I enjoy the morning at the hotel, because they have a comfortabel check-out time of 12pm. That gives me enough time for some work, breakfast and a last swim in the pool. I decide to drive down to Santa Barbara which is about halfway back to LA and see there if I’ll continue driving or find a hotel in that beach town. When I find a parking spot, which is a bit of a challenge in the center, I’m close to a local sandwich shop. Very convenient. It turns out to be one of the best sandwiches I’ve had in my life. If you’re ever in Santa Barbara, check out Metropulos Fine Foods Merchant. I walk around the block and see a visitor center. A friendly guy who turns out to be Irish, advices me not to drive further to LA, because traffic is apparently horrible at this time. He also points out that there is the first Motel6 motel in this city, so that might be a nice place to stay. I book a room for the night and drive there. Interesting fact is that Motel6 got the name, because you could stay there for 6 Dollars back in the day. Now it’s about 100 bucks, but still one of the cheapest in Santa Barbara. It’s also nice that it’s right at the beach. It’s about a half hour walk to the center of the city and since didn’t get my daily steps in yet, I think it’s a good idea to go there by foot. There is a nice walk and bike path along the beach which makes it a comfortable stroll. In Santa Barbara they have rental bikes, but not the electric scooters as in San Diego. If they did, I might have been tempted to ride one of those again. I guess it’s something to look forward to when I’m back there next week. During my walk I start a conversation with a local guy and he tells me more about places to go. I like how easy it is to make small talk in America. He points out the pier to me. Like many beach towns Santa Barbara has a pier as well, but this one is so big that there are actually cars driving on it. I walk to the end of the pier as I usually do, just before it gets dark outside. No sunset today, because it’s cloudy, but it’s nice to enjoy the ocean air. I find a nice restaurant in town and enjoy a burger and locally brewed IPA for dinner. I like that there are so many micro breweries in California. It’s dark when I walk back to the hotel, but fortunately not really cold. Since the motel where I’m staying tonight won’t have breakfast, I think I’ll hit the road early tomorrow before the morning rush hour.
