Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Gauchos Locos

Thank God for Long Weekends. Don't tell AJ I said that, because he didn't get Monday off for Martin Luther King Jr Day. But we celebrated like it was a long weekend for both of us.

We went to Santa Barbara for the weekend to celebrate an entire year together! It was way too short. First of all, it was nostalgic as all get out being in Santa Barbara, and I couldn't believe how much I had forgotten - like the exit name off the 101 to Isla Vista (it's Los Carneros) or Tonic nightclub or Sandbar where Becca and I celebrated our 22nd birthdays on Friday before our joint parties on Saturday night. We spent Saturday afternoon in Isla Vista... I gave AJ the Kiki tour and then we went to Woodstock's to watch the Patriots/Chiefs game before going and checking into our Airbnb in downtown Santa Barbara.

We parked in front of the place, then decided we should pick up some drinks and went to CVS, where we got some snacks, some Jim Beam Maple, root beer and Santa Barbara shot glasses. Here's us on the CVS security camera at check-out.


I mention all of this because it ended up being a huge mistake! The Airbnb was a private-entrance studio attached to the main Victorian house, and not only was it cute, but the host had the kitchenette STOCKED with anything we could want! Fruit, water, ginger ale, coconut water, Vitamin water, beer (beer!), snacks, coffee, creamer, microwave meals, granola bars, chocolates... everything! Plus, a handwritten welcome note on the chalkboard and a gift of vintage postcards! (How did she know I collect those??) so basically we didn't ever need to go to CVS, except for maybe those shot glasses, and we LOVED that place. 


Plus it was a tempurpedic bed that had massage features and could sit upright so we could comfortably watch the Packers/Cardinals game from bed. Screw Lasik, I need one of those beds!! We took a nap and then looked up a place to go to dinner. AJ found a cajun restaurant with good reviews and good location and I said "That reminds me, I think Santa Barbara used to have a nice cajun place..." well we show up to Palace Grill and I realized that that had been one of my top 3 favorite restaurants in Santa Barbara!!! I love cajun food, and I was/am obsessed with New Orleans, which it is made up to look like, and they have this amazing cajun martini that I loved, and I had even tried to reserve that place for my graduation lunch but they were booked up. I couldn't believe I had forgotten about it!!! I'm getting too old.

The next day we had to check out (huge sadface) and first order of business was to visit the mission. I had really been here a million and three times (legally and otherwise... cough sorority hazing cough) so there was nothing new, but it was nice to show it to AJ. The best part is that the real life main character from Island of the Blue Dolphins is actually buried here.


We were also very excited to press our own pennies at the mission gift shop.







After that we went down to State Street and had a few minutes to spare so we walked to the harbor and down the pier before making it to the Santa Barbara Brew House for Steelers/Broncos game. 


If you watched that, you know how devastating that was. Steelers were winning the whole time, albeit barely, so it was very tense and stressful, then there was a fumble, and the Broncos win within the last 6 minutes or so. We left after that and it was very sad. We went to AJ's mom's house in Hermosa to spend the night. AJ had to get up early for work the next morning, but I got to sleep in and have breakfast and coffee with his mom and the dogs and then I went to meet Anja! Remember I went and saw my German friend Anja doing her PhD in London who was at a conference in Phoenix in February last year? Well now she's in LA for awhile and we went to Santa Monica for lunch and the afternoon.


I didn't get home until about 8p. I had to stop off and buy Khaleesi food and coffee creamer and I was so exhausted it didn't really feel like it had even been a 3-day weekend. I'm having a hard time landing on my feet this year. I wish I were a cat.

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