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?