California's Riviera

If you ever need to appreciate the good life that Santa Barbara has to offer, pay a visit to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. It's like an underwater Chuck E. Cheese with $7 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead of pizza. The kids will love it all the same, and be begging for $36 stuffed animals souvenirs in short order, and you'll soon be looking upon that highway to heaven, the northbound Hwy 101, with renewed passion.

Although you'll be tempted to flee the City of Angeles as quickly as possible, we have found one pit stop worth making. Olvera Street's "La Golondrina Cafe" makes a roasted vegetable burrito that tastes like fiesta in De La Guerra Plaza. The guitars sold in the vendor stalls outside the Cafe--not so good (especially when you'll be stuck with said guitar and a 5-year-old child in a moving vehicle for the next hour AT LEAST), but Mr. Churro next door to Cafe--muy bueno.

Promptly after licking the last bits of cinnamon-sugar from your fingertips, return to your vehicle, point the nose northward, and count the minutes until the blessed Pacific Ocean comes into view.

Comments

Lucie and the Problem of Evil

Lucie has suddenly started questioning things. And by things, I mean eternal things. It all started when she asked if I would read her a bedtime story from the Bible storybook. The book opens innocently enough with the story of creation. There are lions and tigers and bears, and naked people being created from dust. (At this point in the story you’d think questions would arise, but no, kids just seem to go along with it at face value. Which is exactly the reason I've had to work so hard to convince Lucie that turtleneck shirts are not actually made from the necks of turtles.) Anyways ... "Do you know why Adam and Eve are sad?" I asked, pointing at the picture of them sorrowfully leaving the garden. "I sure do, " Lucie assured me. "They are sad because they don't have any parents." Impressive, huh? Clearly, she’d been processing and following along. "Well there is that," I prodded her, "and also they have to leave the ...

I Scream, You Scream

My mom and dad risked shame and flogging by wrapping up a kitchen appliance for my birthday. My mom, knowing how I feel about presents that plug-in, questioned Rob twice: "Are you sure that's what she wants?" But I did want it very much, and I'm not ashamed to say it: I'm in love with an ice cream maker. July is National Ice Cream month, and my family is doing our part to celebrate. We've sampled and modified a number of homemade ice cream experiments, and have narrowed it down to two recipes that everyone loves. Think of this post as a Wagner Family Ice Cream Cookbook. The competition is by no means closed. July is a long, hot month and we are always willing to whip up another batch. Submit your favorite homemade ice cream recipe in the comments section below. (Particularly if you've got one that tastes like Haagen Dazs Coffee, hint hint.) Happy freezing! And remember: there is almost nothing that ice cream can't fix. COPYCAT PINKB...

Long Way from Home

What a whirlwind these few months have been, filled with lots of unpacking and challenging weather. As well as the fun of exploring beautiful and historic scenery. The people of Annapolis have been kind and encouraging. Autumn has launched a huge campaign to win my favor, and I can't say it isn't working. And yet my heart is still in California. I am desperately missing my family and friends and the familiarity of "home." It feels as though I am grieving, and I guess that I am. There is an emptiness that won't go away. I can barely hold it together for phone calls home. I feel like a child at my first sleep away camp, trying to be brave and not beg them to come and get me. My grandma is moving into the home, and I'd love to be there to help her (and my mom) through this transition. A Santa Barbara friend starts chemo next week, and I'm not around to bring meals or help with the carpool. Friends are posting pictures at the pumpkin patch, a place ...

Montecito Mama

Search This Blog