RonnieAdventure #0112 - California, 2014 Part II

Santa Barbara is a popular tourist destination; thus, very crowded and very expensive during the summer months. There are beautiful gardens and parks located throughout the City and the downtown area is filled with upscale art galleries, restaurants, and boutique shops; i.e., expensive!. Plus, the area has a colorful history.

Mission Santa Barbara is the 10^th of 21 missions constricted in California and is often called the “Queen of Missions” because of its beauty. The building was constructed in 1790 and partially destroyed by large earthquakes in 1812 and 1925. However, after each earthquake the mission was reconstructed and in 1953 additional earthquake reinforcing was added to the buildings.

In 1834 the Mexican government secularized the California Missions and a few years later the Mexican Governor confiscated the land, but allowed the Franciscans to continue their services in the Mission. Then, after California became part of the United States of America, President Abraham Lincoln returned the Mission to the Catholic Church. Operation of the Mission continues today under the direction of the Franciscan Friars.

No trip to Santa Barbara would be complete without a photograph of the famous dolphin statue.!

Located in the mountains outside of Santa Barbara is Chumash Painted Cave State Historic Park. Archeologist believe that the paintings were made by the Chumash people about a thousand years ago; but, of course, no one knows for certain. Because the cave has a large overhang, the paintings have been protected from the outdoor environment and are in amazing condition. 

Lompoc is located north of Santa Barbara on Highway 1 and has beautiful murals painted on the building walls that are similar to the Murals in Santa Paula, except the paintings in Lompoc are much more extensive. There is even an “Art Alley” that contains a wide variety of paintings by different people.

 

Madame Ganna Walksa was a Polish opera singer and socialite that spent 43 years collecting exotic plants from throughout the world to build her own botanical gardens (Lotusland) on 37-acres of land between Santa Barbara and Montecito. After her death in 1984, Lotusland became a nonprofit entity and it was opened to the public on a limited basis in 1993. Because Lotusland is privately owned and operated, reservations are required and the entrance fee is pricy! Since it was not cheap to tour the gardens, I felt obligated to take a lot of pictures to get my money's worth. Enjoy!