{"id":13542,"date":"2010-08-05T00:00:54","date_gmt":"2010-08-05T05:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/momstraveltales.com\/?p=465"},"modified":"2010-08-05T00:00:54","modified_gmt":"2010-08-05T05:00:54","slug":"destination-snapshot-santa-barbara","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/destination-snapshot-santa-barbara\/","title":{"rendered":"Destination Snapshot: Santa Barbara"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Want a quick mom\u2019s eye view on a destination? MomsTravelTales.com has you covered with our new collection of Mom-servations on destinations across the globe.<\/p>\n

FishMama of Life as Mom<\/a> is sharing some of her favorite Santa Barbara spots for families today. This mom of six KNOWS family fun and is a Californian herself, so you can definitely trust her.<\/p>\n

City or town name:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Santa Barbara, CA<\/p>\n

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Is there an airport there? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, there is an airport there. United is one of the major airlines.\u00a0LA International and San Jose are the other closest airports.<\/p>\n


\nIs this a place you have visited more than once? If so, what keeps you coming back? <\/strong><\/p>\n

My husband grew up in Santa\u00a0Barbara. I\u00a0went to college at UCSB.\u00a0We still have family and friends here, but\u00a0even if we didn’t, we’d still want to visit. It’s beautiful.<\/p>\n


\nWhat makes this place great for families to visit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beautiful parks, beaches, bike paths, and nature trails make this an ideal place for families. There are also a number of museums and\u00a0attractions worthy of visits, including\u00a0the Santa Barbara Zoo<\/a>, the\u00a0Botanic Garden<\/a>, Mission de Santa Barbara<\/a>,\u00a0the Natural History Museum<\/a> and the Ronald Reagan Ranch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\nHow long should a family plan to stay to hit the highlights?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A day in Santa Barbara is a blast, but if you’re coming from far away, I would allow at least three to four days.\u00a0There’s no shortage of things to do. The restaurants are fantastic and the weather is\u00a0usually nice.<\/p>\n

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What are some of the fun things to do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our kids\u00a0are aged, 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, and 13, so\u00a0we represent all ages. All of our children have\u00a0found something of interest at the beach and at the local parks. There\u00a0is\u00a0much exploring to do in the nearby hills and creeks. The Zoo is usually a hit with families and boasts a number of picnic spots, so bring your own food.\u00a0Take a walk on\u00a0Stearns Wharf<\/a> or along the\u00a0Breakwater.\u00a0Fly kites at Shoreline Park<\/a>. We\u00a0make\u00a0about 3 weekend trips to Santa\u00a0Barbara each year and haven’t yet exhausted all the possibilities.<\/p>\n

What family-friendly places to eat would you recommend? Anything special about them? <\/strong>La Superica Taqueria <\/a>is a little\u00a0taco stand on Milpas that serves fantastic, authentic Mexican food. It was a favorite of Julia Child’s. The atmosphere is relaxed, but the place is hopping, so\u00a0be prepared to wait unless you go early. Blenders in the Grass<\/a> is a wheat-grass bar that mixes up delicious fruit smoothies that are a meal in themselves.\u00a0Giovanni’s Pizza<\/a> is a great place for kids as is Taffy’s Pizza<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What hotels or other places to stay can you recommend?<\/strong> We’ve never had to find accommodations due to having family and friends in the area. But, since Santa Barbara is a popular\u00a0tourist destination, there are lots of places to choose from with varying price ranges.<\/p>\n

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If adults can fit in a date night without the kids while there, what would you suggest?<\/strong> It’s been awhile since we actually took a date night, but some of our favorites “back in the day” were\u00a0Brophy Brothers<\/a>, The Palace Grill<\/a>, and Roy<\/a>. There are so many good restaurants in Santa Barbara, it’s really hard to go wrong.<\/p>\n

Wanna know more about FishMama and how she travels the road to joyful motherhood? Visit her at Life as Mom<\/a> for great ideas and lots of adventures. And visit GoodCheapEats<\/a> for delicious tips on how to eat well, act your wage and enjoy life.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Want a quick mom\u2019s eye view on a destination? MomsTravelTales.com has you covered with our new collection of Mom-servations on destinations across the globe. FishMama of Life as Mom is sharing some of her favorite Santa Barbara spots for families today. This mom of six KNOWS family fun and is a Californian herself, so you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[476,451],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-california","category-destination-snaphots"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/125"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13542\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}