I arrived at the cutest little airport ever in Santa Barbara on Thursday at 11:30 pm. Pete was there to pick me up and it was unbelievably wonderful to see him again. We took a drive through some of the ritzy neighbourhoods of Montecito and sat at the beach outside of the Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel for a bit before going back to his Dad's house and hitting the hay.
The next morning we slept far too late, then got up and had breakfast outside, with the most incredible view ever. Pete Sr. and Emily (Pete's dad and stepmom) have a beautiful house up on a hill overlooking the Pacific. They have a patio set out front, and this is where we had breakfast every morning. Definitely a lifestyle I could get used to pretty quick.
After breakfast we went for lunch with Pete's brother Gary, who works from home. Gary went back to work and we went for coffee and then to the beach. The water was beautiful and so was the beach. Post-beach we picked up Gary again and went back to Chez Dempster for Burger Night. The burgers were accompanied by a LOT of wine, and we proceeded to put a dent into Mr. Dempster's Cabernet Sauvignon collection.
Bird taking a bath at the Garden Market cafe at Parado Beach.
Pretty fountain and statue at the Garden Market
My Petey at the Garden Market
Me at the Garden Market
Two-thirds of the Dempster brothers (shamelessly promoting their dad's wine)
Saturday morning Pete and I got up and had breakfast overlooking the Pacific again, and then went for a nice hike in the mountains behind the house. We came home, had lunch, got clean and headed out for the Foo Fighter's concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl. While standing outside having a beer before the concert we had a good view of the back-stage entrance area. We were
just sipping and chatting when this guy on a Harley drove up to the gate. Pete and I looked at each other, both said "Was that...?" and then, "Yeah, I think it was!" We still weren't sure until the concert started and Dave Grohl walked out. Sure enough, it was him.
The concert was friggin' amazing! The Santa Barbara Bowl is this big amphitheatre in the hills that overlooks the ocean. There's not a bad seat in the house, we certainly weren't complaining about our 11th row-center seats! Santa Barbara was the last show of the Foo Fighters' acoustic tour and it was very clear they had perfected things. The sound was amazing, and Dave Grohl was hilarious. The mandolin and violin-playing chick also sang a couple of songs and she was phenomenal.
After the show we got some Thai take-out and then went to bed. Another typical epic day with Pete.
The breakfast view
Pete and Mr. Dempster enjoying morning coffee
Us mid-hike
Pete mid-hike
Me mid-hike
Disgustingly cute picture of Pete and I
Pete at the concert
Me at the concert
Me at my 11th-row seat!
The Foo Fighters
The next morning we got up and had brunch with Mr. and Mrs. Dempster. Then we went over and picked up Gary and Sandie (Pete's sister-in-law) and went for lunch at the Garden Market and then to the beach. After the beach we had sushi and then left for LA.
The purpose for the journey to LA was to see DJ David Mancuso spin in the ballroom of the Queen Mary. What can I tell you, it was again "epic." The Queen Mary is such a surreal place to be, walking on the same wood decks that carried people across the Atlantic so long ago. Mancuso was the epitome of oozing cool by being extremely un-cool. He had a big beer gut, a scruffy beard and greasy hair. He didn't fuss with mixing the songs, just simply put on the record and stood back and waited for the next. He didn't even have a bit of skip in his step or groove in his heart. Different than anything I'd ever seen before.
Gary, Pete and Sandie at Parado Beach
Pete and I at Parado Beach
Cool stacked rocks
Pete and Sandie on the beach
Cute little shore bird
Pete, Gary and Sandie on the Queen Mary
Pete and I on the Queen Mary
Pete on the Queen Mary... how cool is that???
Me on the Queen Mary
All of us on the Queen Mary, with Long Beach in the background
Gary and Sandie
Pete and I
Goofy shot of the gang
DJ David Mancuso
Dancing!
After the show on the Queen Mary we stayed at the Long Beach Hilton. We slept extremely late (past check-out, in fact) on Monday morning. As we realized we were going to be very late for our afternoon barbecue engagement, we decided to take our time making it back to Santa Barbara. We had lunch in Santa Monica and then shopped and people-watched on the Promenade. From there we continued along Highway 1 through Malibu and eventually back to Santa Barbara. Dinner was just ready when we arrived back at Chez Dempster and it was uber-delicious! After dinner, ping-pong ensued. Apparently the French are really good at ping pong, which was evident as Sandie handily kicked everyone's asses. I was not good at all, I think I'm going to stick to biking and skiing.
I have come to learn that if you live in California, and particularly in wine country, you know your stuff about wine. And you drink it a lot. I was fortunate enough to get a chance to try a lot of great wines. Monday night, while hosting Jeff Fink, one of Tantara Winery's winemakers, Mr. Dempster pulled out a very expensive bottle. I smelled it and immediately picked up on something very strange. I didn't want to be rude or naive, so I whispered to Pete "it smells like poop." He kinda chuckled and we continued drinking it. Then Mr. Dempster and Jeff began discussing it. Apparently I was quite right to pick out the poop smell, which they likened to a horse. I was informed that this is a natural yeast which is considered a flaw in wine, but has become acceptable of late. I was so proud of my nose!
Street performer in Santa Monica
The Promenade in Santa Monica
Pete petting the caricature-man's dog, Roxy. She was in absolute ecstasy.
Santa Barbara from the air
Fog pouring over one of the Channel Islands
I don't think I need to comment on this
Me mid-hike
There were lizards everywhere, but they're cute, so it's okay
Disgustingly cute picture of Pete and I
Pete at the concert
Me at the concert
Me at my 11th-row seat!
The Foo Fighters
The next morning we got up and had brunch with Mr. and Mrs. Dempster. Then we went over and picked up Gary and Sandie (Pete's sister-in-law) and went for lunch at the Garden Market and then to the beach. After the beach we had sushi and then left for LA.
The purpose for the journey to LA was to see DJ David Mancuso spin in the ballroom of the Queen Mary. What can I tell you, it was again "epic." The Queen Mary is such a surreal place to be, walking on the same wood decks that carried people across the Atlantic so long ago. Mancuso was the epitome of oozing cool by being extremely un-cool. He had a big beer gut, a scruffy beard and greasy hair. He didn't fuss with mixing the songs, just simply put on the record and stood back and waited for the next. He didn't even have a bit of skip in his step or groove in his heart. Different than anything I'd ever seen before.
Gary, Pete and Sandie at Parado Beach
Pete and I at Parado Beach
Cool stacked rocks
Pete and Sandie on the beach
Cute little shore bird
Pete, Gary and Sandie on the Queen Mary
Pete and I on the Queen Mary
Pete on the Queen Mary... how cool is that???
Me on the Queen Mary
All of us on the Queen Mary, with Long Beach in the background
Gary and Sandie
Pete and I
Goofy shot of the gang
DJ David Mancuso
Dancing!
After the show on the Queen Mary we stayed at the Long Beach Hilton. We slept extremely late (past check-out, in fact) on Monday morning. As we realized we were going to be very late for our afternoon barbecue engagement, we decided to take our time making it back to Santa Barbara. We had lunch in Santa Monica and then shopped and people-watched on the Promenade. From there we continued along Highway 1 through Malibu and eventually back to Santa Barbara. Dinner was just ready when we arrived back at Chez Dempster and it was uber-delicious! After dinner, ping-pong ensued. Apparently the French are really good at ping pong, which was evident as Sandie handily kicked everyone's asses. I was not good at all, I think I'm going to stick to biking and skiing.
I have come to learn that if you live in California, and particularly in wine country, you know your stuff about wine. And you drink it a lot. I was fortunate enough to get a chance to try a lot of great wines. Monday night, while hosting Jeff Fink, one of Tantara Winery's winemakers, Mr. Dempster pulled out a very expensive bottle. I smelled it and immediately picked up on something very strange. I didn't want to be rude or naive, so I whispered to Pete "it smells like poop." He kinda chuckled and we continued drinking it. Then Mr. Dempster and Jeff began discussing it. Apparently I was quite right to pick out the poop smell, which they likened to a horse. I was informed that this is a natural yeast which is considered a flaw in wine, but has become acceptable of late. I was so proud of my nose!
Street performer in Santa Monica
The Promenade in Santa Monica
Tuesday was to be my last day in Santa Barbara, or Fantasy World, as I like to call it. Pete and I slept in again and had our last breakfast out on the lawn. We finished some things up around the house and I packed up all of my stuff. Sandie had given us some gift certificates from the Enterprise Seafood Company so we went down there for lunch. I ate a lot of fish and actually enjoyed it. We met Sandie for coffee after lunch. As we were getting up to leave, this little man with a crazy long white beard said "I had such great models, and now you're leaving!" He had been drawing a caricature of Sandie and I and said he was almost finished, so we stuck around until he was done. I then went back to the cutest little airport on earth and sadly came back home. Alas, Pete and I will surely see each other again soon, but not soon enough.
Pete petting the caricature-man's dog, Roxy. She was in absolute ecstasy.
Santa Barbara from the air
Fog pouring over one of the Channel Islands
I don't think I need to comment on this
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