Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
306
collected your mail.
Leo's Drugstore
(
&
310/510-0189
) is the obvious spot to pick up
the sunscreen that you forgot to pack.
Von's,
located on Metropole Avenue in the center
of town, and
Von's Express
on Catalina Avenue, are Avalon's main grocery stores where
you'll find all your food staples.
4
SANTA BARBARA
92 miles NW of Los Angeles
Situated between palm-lined Pacific beaches and the sloping foothills of the S anta Ynez
Mountains, this prosperous resort community presents a mosaic of white washed stucco
and red-tile roofs and a gracious, relaxed attitude that has earned it the sobriquet Ameri-
can Riviera. I t's ideal for kicking back on gold-sand beaches, pr owling the shops and
galleries that line the village 's historic str eets, and r elaxing over a meal in one of many
top-notch cafes and restaurants.
Downtown S anta B arbara is distinctiv e for its S panish-Mediterranean ar chitecture.
But it wasn't always this way . Santa Barbara had a thriving N ative American Chumash
population for hundreds, if not thousands, of y ears. The European era began in the late
18th centur y ar ound a S panish
presidio
(for t) that 's been r econstructed in its original
spot. The earliest architectural hodgepodge was destr oyed in 1925 b y a powerful earth-
quake that lev eled the business district. O ut of the r ubble rose the S panish-Mediterra-
nean to wn of today , a stylish planned community that continues to enfor
11
ce strict
building codes.
Visit Santa Barbara's waterfront on a Sunday and you're sure to see the weekly
Arts and
Crafts Show,
one of the city 's best-loved traditions. S ince 1965, ar tists, craftspeople, and
street performers have been lining grassy Chase Palm Park, along Cabrillo Boulevard.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE
By car, U.S. 101 r uns right thr ough Santa Barbara; it's the fastest
and most dir ect route from north or south (1
1
/
2
hr. from Los Angeles, 6 hr . from San
Francisco).
By train,
Amtrak
(
&
800/USA-RAIL
[800/872-7245]; www .amtrak.com) offers
daily ser vice to S anta B arbara. Trains arriv e and depar t fr om the
Santa Barbara R ail
Station,
209 State St. (
&
805/963-1015
). Fares can be as low as $40 (round-trip) from
Los Angeles's Union Station.
ORIENTATION
State Street, the city 's primary commercial thoroughfare, is the geo-
graphic center of town. It ends at Stearns Wharf and Cabrillo Boulevard; the latter runs
along the ocean and separates the city 's beaches fr om touristy hotels and r estaurants.
Electric shuttles provide frequent service along these two r outes if you'd rather leave the
car behind.
VISITOR INFORMATION
The
Santa B arbara Confer ence and Visitors B ureau,
1601 Anacopa St.;
&
805/966-9222;
www.santabarbaraca.com), distributes maps, bro-
chures, an ev ents calendar, and information. I t's open M onday thr ough F riday fr om
8:30am to 5pm.
Be sur e y ou pick up a copy of the
Santa B arbara I ndependent,
a fr ee w eekly, with
articles and events listings; and
Explore Santa Barbara,
a compact visitor's guide published
by the local paper, the
News-Press.
Both are available at shops and sidewalk racks through-
out town.
