Santa Barbara

Today we left San Luis and headed south down highway One. We stopped off to visit an incredibly well restored Spanish Mission from the 1820s, before stopping in Solvang (a Danish settlement) for lunch and a bit of wine tasting. After lunch we drove down past Lake Cachuma and into Santa Barbara where we are spending the night. We went to the cinema this afternoon to see Oceans 13 and have just eaten Thai food. Santa Barbara is a nice town, but, like many towns along the Californian coast, is totally geared for tourism and can feel a little like an up market version of Yarmouth. We drive down to LA tomorrow (which should involve some "star spotting" in Malibu and Hollywood) and then fly to New Zealand in the evening. It's an odd mixture of feelings - a little disappointment at leaving the US so soon, which is immediately displaced by the excitement of going to New Zealand (a bit like ending a holiday only to immediately go on another one!).