Santa Barbara Family Vacation

Get ready, there will be a LOT of photos on this blog post edition.  


On May 11th my husband and I flew from Newark to LAX airport while my son flew from Boston to LAX airport to meet up and drive up to Santa Barbara to visit our daughter and son in law.  They are there for a few years while our son in law completes a post doc at UCSB.

We've been planning this trip since they moved there last September and I was hesitant to be traveling so very far away from my home (which you know I love).  Luckily I was pumped up with prednisone which made the time change negligible and my comfort levels tip top.


I was lucky enough to get to visit one LYS while there ( Loop and Leaf ).  So friendly and so full of yarn :)  I did buy one skein but that will be for different post.


My husband is quite patient while waiting outside the store, I wish I was as patient with him while he is in a used record vinyl store (I'm not...). They should pair the two together!

my son in law, daughter and son



I wish I could remember where I was when I snapped this sunset, it's glorious!  I decided not to take the big camera and relied solely on my iphone.  We did have a point and shoot but my husband was using that and I haven't gone through the photos yet.

son, daughter and son in law

me!! son in law husband daughter and son


Santa Barbara is a beautiful little city (town?) with lots of shops and beautiful views of the harbor, ocean and beaches. We were together every day, sightseeing a neighboring town and exploring Santa Barbara fully.  We made the very most of family time together.



the mission
 On Sunday morning, we attended Mass at Old Mission Santa Barbara.  The music was spectacular!  I love that no matter where you are in the world, when you go to a Catholic Mass everything is relatively the same -  just music changes :)



Our last day (Monday!?) we hung out in the town, chilling out and enjoying more time together. When my daughter calls and we chat I can have a visual of where she is when she talks about restaurants and places.  I loved seeing how happy they are together, makes a mom's heart happy.

I am experiencing another nasty RA flare and these days at home are most welcomed.  I'm sitting and resting and recovering!!  I saw the doctor yesterday and we have a treatment plan (again).  I cannot wait until my health returns back to normal!  

Comments

  1. Karen, what fantastic photos! It looks like you all had a lovely time! And, yes, Record/Yarn Shops should be a thing (and Computer/Yarn Shops, just sayin')

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  2. What a lovely family getaway....and I so know what you mean about being able to visualize your daughter now in her surroundings. So important!!!! Bummer about the RA flair-up; do hope the new plan of attack works. In the meantime, sit back and reminisce the trip and the fun times and try to be patient with yourself. (I think your level of patience is right up there with mine---oops. Not one of my strengths!)

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    1. the new plan is working and I am trying to be patient (which you know I am NOT)

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  3. I'm sorry that your daughter and sil live so far away, but very glad that the whole family got to visit them in such a beautiful place. I know what you mean about being able to picture your kids in their environments, and how important it is that they're happy. Sending good wishes that your RA calms down and you're healthy very soon!

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    1. visiting her has helped me a lot, I can visual and I was there seeing them happy and that is what it is all about. I still don't like to let go, but who does?

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  4. Your vacation looks lovely in every way! The carpet of purple flowers and the big bush of hydrangeas makes a beautiful spot to sit and wait. Maybe the fragrance calmed your husband while you shopped. I hope you start feeling better soon!

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  5. That looks like such a lovely vacation! And such wonderful people to spend it with :) Hopefully your current flare will calm down and you start feeling better soon!

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    1. it is calming as I type which makes me quite happy!

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  6. What a beautiful place!!! So glad you all got to spend some great time together! I believe Willow (at Willow's Cottage) had talked some about those trees that have those pretty flowers on them. The locals don't care for the mess they make though.

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  7. How beautiful! Santa Barbara is the inspiration for the town in Sue Grafton's ABC books; after seeing your pictures, now I have an idea of what it looks like.

    Boo to not feeling well, hope you find relief soon!

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    1. thank you so much! I did not know that about Sue Grafton!!

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  8. Sounds like you had a great visit in one of CAs prettiest places. Loved your photos.

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  9. You should vacation in Northampton, MA. Webs plus another LYS and two record shops...

    I'm glad your trip was amazing. I was fortunate enough to spend an afternoon in Santa Barbara 15 years ago and remember thinking how beautiful it was. Plus, it's the setting for the tv show Psych, which makes for a fun association.

    Feel better!

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    1. I would like to visit webs one day :)I didn't know that about the tv show Psych either!

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  10. So happy to hear about your trip! There is nothing better than having that leisure time away with family all together! I get terribly homesick whenever I travel, always have, always will. Now that you're back home, I hope you get plenty of rest and feel better soon. xo Tammy

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    1. I'm homesick the day I leave and the day I travel back, the in between I have a count down.

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  11. Great photos Karen and I'm so happy you had this time with your girl and your family.

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  12. Great photos, so wonderful to visit the place where your daughter now lives and you can visualize the places now. Sorry to hear about your flare up, hope they manage to get an effective treatment plan in place. My dear husband is still suffering steroids are a last resort at the moment to get him back on track. Take care.

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    1. I have a fantastic doctor who is on top of it all, it's me being patient!!

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  13. OH I love that familiarity that comes at Catholic Mass Everywhere. I get homesick traveling and let me say church makes it better. Feel better! Who is the patron Saint for RA? I'll get on the beads for you. Your family is beautiful

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    1. I don't know who the patron saint is....I'll have to google it. Thanks for the family compliment :)

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  14. Your photos are beautiful and it looks like you had a wonderful vacation. I love attending Mass when I travel-it always makes me feel at home. Hope your RA calms down and you feel better soon.

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    1. Mass is fun when it's somewhere new, shakes things up a bit when you daydream.

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  15. It looks like a wonderful holiday, your photos are wonderful. I wonder if your RA is related to the food you eat? I have a friend who was diagnosed in her twenties after ten years it had got so bad she was put on a food exclusion diet wich identified the foods that set it off, she excludes those foods now and is off medication and another ten years on has no problems with RA at all.

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    1. There are certain foods that are supposed to increase a flare but I never really noticed a difference when altering my diet. I should investigate more! My theory was when I changed one medicine(my choice) it caused my symptoms to get worse (this happened once before...). I should not have asked to change the med. However, now I know.

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  16. Family, sunshine, and gorgeous scenery, what more does one need on vacation? I loved getting to 'meet' your family and am so happy that your RA didn't flare up while you were out there. It must have been so hard to leave your daughter; I know it is for me every time we say goodbye to Kate. I hope that your RA calms down very quickly and you feel better soon. xx

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  17. What a wonderful trip you all had. We took the kids down there a few summers ago. We had so much fun and saw the fireworks too on the 4th I believe. I didn't think about a yarn store - doh!

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  18. I'm pleased you all got to go on the trip and see where your lives. I've yet to reach that stage in life when the kids move out and do their own thing. I imagine it will be quite different. Rest up.

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    1. It's a weird stage but a fun stage. I miss the kids but I do enjoy cooking for two and doing stuff we want to do!

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  19. Looks and sounds like you had a great trip and visit with family. I hope you're feeling better soon.

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  20. Beautiful photos of your vacation. What a wonderful visit for all of you. I hope you feel better soon.

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  21. I do believe you had a fantastic time Karen! Santa Barbara is such a beautiful place to visit and a gorgeous area full of awesome things to see. Feel better soon!

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  22. Santa Barbara looks lovely!

    Hope you are feeling better soon.

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  23. Thank you for the tour! Everything looks so beautiful!

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  24. The poor pictures the merrier. What a lovely trip and even better lovely family. :)
    Sorry to hear about the flare up, I truly hope this new treatment plans is the ticket. Sending you much love!

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    1. so far the treatment is working, I think... :)

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  25. I'm so sorry you're having a RA flare-up but from the photos, it looks like your trip may have been worth it. Great photos of your family adventure!

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  26. I enjoyed your beautiful photos of Santa Barbara with your family. What a wonderful place to vacation! So sorry about your RA flare up--I agree with Sustainable Mum--it definitely would be worth investigating food intolerances and alternative ways of dealing with this inflammatory disease. Hope you get better soon!

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    1. I will be researching, thanks for the well wishes!!

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  27. Looks like a looks like a lovely trip. Prayers for some relief from your pain.

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  28. Oh wow, what a lovely trip you had. Gorgeous photos. So happy you all could gather and visit your daughter, wonderful memories made :)

    Hope you are getting lots of rest and feel better soon.

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  29. What a wonderful time you had! Such great photos. I do hope you are feeling better soon xx

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  30. This looks like it was a great trip - and the photos are so pretty!

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