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The Treasure of Elings Park

September 10, 2012 by Charron's Chatter 3 Comments

Now and then, I just want to enjoy the view when I go outside, and since I logged a whopping 8 mile run yesterday, today’s an optimum day to go easy on the kneesies & take it down a peg or 6. Something I’ll accomplish by going up, oddly enough, but not that far up, so if you’re in the mood for a walk in Elings park, grab your webby ,waffle stompers and pretend trail mix, and tread read on, chickens.

Elings Park

easy–but not THAT easy!

In keeping with the minimal effort & maximum reward of lite exercise, instead of driving the time-consuming 10 minutes to 7 Falls or even putting a “GH” in the word “lite” for that matter, we’ll be trailing around the city today, and above it, too, and wait’ll you see what hidden treasure lies this quicker 5 minutes away—from anybody in the quaint berg of SB.

You read right. The treasure of the Sierra Club Trail Madre (artistic license) is found just above the picnic tables, soccer fields and softball diamonds of Elings, and in addition to the privately funded, public park’s BMX track, war memorial and amphitheater. Sure, the temperatures are in the 80’s today & the air’s pretty darn still, too, but the entire looping trail is just 1.5 miles long, and entirely bandit free. Continue reading →…

SB BEAUTIFUL
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Pssst! There’s a Dinosaur in my Butterfly Exhibit….

September 2, 2012 by Charron's Chatter 4 Comments

Butterflies–and more–at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

A right whale of a skeleton!

You’ve all had a chance to see how beautiful Santa Barbara is on the outside, so today we’re going inside SB—and deep into western America’s past, too—on a visit to our museum of Natural History. It turns out there’s still time to catch the tail end of not one but two dynamic shows the museum is presenting until next Sunday : “Butterflies Alive” & “Dinomania”, and the latter is a complete, fossil-licious surprise to this seeker of aging caterpillars.

What a big caterpillar!

I’m pretty sure if we play by the rules, though, and keep an eye out for errant butterflies and dinosaurs underfoot; sticking to the “Path” as outlined by the late, great Ray Bradbury in his short story: “The Sound of Thunder”, both butterfly and animatronic T-Rex should be none the worse for our visit.

You can find “The Sound of Thunder” inside this anthology. The science fiction features T-Rex and Butterflies! Go figure…

Visiting the 800–1000 butterflies and moths flitting about the outdoor meshed enclosure is a no brainer temptation, all right, but the discovery of these extinctly & distinctly separate small-brainers lurking around the Fleischmann Auditorium merits a minute or two delay. After all, the chance to detour into earth’s late Cretaceous Period is a fleeting opportunity, too. Continue reading →…

SB BEAUTIFUL
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Hike 2 Miles, & Blog Me in the Morning…

August 26, 2012 by Charron's Chatter 4 Comments

A Hike to Santa Barbara’s Inspiration Point

Some days, you just need to get away from it all, and that day was yesterday for this Santa Barbara blogger. Feeling dejected by the plethora of so-called publishers out there—along with imaginary friends, inflated egos, and career carrots dangled and withdrawn—I grabbed my camera and headed out to the quiet of Santa Barbara’s Seven Falls. If there’s one thing I’ve learned by this stage of my life, chickens, it’s that Nature restores.

No valet parking!

And it’s not stingy about it, either. Just driving the winding route of Tunnel Road eased the senses, carved as it is, through Mission Canyon’s lushly forested, sandstone. So what if parking was such I had to park a full half-mile from the trailhead? With more than 5 separate trails leading from the front country to the back, it’s no wonder so many cyclists, runners and hikers were on site to enjoy.

Why, even chickens were out partaking of the late afternoon quiet! The instant I stepped out of my car, I happened upon these “wild chickens”—or at the very least extremely free-range chickens—foraging at the edge of an orange grove, their unrestrained movements echoing their lack of concern for my spastic shutterbugging. Continue reading →…

WEEKENDER

Fiesta Grande!

August 4, 2012 by Charron's Chatter 1 Comment

Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish Days. The motto for 2012 is:”Viva la Familia”.

Fiesta is always so Egg-citing! So festive and fun! And while this post covers a couple of the Old Spanish Days, if you’re looking for Animal House coverage–the one following revelers around the War Zone after hours–this isn’t the post for you.

Just a sampling of the myriad “Cascarones”–

–confetti-filled eggs on sale everywhere today.

Don’t get me wrong. Hitting the dance clubs is F-U-N, spelled out in capitals kind of fun, but it also has a time and place, and for me that time has turned-turned-turned. These days I look for a more ordered type of festivity, and since the scope of Fiesta is so grand; packing so many of our Santa Barbara venues with a spectrum of entertainments that range from concerts & carnivals, parades & talent shows–to flamenco dancing & wine tastings, horse shows & pancake breakfasts, it’s easy enough for this blogger to find the right fit.

I won’t be drinking any of these Giganter ‘Ritas! Just check out the ratio of elbow to glass!

Fiesta Pequeña fit pretty well. For me and hundreds of others. Opening night ceremonies finds neighborhood folks and out-of-town visitors alike trundling blankets and beach chairs down to the old Mission, ready to kick off the 5 day celebration of the Spanish influx into California with a free concert on the lawn featuring ethnic music and dance. Continue reading →…

SB BEAUTIFUL

Fiesta Pequena Old Spanish Days Opening Night 2012

August 2, 2012 by Charron's Chatter Comments Off on Fiesta Pequena Old Spanish Days Opening Night 2012

Hey, chick-a-deez! This is my 2nd attempt at the videe–I’ll write a blog post proper about the whole fiasco–whoops–Fiesta Celebration here in SB, but this post is just for fun. Available also on YouTube, this is a peek at the opening night ceremonies to Old Spanish Days, aka Fiesta.
 

 
The ceremony at the old Mission is called: Fiesta Pequena, and features an open-air concert on the lawns.
 

SB BEAUTIFUL

Santa Barbara Sailing Center: Jazz Cruise

July 22, 2012 by Charron's Chatter 20 Comments

All Jazz Hands on Deck

It’s always nice to catch up with an old friend. Especially when that friend is an ASA certified sailing instructor managing the Santa Barbara Sailing Center, a regular house boat of an operation “moored” just inside Marina Three at the eastern end of Santa Barbara harbor.

A gang plank I’m happy to walk. The khaki-shorted fella you see in the distance is none other than the Center’s manager & certified sailing instructor: Ian Fitzgerald.

That’s right, chickens. It’s back to the harbor today, courtesy of friend Ian Fitzgerald this time, since our blog adventure is off the charts today & off dry land, to boot. But maybe I should say: to boat—and then some, casting off aboard the Double Dolphin to enjoy its weekly Friday evening Jazz Cruise. Low-sodium humor aside, you’ll need your life vest, your sea legs, and your sweetie, too, because this coastal sail is as romantic as the Pacific is big. Continue reading →…

SB BEAUTIFUL

Santa Barbara’s French Festival 2012

July 16, 2012 by Charron's Chatter 11 Comments

L’Air du Temps

Red, White and Blue Eiffel!

Oak Park is the melting pot site for many of the ethnically themed festivals Santa Barbara hosts, but the French Festival is a hands-down favorite. Where else in America can you visit the Eiffel Tower, pick up a crepe and a mimosa from s street-side vendor, and catch an old school Can-Can show, complete with petticoated dancers? Without losing your bon-bons like you might in Nevada’s nod to our Freedom Brothers?

West Coast Ballet owned and operated by dance coach: Ellen Schipper

http://wcballet.org/

Nowhere but our own French Festival. So it’s with grande anticipation Jim and I stroll toward the embowered festivities, l’air of summer still, and in the pleasant to hot range of mid 70’s. Continue reading →…

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