The Grande Dame of the Sea

Memorial Day Weekend was a memorable getaway for me.

Good morning, it's Sara Celi.

Once again, I found myself in sunny SoCal, but it will be my last visit there for awhile. So, naturally, Sean and I had to make this one count.

One of the things we did was visit the Queen Mary. She's docked in Long Beach and open daily for public tours. We'd both talked about seeing this historic cruise ship, but wanted to wait until a warm day to make the trip.

Saturday proved the perfect choice. Sean and I spend the afternoon walking the ships grand decks, exploring her art deco beauty, and lunching in the dining room where the famous and rich used to take their meals. If you don't know her history, the Queen Mary launched in 1936, and was considered by may to be "the only way to travel". She sailed the world for more than 40 years before docking in Long Beach. As you walk around the ship, you get the distinct smell of antique wood mixed with salty sea air.

She's a gorgeous ship, and a must see.

Plus, there's a pretty good ghost tour that takes you through the bowls and furnaces on board. It's not for the easily scared, but it's fun.

Travel Soothes the Soul

You might have noticed I took a few days off from my Update Desk duties earlier this month.

Good morning, it's Sara Celi.

As I've said in earlier blog posts, I've been spending a lot of my free time on the West Coast with my husband, who is out there temporarily. Recently, I took a few extra days to make the most of my limited time in California.

I was sure glad I did.

On day one, we headed north.

We'd talked in the past about visiting Santa Barbara, a small beach town just north of Los Angeles, and on this visit we buckled down and made the hour and a half drive through the hills to central California. I didn't know what we'd find when we got there.

Boy, was I surprised.

Santa Barbara is one of those small towns that plays much bigger than it's population count might lead you to believe. It's home to UCSB (a team my WKU Hilltoppers often play in sports), and has the sleepy, laid back cadence that often comes out in the best college towns in America. It also has a gorgeous beach and a bustling downtown that's full of shops, restaurants, bars, and museums.

Sean and I stopped for lunch at The Anderson's when we got into town. It's a small cafe and Danish bakery on the main downtown strip. We had a quiet lunch, and as we left the woman behind the counter let me try a sample of their marzipan tart. It might be one of the best desserts I have ever tasted.

After lunch, we spent about three hours walking the blocks that make up Santa Barbara's downtown. Most of the central business district looks like a small Spanish settlement, with stucco and twisted wrought iron to decorate the storefronts. On this sunny late winter day, neither of us could think of a better place to be that walking in the downtown.

What I loved most about the area around Santa Barbara was how drastic the landscape changed. The town itself is right on the Pacific, but as we left the town that afternoon, I watched the rolling hills of Central California open up like Tuscany.

We were on our way to Solvang, CA. More on that, tomorrow.