Thursday, March 20, 2014

Day 5 - Santa Barbara

Last port today and we had super weather…again!  Santa Barbara really showed off today! 

We waited until after lunch to catch a tender to shore because of all the crowds wanting to go first!  It was a smooth 20 minute ride and we were dropped just about a block over from the wharf.  We caught a trolley bus into the middle of town and wandered around watching people and window shopping.  I will have to say there were more beggars on State Street than in Ensenada!  I couldn’t believe how many there were!  The downtown area is quite beautiful except for the street people.

We had a bit of excitement in the Right Aid store as I spotted Michael Imperioli (Christopher on the “Sopranos”) in the checkout line behind me!!  I had to do a double-take because he was so short!!  They always say TV adds 20 pounds but it also adds a fair bit of height to the men!  He must have done all his work standing on a milk crate!  Seeing him made me think of James Gandolfini and the movie we saw recently (his last with Julia Louis Dreyfus) that was so good! 

We came back to the ship after our walkabout and did some reading on the balcony while watching kayakers and paddle boarders off in the distance.

We did run into the LaFayette’s, Fabiani’s and Kovaleff’s while we were downtown!  They were trolleying around and had been to the Santa Barbara Mission.

Dinner was quick and upstairs in the buffett since it is formal night and we didn’t bring those kinds of clothes!

Tomorrow is our last day and it will be a sea day.  I will try and catch a trivia or two but with no set team it’s hard at this point to crash a team.  Maybe I can drag the Commodore along….!
We ran into a crew member that remembered us from last summer with the whole family aboard.  She is from Thailand and her name is “Meow”!!  I’m sure that’s not her real Thai name!  Anyway, she is going home on Saturday for her vacation but will join the Emerald Princess when she gets back and will be seeing us in October when we do a transatlantic on that ship!! 

As Bugs Bunny says, “that’s all folks”!!
XOXOXO
M
Below is Santa Barbara from our balcony and the lower picture is the top floor of the atrium where the balloons are awaiting their drop later in the evening! (we'll be sleeping through the excitement!)


4 comments:

  1. What's the outcome of the balloon drop?

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    1. No idea!! We turned in early! It was a formal night and I'm sure they dropped the balloons late in the evening. I think it was prettier from above!!

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  2. Seems like a perfect decompression vacation after all you went through this past year. Richly deserved.
    However, just from my point of view, I would have traded two "Scooter Sues" for one Drake. I think we know now what happened to him (and explains the loud splash we heard on the last night of the Alaska trip).

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    1. Apparently, Scooter Sue has about 100 cruises with Princess and writes down all the trivia questions!!! Wonder why she doesn't win more often? (Insert evil laugh here) Drake was such a pipsqueak that his splash would have been nearly silent. The anchor attached to his leg would have made a louder noise!

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