My Day Trip To Santa Barbara
Hey guys! I, a natural adventurer, haven’t left LA for so long (for obvious reasons) and I finally did for one day to visit Santa Barbara. It was fun, safe, and overall amazing.
Not too long ago, for my 24th birthday, I visited this gorgeous Spanish-inspired town. This time, I went to celebrate my amazing friend Jenny’s birthday. If you know me in person or often read my posts, then you know Jenny is a very close friend of mine and we often go around Orange County or LA to find things to do.
Well this time, we got into my old Altima and drove less than 2 hours away to have a sun-filled day. Here is how we spent the day and how you can do the same!
Lunch at the Lucky Penny
We got to Santa Barbara around 11 am and decided to have an early lunch. We headed downtown to get some pizza from the Lucky Penny. A quick google search some time ago lead me to this pizzeria and we decided to give it a go. They had plenty of outdoor seating and the service was quick. We found a shady spot (it is late February but as we all know, winter does not exist in California) and ate up!
The pepperoni pizza was great and was pretty affordable. I think we only paid more or less $20 for one pizza for the both of us and for a soda.
Another great thing was parking was very easy to find. There was indoor parking at a nearby garage (I will put the address below) for free (for the first 75 minutes) so we did not end up paying anything. I also used this parking garage when I visited back in June and I think I only paid $3 for 3 hours which is not bad at all!
The primary reason we went to Santa Barbara was to visit the local botanical garden. I am a huge fan of botanical gardens and have visited several since the beginning of the pandemic. This was my first time here and wow, it took my breath away.
There was plenty to see including grassy fields (like the one above), redwood trees, an old aqueduct built by Native Americans, as well a stream.
This botanical garden isn’t huge but it still has so much to explore. You feel like you’re in a forest instead of a beach town somewhere in Central California. Overall, I give it a 10/10. It was not crowded and they were very strict on mask-wearing rules (which I definitely appreciate). Check out the gallery below for more images!
The Santa Barbara botanical garden is open every day from 10 am to 5 pm. Admission for adults is $16. If you use your student ID (which we did) it’s $10. Keep in mind you pay at the kiosk when you enter, there are no online reservations currently available. Parking is plentiful and free!
Ice Cream at the Santa Barbara Public Market
After hiking around the Botanical Garden, we needed a snack. This lead us to the public market for some Rori’s Artisanal Creamery. There are actually several locations in SoCal (including in Santa Monica and Long Beach). However, I saw the photo below from the Santa Barbara Public Market’s Instagram and knew I had to stop by to try some while I was in town.
Jenny got espresso-flavored ice cream while I went with tropical wild berry. We both loved it and I also give this place a 10/10! Parking is available at the market although you do have to pay (It was $2 for an hour).
Butterfly Beach
