It's not just the beach that's tiring, though. Here's George on a gopher hunt outside the hotel. It works like this: first we stare at the hole for several minutes. Then we stick our snout in it for a good, long sniff session!!
George knows gophers well from our time in Malibu because there were gophers all over. Here's a snapshot from Malibu when he had a real long stare down with one gopher who seemed to be saying 'you want a piece of me buddy? Huh, do ya?'!
Derric doesn't know from gophers because of his previous life locked up in a testing lab. In fact we met another beagle on the beach this weekend whose name was Regal. Yep, Regal the Beagle. His peeps hadn't heard of the Beagle Freedom Project, the organization that rescued Derric and gave him the chance at a new life. But later we saw them again, and they had looked at the website and even seen bits of Derric's rescue. Here's the link again to the Beagle Freedom Project if you're interested: www.beaglefreedomproject.org.
Anyway, after that big breakfast at Esau's it was back to the beach. Sam, the beagles and friends took their places on the sand for sunning and reading and napping and I surfed. A word or two about surfing on this trip: yeah, the waves again were pretty small and mellow, but I still had a blast. This was the first time I surfed three days in a row. There once was a time when I'd stand on the sidelines at the beach watching surfers and wishing I could join in. Finally I felt like a member of the club, even if it's in my own sort of lame way.
We never really ate lunch because breakfast was so hearty. Yeah, we snacked while on the beach, and at one point I walked down to one of the little shops at the end of Padaro Lane and picked up a little Greek Salad and some Deviled eggs that we all nibbled on. Needless to say we were awfully hungry for dinner. Originally the plan was to eat in Santa Barbara, at Cielito, a Mexican Restaurant on State Street that has a big patio and is dog friendly. Here's a link: www.cielitorestaurant.com We all had a nice dinner there last year and the food and Margaritas were pretty good, but earlier Saturday, while strolling Linden Avenue in Carp for a bit, after a stop in at cool surf shop Rincon Designs (www.rincondesigns.net), where I picked up some shades and new board shorts because my old ones were coming apart at the seams, we also noticed the restaurant Sly's, which is old-school steaks and seafood, www.slysonline.com. Unfortunately, Sly's is not dog-friendly (can't win 'em all, Derric and George, sorry). But there was a sign in the window advertising Sly's To Go, so we figured we could order take-out and eat it on the beach at sunset again! Which we did. Appetizers were onion rings and chips, and a grilled artichoke, which we all shared. We also ordered Sand Dabs, Fried Shrimp, the blue plate special for Saturday which was Braised Short Ribs, and a bunch of sides. While it probably would have been a bit better in the actual restaurant it was all delicious on the beach too. And of course there were martinis again. Here are some dinner pics:
La Super Rica (again, old-school…no website) is a pretty famous taqueria on Milpas Street in Santa Barbara. Who made it famous? Julia Child, of all people! Julia spent her last years living in Santa Barbara, and apparently she liked to drop by La Super Rica every once in a while for some chow, and once word got out, the hordes came. They still do. But honestly, the food is amazing. Some tips though. Most important is get there early, like before they open, and you can beat the lines. Here I am, in fact, standing at the closed door, with my serious 'open please. Open right now. I am very hungry' look.
We timed it so we were first in line, but within minutes, this happened:
Hard to tell, but the line snaked about halfway down the block -- and this was BEFORE they even opened! Here's a look at the menu, and also a shot of a lady making the tortillas by hand and from scratch, which of course is the best way:
And now some of the eats we ordered (again, to go…tip #2: La Super Rica also does not allow dogs, so if you have the pups get it to go).
From the top, a pork and zucchini sort of stew that was stuffed into tortillas, the #16 special (really, really excellent), some shredded beef tacos with Guacamole and a Gordita.
So that was our last meal on this road trip. After some more beach time, we packed it all up and hit the road for home. The beagles were out like logs again practically the whole way. It was an awesome trip. Go to Carpinteria!!
Esau's (breakfast Saturday) - Four Surfboards (Really Good)
Sly's (dinner Saturday) -- Three Surfboards (good)
La Super Rica (Lunch Sunday) - Five Surfboards (excellent)
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