Next stop Santa Barbara!

On our way to Santa Barbara, we came across a man teaching hang gliding on the beach. He was an older Gentleman, and reminded us of a bird himself, light on his feet with hollow bones. He shared his passion for flying and inspired us to experience hang gliding as well. He was familiar with Point of the Mountain in Utah, a very popular spot for it. When he gave us a demonstration his movements and the way he was riding the wind reminded me of my dreams of flying, of being lifted and playing in the thermals. I can't wait to try myself!

shots on the striking Santa Barbara beach

'The Band' pictures

Well if you've set out to walk the Western coast as we have and you get a text from a good friend named Jason Wilcox that lives in Santa Barbara that says, "The Mother Hips are playing here on the 14th", and it's the 12th and you're over 80 miles away, do you: A) Reply and say, "Sorry, we're really into walking, see you in a week! or B) Ignore you're throbbing feet and do 85 miles in 48 hours, or C) get a lift up to Santa Barbara to see one of your favorite bands play in their home state? Yep, you guessed it, we're not against catching the Wilco Express to cover the distance and spend the weekend with a good friend.  Coincidentally, we actually had spent last St. Patrick's Day with Jason so it seemed like too many stars had aligned to miss out on some good times.  J showed us around Santa Barbara, took us to some gorgeous beaches, and showed us every health foods store in a 10 mile radius fulfilling all three of ours' healthy food desires.  Here's some pics and video that captures some of the beauty there:

Wilco and me on some rocks

Wilco and Bethany finding a place to chill

A new phenomenon we discovered was natural tar seeping from the beach. We went to a place where it was house sized! The university was just a few hops away. It's hard to imagine a better place to go to school than one located right on the beach.