So CAl : Part III - Santa Barbara

- Waking Up in Santa Barbara & the Beach Walk -

 - Santa Barbara Zoo -

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River and I cruised the Zoo. It's a really neat little Zoo, with actually a lot of animals and cool exhibits. They had a ton of birds. I loved seeing the California Condors. My Stevenson Grandparents lived in the bay area when i was growing up and I remember them talking about the condors and seeing them when we visited.
It's kind of a big deal because in 1982 there were only 22 left.
Only 22.
Now more than 30 years later the numbers are up to 400 (half of which are wild), with a tons of recovery efforts still going on. So yay for the wonderful people that are saving the Condors.

River walked basically the whole Zoo. He especially loved running on the wooden bridges and walkways back by the bald eagles and gorillas. 

Touch Screens!!! River's favorite!

River and I cruised the Zoo. It's a really neat little Zoo, with actually a lot of animals and cool exhibits. They had a ton of birds. 

They're kind of my new thing. I've really started to take interest in them, especially raptors. I loved seeing the California Condors. My Stevenson Grandparents lived in the bay area when i was growing up and I remember them talking about the condors and seeing them when we visited. It's kind of a big deal because in 1982 there were only 22 left. 

Only 22.

Now more than 30 years later the numbers are up to 400 (half of which are wild), with a tons of recovery efforts still going on. So yay for the wonderful people that are saving the Condors.

Another cool thing going on at their zoo, involves their giraffes. So in recent years, due to a number of factors, people in africa have began hunting Giraffes for their meat, making them critically endangered. Now Zoos are double their efforts to reproduce them, and the Male giraffe at the Zoo, Michael, has the most diverse genes, so he's a key player in their breeding program. In other words He's a Real Stud. In fact the two lady giraffes with him are both pregnant right now, so congrats ladies. :) 

You might be wondering, "lindsey, how is it you know this?" Well, wonder no more.

We took the little train ride around the zoo because River loves Thomas and it turned out to be very educational.

Choo! Choo! 

River walked basically the whole Zoo. He especially loved running on the wooden bridges and walkways back by the bald eagles and gorillas.

So at the end of the Day he looked like this: 

Good thing our hotel was only a short 5 minute walk away.

- Sunset Dinner on Stearns Wharf -

We went to Stearns Wharf to get some dinner. Actually we drove our car out to the end of the wharf and parked it. It was an a very unique and interesting experience. It felt very unnatural to drive our big ol' SVU  out on to the wharf made of wood. I was just waiting for us to fall through. But it not only held our car, but like 60 others. 

It was fun to get out and wander around. Of course I made Skyler hold River the whole time because there weren't any railings at the end, and we all know how curious River can be.
I loved seeing the boats sailing, the surfers catching waves, people fishing off the pier, and couples snuggling in the the golden light of the sunset.
It was beautiful, and I loved being there in that moment with my little family. 

We ate a delicious dinner at Santa Barbara Shelfish Company. We LOVE Seafood, and the shrimp was great, but if you go there make sure to order the Lobster Bisque in a Bread bowl It's tomato based so it's not a traditional chowder and it was Yum Yum.

We ate our dinner out on the wharf and watched the sun sink behind the palm-lined hills and breathed deep the salty humid air. It was a wonderful evening, spent with my two favorite guys.

(Just FYI, I know from how I described it you would think that everything went perfectly. That River was a perfect little gentleman sitting nicely and eating his dinner while Skyler and I had deep uninterrupted intellectual conversation, but that's not exactly how it went. I believe in imperfect perfect moments and experiences. And I'm trying to embrace it ALL.)