Wow, what a great day. The air was crystal clear (a summer rarity), the sky was blue, and the air was warm. The only complaint was a bit of wind which kept it a bit cool but I'll take that if the wind also kept the air clear.
We left mid-morning and took the "scenic coastal drive" from East Beach (where we are staying) through Hope Ranch, up to Goleta, and on through to UCSB. Like last year there was a lot of construction going on at the campus. I will spare all of you with the "this wasn't like this when I was here" (almost 20 years ago!!!) talk but I will note I was struck by the fact that as amazing as the new individual buildings looked, the whole effect was rather haphazard and I almost wondered if for some reason they had to employ multiple architects for some reason. I'm sure that was not the case and that it was simply a factor of a rising student body with a very limited square footage to build upon but still!
Last year when we were here the campus was pretty much shut down but today there was a lot of activity (tour groups, conferences, etc.) so everything was open. Walking through the UCEN there were a lot of pictures framed on the wall of the past. Looking at the ones from the late '80's (when I was there) was such a crack up! Did we honestly look so lame back then? The hair and the clothes! Oh my!
Jay and I walked into Isla Vista for lunch and had pizza at Woodstock's Pizza. I LOVED this place when I lived there and it didn't disappoint today. Their sauce is amazing and that is what makes a good pizza for me.
After lunch we left Isla Vista for the rarefied environs of Montecito. And when I say rarefied, I mean it. A quick look at the real estate listings and it appears that the average home price is close to $10 million. We saw a house for sale for $110 million. A house. $110 million! Combine that with Hope Ranch, etc. and this has to be one of the areas with the greatest concentration of wealth.
We stopped at the Biltmore for a bit and then went back to our hotel. In the evening we walked downtown for dinner. Tomorrow we'll probably explore downtown a bit more and perhaps some shopping will take place ;-)
