1770's, and looks pretty spiffy under sail
Image 86 of 141
On the beach, a sand sculpture. Donations were energetically encouraged by the artist
Image 87 of 141
The most-photographed public sculpture in Santa Barbara . . . .
Image 88 of 141
Sacking out on the beach was popular. That's Stearn's Wharf in the background
Image 89 of 141
Fake lighthouse, housing real pizzaria
Image 90 of 141
Now that's a skatepark with a view.
Image 91 of 141
The Montecito Inn is Santa Barbara's original luxury hotel, built in 1928 by Charles Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle
Image 92 of 141
The Montecito area shows much evidence of wealth
Image 93 of 141
Santa Barbara's popular rainbow sculture
Image 94 of 141
A good place to explore somebody's roots . . .
Image 95 of 141
The Santa Barbara Mission was founded in 1786, and is still an active church. Today's structure is the latest of many, restored to 1833 appearance
Image 96 of 141
Today's splendid interior gardens replace the residential courtyard of the early 1800s
Image 97 of 141
An unrestored wall portion shows some of the original workmanship
Image 98 of 141
In old days, there was one hymnal up front with very large print so everybody could see it
Image 99 of 141
The old mission laundry in front of the church has been restored
Image 100 of 141
This primitive stone carving of a mountain lion is believed to be the oldest Native American sculpture on public display in the country
Image 101 of 141
This magnificent yucca has been annotated by many folks. Seems to be surviving
Image 102 of 141
The Santa Barbara Courthouse was rebuilt after a major 1929 earthquake, and built to look older than it is
Image 103 of 141
Big church, very friendly, nice place to worship - the tower houses a carillon
Image 104 of 141
One of the trendier shopping areas in downtown Santa Barbara
Image 105 of 141
The Santa Barbara Arts & Crafts show attracts around 200 artists every Sunday along Cabrillo Boulevard near the beach
Image 106 of 141
You can find (and buy) almost any kind of art - paintings, photos, sculptures . . .
Image 107 of 141
At the Santa Barbara Zoo, this guy was visiting . . .
Image 108 of 141
This fellow was an inmate
Image 109 of 141
They named their otters Merry and Pippin.
Image 110 of 141
Judy always stops for a pretty flower
Image 111 of 141
There were lots of attractive birds in this relatively small zoo
Image 112 of 141
Very pretty . . .
Image 113 of 141
What does a snow leopard from Nepal do in sunny Santa Barbara? Guess . . .
Image 114 of 141
Believe it or not, it's a pigeon. Blue Crowned Pigeon from New Guinea
Image 115 of 141
Amur Leopard from Manchuria - another snoozer
Image 116 of 141
Everybody likes the primates . . .
Image 117 of 141
Kinda majestic
Image 118 of 141
It's a rhinoceros hornbill. Seems very impractical . . .
Image 119 of 141
There's something simultaneously fascinating and ridiculous about a flamingo
Image 120 of 141
We love to watch the penguins. These are Humbolt Penguins
Image 121 of 141
Elephants in the foreground, really pricy real estate on the hillside
Image 122 of 141
Fruit Loops, anyone?
Image 123 of 141
One of the biggest dragon flies we've ever seen
Image 124 of 141
The California Condors are magnificent birds with 9ft wingspans.
Image 125 of 141
There's something very special about an eagle, especially the bald eagle
Image 126 of 141
Awww
Image 127 of 141
Those crowned cranes are always spectacular
Image 128 of 141
Giraffes always seem kind of aloof. Probably saves a lot of bending over . . .
Image 129 of 141
No matter what else there is, seems like kids always go for the basics . . . this palm trunk made a perfect teeter totter
Image 130 of 141
They look so intelligent, and yet sort of like clowns
Image 131 of 141
Bet it's not a Norwegian Blue.
Image 132 of 141
We spotted this guy along State Street in Santa Barbara
Image 133 of 141
Our last outing was to the wonderful Natural History Museum
Image 134 of 141
Outside, a 72ft long blue whale skeleton challenges even the widest lens
Image 135 of 141
THis is an old-fashioned natural history museum, with lots of stuffed animals, including this golden eagle
Image 136 of 141
There was a fascinating display of newly restored Audubon prints and the restoration process
Image 137 of 141
Just in time for Hallowe'en, the museum had an El D??a de los Muertos (Mexican Day of the Dead) display. This one is all bottlecaps
Image 138 of 141
This shrine celebrates the lives of imortant people in the history of the museum
Image 139 of 141
In one of the halls, a marvelous collection of Chumash Indian baskets
Image 140 of 141
Sunset paints the hills behind the RV park with gold
Image 141 of 141
And finally, we've wondered about this neat looking island off Mussel Shoals. Turns out it's an oil drilling platform with 53 wells.