california, part 2: santa barbara + ventura.

So it’s been over a month since we’ve been back from our trip to California and I’m just getting around to sharing more of the photos…June was a whirlwind (but fun!) month, to say the least. One of the things I love so much about where I grew up is that you can get to so many other places within just a few hours, making for countless day trip opportunities. Santa Barbara has always been one of my favorite coastal cities, and Kevin had never been, so we decided to make a day out of it before heading south to Ventura later to meet up with Jolie. It was pouring rain for the majority of our drive, which made for a stressful trip, so by the time we arrived we were good and ready for some food and a drink! We grabbed a seat at the bar at Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co., tried a couple of beer flights, and ordered a pizza from a nearby shop.

After lunch we headed over to the Santa Barbara Mission. I’ve been a few times but this was Kevin’s first California Mission visit! It was still raining so we didn’t do much exploring but enjoyed checking out the museum, gardens, cemetery, church, etc. All of the missions are gorgeous in their own way but I’ve always really liked this one, and it was fun showing Kevin around!

After exploring the mission for awhile, we headed back down the 101 to Ventura. We spotted a brewery right off our freeway exit so we decided to check it out! It turns out they had just opened a couple days earlier! All the staff were super friendly, and we really liked all of their beers!

After trying out some beers at Topa Topa, we met up with Jolie at her apartment and ate and drank our way down Main Street – sangria and pizza at Cafe Fiore, beers in mini boots and pulled pork nachos at Saloon BBQ, and a dessert trio with wine at Paradise Pantry. Everything was delicious, and I loved getting to experience downtown Ventura – such a cute area and super walkable! Of course, the highlight of the evening was getting to spend some quality time with my bff.

We spent the night at Jolie’s and got up early the next morning to head out for a beachfront run – it was a little humid, but otherwise perfect breezy running weather, with gorgeous views!