Tag Archives: Carpinteria

Dapple Dandy, Tastes Like Candy

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One of the joys of Santa Barbara and Carpinteria are the farmers markets. This is our favorite fruit stand. The pluots in the bin above the plums are called Dapple Dandy. Outside the tent filled with delicious fruit, a woman stands with slices of fruit samples calling out “Dapple Dandy, tastes like candy!” It really does. It’s my all time favorite and I’ve been eating them every day on vacation.

You can see how popular and large this fruit stand is. It has a line that goes outside the tent and once inside, lines on both sides of the fruit. The same farm is at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market on Saturdays and in Carpinteria on Thursdays.

Our favorite spot for fish tacos and chowder is called On the Alley. It’s in the Santa Barbara Harbor next to the Marina. It’s a casual place where you order inside, grab a table outside and a server brings your food.

Clam chowder with crusty warm sourdough!

The best fish taco I’ve ever had! On the Alley is owned by Brophy Bros which is a longtime favorite seafood restaurant at the Marina. Brophy’s is upstairs of On the Alley.

Sitting at a table devouring my fish taco, I had to take a photo of the shop next door.

The other day, we visited friends in Ventura. They took us in their Duffy electric boat for a harbor cruise (where we saw the sea lions). We ended up at the second location of Brophy’s.

Here’s a view from their boat.

This is called the Ventura Keys, where people dock their boats in their backyards. The boat we cruised in was like the blue topped boats across the key.

This is Ventura’s Brophy Bros with On the Alley below.

On one of our last nights we met our longtime friends, along with their friends we met a few summers ago for dinner at this local beach cafe. The seating is outside next to the beach. I love the location and having dinner outside. It’s casual with salads, burger and fish and chips.

Here are a few photos:

What are your favorite tastes of summer?

Beachy Days

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We found a new way to get to the beach we like. Our friends told us to look for a Coastal Access sign, so we drove slowly down a shaded lane behind the fancy homes and found it. In California, all beaches are open to the public. There has to be public access to every beach, whether the people living there like it or not.

Before we were parking at the busier end of the beach that doesn’t have houses and famous residents like George Lucas, Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. We had to walk over railroad tracks and then scramble over rocks on a narrow pathway to the sand. It was hard for me with my healing ankle, but I managed to do it all on my own the day before we discovered this path to the beach.

This pathway is flat and easy for me to walk. It runs between mansions of the rich and famous.

Here’s the view at the end of the trail. I can manage these steps easier than boulders.

Here’s the view when you walk over the steps pictured above. In the distance is where we used to park and walk to the beach.

Interesting moments at the beach:

I finally got some pelican photos!

One day we got buzzed by Army helicopters. It was quite dramatic. The video below is when they approached the beach flying by Kevin Costner’s house and eventually flying directly overhead where I was sitting on the sand!

We were surprised by helicopters.

A more relaxing sight was watching dolphins two days in a row.

Dolphin sighting.

My days consist of beach walks, relaxing at the beach, watching waves and wildlife, physical therapy and eating my favorite foods. Also reading and writing of course.

What’s on your agenda this week?

Nothing Stays the Same

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This is a photo of the main street in a beach town called Carpinteria from a couple years ago. It’s 10 miles from Santa Barbara. It’s where our friends live who my husband met when in training a million years ago at Merrill Lynch’s corporate headquarters. He told me he met a nice guy and they invited us to go sailing with them in Santa Barbara. Since then, way before kids, we’ve been fast long-time friends.

The past few years, we’ve noticed changes to their quaint, quiet little town. It was a sleeper and the buildings and mom and pop businesses seemed to be living straight out of the 1950s. But nothing ever stays the same.

Welcome to major freeway and infrastructure changes. A few large tech companies moved in, and our favorite businesses and entire blocks were torn down.

This was a hotel in 1912. We knew it as a family friendly restaurant that was affordable. It featured grills in the middle of the restaurant where you cooked your own steak, halibut or chicken. Dinner came with sides of rolls, salad or soup, baked beans and a few other things. When my son and his girlfriend (now DIL) were at UCSB, we took them to dinner there and they could eat their fill. No limit to the amount of food served.

It’s now closed and it sold. No telling what the next owner will do to it.

Our favorite restaurant in the world closed. Called Sly’s after the chef James Sly, it was our go to special occasion restaurant. Sly was friends with our Carpinteria friends, and he’d often comp us a seafood tower or his famous sundae. Unfortunately, he died a few years ago and his wife did not want to keep the restaurant going. We miss James but have great memories of him and his delicious food.

Rincon Surf Shop was one of our favorites. They had everything from surfboards, boogie boards, really cute beach wear, bathing suits, flip flops and custom designed t-shirts. I learned this trip that the owner said adios and retired. It was a one of a kind shopping experience. My daughter and I made lots of trips to that store to get unique clothes for her high school days and flip flops for me.

This was our alltime favorite spot for Mexican food. In the back was a kitchen with the best breakfast burritos with egg, cheese, sausage and potato. We’d buy them to go (since there’s no tables) and take them to picnic tables to devour at the beach.

Last year, we were shocked to see the building torn down and the entire block under construction. Like I said. Nothing stays the same. However, I was not prepared for what replaced the fun shops on that block:

Linden Square

It’s a food court called the Public Market and has a few other shops like expensive home goods and a yoga studio. The developer has one in downtown Santa Barbara, too. The upscale food court includes a gourmet pizza place offering $25 small pizzas. There’s a $16 a burger restaurant and Mexican stand with $20.50 burritos. All made fresh with the finest ingredients, of course.

I showed my son and daughter the photo of Linden Square and they were not happy. They said it was a glorified food court that could be found in any upscale suburbia. It doesn’t fit the funky but hip vibe of the Carpinteria of old of which they have so many fond memories.

We used to go camping every spring break at Carpinteria State Park in our tent. Sitting around the campfire at night was so much fun. Easter egg hunts in our campsite was a tradition. So many great memories. Of course, those days are gone as well.

camping at the beach
Camping at Carpinteria State Beach with the kids and Angus.

What have you noticed lately has changed and will never be the same?

Fresh, fresh and more fresh

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Our first trip to the Santa Barbara Farmer’s Market was a huge success. In fact it made my day!

Saturdays mean a trip to Santa Barbara for fresh fruits and veggies. Thursday evenings we head to Carpinteria to visit many of the same vendors. What an abundance to have farm fresh produce twice a week! I can stock up and never run out.

I wrote about Santa Barbara’s Farmer’s Market two years ago HERE. I think the photos are better in the previous post, so you may want to take a look. I was too burdened down with produce to take great photos Saturday.

Photos from the market:

Our favorite vendor we call Farmer Fred. He’s friends with two couples we know in Santa Barbara. We went to a BBQ with him and his family last summer. He’s got a personality that doesn’t stop. He loves bantering and joking with his customers. As the close of the market approaches, he gives away produce. Two older Latino women came and he gave them two boxes of peppers. We asked what they were doing with them.

“They’re making tamales,” was all Farmer Fred told us.

They may be tamale vendors or making them for church. In any case, Fred helps them out.

While I shopped around the market, my husband hung out with Farmer Fred.

A woman was helping Fred that we’ve met in years’ past. She weighed produce for a customer and handed them their bag of tomatoes. She asked, “How much do we owe you?” We all laughed because at that point Fred was giving away produce.

We’re also on a first-name basis with our favorite stone-fruit farmer, Todd. He has 10 acres in Arizona he wants to sell us.

I bought the white peach, Flavor King and Dapple Dandy (tastes like candy) pluots from Todd. What a treat!

What I made for dinner:

Roasted round zucchini that I sliced and tossed in olive oil. After roasting, I sprinkled it with a Mexican chile seasoning.

I bought bone marrow from a vendor at the Farmer’s Market who was selling beef and pork. Bone marrow was listed under OFFAL. I roasted it in the oven at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, along with the zucchini. Unfortunately, the top bone lost most of it’s marrow while cooking. But what was left was delicious! I served the veggies and bone marrow with chips, salsa and guacamole made from avocados a friend gave us. Yum!

Do you have a farmer’s market near you? What are your favorite things to buy?

It’s a dog’s life

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A new friend at the beach bringing a ball to my husband.

After our evening beach walk and swim, we were relaxing in beach chairs watching the waves. Suddenly, a small dog ran to my husband and dropped a ball at his feet. We looked around for his owners, but there was nobody close by.

My husband threw the ball. The speedy little pup raced after the ball and ran back to us, dropping the ball at my feet. It was my turn.

The pup alternated between the two of us for 30 minutes, never tiring of chasing the ball.

The dog is waiting in anticipation for the ball to be thrown. If you look in the ocean there is a couple out there.

Eventually the couple who were body surfing in the waves came onshore.

“Is this your dog?” my husband called out to them.

“No, he’s yours now,” the man replied. We all laughed. The dog trotted over excitedly to his rightful owners.

The dogs on the beach are so entertaining to watch. There’s a man who lives a few houses away from Kevin Costner, who walks his black lab every morning with a tennis ball launcher. That dog is so excited and jumps and circles, crying for the ball to be thrown. He runs back and forth chasing and retrieving the ball for an entire hour walk. We watched a pair of Vizlas chasing balls from their owner’s tennis ball launcher, leaping to catch the balls in the air before they hit the sand. Then there are dogs who pick up sticks two to three times the size of their bodies and proudly trot them down the beach.

Here’s a video of our new friend racing after the ball:

If you have a dog, do they like to swim, chase after balls or carry sticks?

What other creatures are as happy as a dog at the beach?

I Am Woman Hear Me Roar …

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NOTE: I wrote this blog post 10 years ago this week. It’s a look back to my school days — wedged into a visit with my son and his girlfriend (now wife) while I was visiting them at UC Santa Barbara. Also, there’s a link to my daughter-in-law’s poetry.

During my weekend visit with my son at UCSB, we discovered how far women have come from my generation to his. (Yes, I’m talking about the same son that tried to give away the cat on Facebook — read about that HERE. And, he’s the one that wrote about his crazy mom for his senior project — read about that HERE)

We were out to dinner at The Palms in Carpinteria, where you grill your own steaks or halibut, with one of my best friends, my son Robert, and his girlfriend (She’s a poet and an CCS English Lit major. You can read some of her poetry HERE).

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My friend and I talked about home ec, and we wondered if it was offered as a major in this day and age? My mom was a home ec major in the 1950s, by the way.

My son said, “They really DID have an MRS degree!”

“Not only was it a college major,” I said, “but we were required to take home ec in high school.”

“Only the girls, that is,” my friend said.

“WHAT?!” both Robert and his girlfriend were horrified. How alien to their lives is a gender-based school requirement. We explained that the boys took wood-working or shop.

My son thought for minute and asked, “What did you learn in home ec?”

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“Scrambled eggs, sewing an apron, sex ed, how to clip coupons and general household budgeting,” I answered.

“All of those things should be taught to men and women,” the kids said.  

I think they are right.

Thinking of those days, made me remember Helen Reddy, and her song, “I Am Woman” 

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Do colleges or high schools still offer home ec?

Do you think home ec should be required for both men and women?

What other life skills do you think need to be taught in school?

My favorite beach houses

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My favorite house on the beach where we walk each morning and evening.

Part of the enjoyment of our beach walks is looking at the houses — as well as at waves, dolphins and an occasional seal. I’m sharing some of my favorite homes, from mansions to cottages. I notice workers washing windows and gardeners working in the yards — but I rarely see people who live there.

I like the house above the best because the architectural style is similar to the house I grew up in. Lots of large glass windows, angles and shake shingles — a contemporary style from the 1970s. I also love this house because it’s private and not too showy. Then there is the tree:

The tree makes the house.

This stately home must have stunning views from the multiple decks.

Another magnificent home with lush landscaping.

I love the contemporary look of this home and the expanse of windows. They scalped the lawn yesterday, which I didn’t know was a “thing” in Santa Barbara. In Palm Springs, lawns are scalped each fall to plant Winter Rye. In the heat of late Spring, the Winter Rye dies and Bermuda Grass, which is dormant in the winter, grows back.

I like the simplicity of this A frame.

Look what is and has happened around this sweet cottage below? Last year there was a cottage next to it, but now there’s a huge crane making tons of noise.

When you get near the parking lot, the homes are smaller and closer together. There are still some cottages left, that haven’t been torn down to build modern monstrosities. This is one of my favorite cottages.

I hope you enjoyed my beach home tour!

If you owned a beach house, what style would it be? Beach cottage, White House replica, contemporary or modern?