Santa Barbara, CA - Living

[pops 7007]

5 hours ago, NoRagrets said:

We went to carpinteria but the weather sucked, so we grabbed some food at the spot and hit the road back to SB.

Refugio Beach was badass. Saw starfish, sea urchins, surfers, and a dude snorkeling for lobster.

Refugio is great. We always head up there for an afternoon when we are in carp. Feels like you are a million miles away from anything. 

There are 2 and, if we are lucky,  3 actual low tides during the month and the whole coastline there is unreal in how much it reveals with all the tide pools and what not. Central coast is the best coast. 

We were there for the flood of 2018. 101 was completely shut down southbound for a week. Northbound for 3. The first 3 or 4 days there was no internet,  no TV,  no cell service. Nothing. All you could get was radio. It was surreal and pretty awesome looking back. 

[Gil Bang 26048]

7 hours ago, pops said:

Refugio is great. We always head up there for an afternoon when we are in carp. Feels like you are a million miles away from anything. 

There are 2 and, if we are lucky,  3 actual low tides during the month and the whole coastline there is unreal in how much it reveals with all the tide pools and what not. Central coast is the best coast. 

We were there for the flood of 2018. 101 was completely shut down southbound for a week. Northbound for 3. The first 3 or 4 days there was no internet,  no TV,  no cell service. Nothing. All you could get was radio. It was surreal and pretty awesome looking back. 

Did you have a sex tent?

[pops 7007]

Been here a week. Didn't get the rain they got up north,  but the waves were crazy.  This is our 6th year spending January here. They build this berm every year to protect the places on the beach. High tide and maybe a storm and the waves will reach the bottom of the berm. Wednesday and Thursday nights the waves came over the berm. That's a D6 in the background for reference. 

[South Austin 52629]

Flying out there on Thursday for the MLK weekend.  Spending two nights in Los Olivos, and two nights in Santa Barbara.  It's supposed to rain most of the time, which is fine, but am hoping it's not monsoon conditions. 

[We’reTexas 1473]

2 hours ago, South Austin said:

Flying out there on Thursday for the MLK weekend.  Spending two nights in Los Olivos, and two nights in Santa Barbara.  It's supposed to rain most of the time, which is fine, but am hoping it's not monsoon conditions. 

Staying in Los Olivos? Nice. Bar le Côte is incredible. 

[South Austin 52629]

3 minutes ago, We’reTexas said:

Staying in Los Olivos? Nice. Bar le Côte is incredible. 

Good to hear.  We're having dinner there on Friday night.  Thursday night at Los Olivos Cafe, where Miles drunk-dialed his ex wife in Sideways.  I've been to that one before.

[Carl Spackler 3505]

The wife and I had dinner at Nella in Los Olivos recently, and it was good.  The sausage and potato pinsa (kind of a flatbread) was pretty tasty.

Brewer-Clifton remains a good choice if you want to taste pinot.  Fig Mtn. has a brewery right next to it.  Curried chicken salad sandwich at Panino for lunch.  But, yeah, it's gonna be raining on you for at least part of the time.  We need it, though.

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by Carl Spackler

[pops 7007]

It's not good. Getting strong 2018 vibes. This is carpinteria creek. It usually doesn't have enough water in it to make it to the ocean. If it does,  it's maybe 2 feet wide and a couple inches deep.  And the hard shit isn't supposed to start for a bit. I'll be shocked if the 101 is open tomorrow in the low spots between Montecito and Santa barbara. 

For reference..... this was a couple days ago and I'm standing pretty much in the middle of where that river is on the video. 

Edited January 10, 2023 by pops

[The Ace of Aces 5194]

Timely bump. Thinning of a SoCal trip next December- where should we stay in SB? Had a trip planned for 2020 and we know how that went. Had booked El Encanto but prefer closer to the beach this trip. The nicer, the better. House would be fine too but I tend to not like airbnbs. San Ysidro is probably a bit out of my price range. 
 

We’d be there 3 or 4 days - one up to Hearst Castle, one in Paso Robles, one in the city proper. 

[Biff Tannen 45750]

1 hour ago, pops said:

It's not good. Getting strong 2018 vibes. This is carpinteria creek. It usually doesn't have enough water in it to make it to the ocean. If it does,  it's maybe 2 feet wide and a couple inches deep.  And the hard shit isn't supposed to start for a bit. I'll be shocked if the 101 is open tomorrow in the low spots between Montecito and Santa barbara. 

 

For reference..... this was a couple days ago and I'm standing pretty much in the middle of where that river is on the video. 

Wat?  Are you invisible?  ETA: didn't realize it was a video

Also, I was here for New Year's and it rained the whole time.  Got blasted in Solvang though.

Edited January 10, 2023 by Biff Tannen

[pops 7007]

11 minutes ago, The Ace of Aces said:

Timely bump. Thinning of a SoCal trip next December- where should we stay in SB? Had a trip planned for 2020 and we know how that went. Had booked El Encanto but prefer closer to the beach this trip. The nicer, the better. House would be fine too but I tend to not like airbnbs. San Ysidro is probably a bit out of my price range. 
 

We’d be there 3 or 4 days - one up to Hearst Castle, one in Paso Robles, one in the city proper. 

The four seasons is definitely on the side of the nicer the better. But i love the fess Parker. I think it's called the Hilton beachfront or something like that now. Right on Cabrillo. 

[The Ace of Aces 5194]

14 minutes ago, pops said:

The four seasons is definitely on the side of the nicer the better. But i love the fess Parker. I think it's called the Hilton beachfront or something like that now. Right on Cabrillo. 

FS has been closed for years apparently. 

Would staying in Cambria or something be even better than SB since we’ll be basing for days trips?

[pops 7007]

5 minutes ago, The Ace of Aces said:

FS has been closed for years apparently. 

Would staying in Cambria or something be even better than SB since we’ll be basing for days trips?

Ha!  Had no idea. Ty Warner is a weird cat.

I've never stayed up in cambria but that's a good 2 to 2.5 hours north of Santa barbara. But if you're doing Hurst and paso Robles maybe morrow Bay would be good.  I know there are good spots up there but I'm just not as familiar.

[We’reTexas 1473]

17 minutes ago, The Ace of Aces said:

FS has been closed for years apparently. 

Would staying in Cambria or something be even better than SB since we’ll be basing for days trips?

That’s almost four hours away, I consider those different trips. But Cambria is a really cool little town. Lodging is pretty modest, but tbf we just stay at something cheap as we are driving through. 
 

But if you are staying in the area I have to toss out the Madonna Inn, just cuz.  

Edited January 10, 2023 by We’reTexas

[The Ace of Aces 5194]

3 minutes ago, We’reTexas said:

That’s almost four hours away, I consider those different trips. But Cambria is a really cool little town. Lodging is pretty modest, but tbf we just stay at something cheap as we are driving through. 
 

But if you are staying in the area I have to toss out the Madonna Inn, just cuz.  

Yea, def would be different. Preliminary stages. Will be in LA for 4 days at the Peninsula BH - only ”must” on the 2nd leg is Hearst Castle for us. SB looks like fun, but if somewhere up the coast is a better fit so be it.  

[South Austin 52629]

15 hours ago, pops said:

It's not good. Getting strong 2018 vibes. This is carpinteria creek. It usually doesn't have enough water in it to make it to the ocean. If it does,  it's maybe 2 feet wide and a couple inches deep.  And the hard shit isn't supposed to start for a bit. I'll be shocked if the 101 is open tomorrow in the low spots between Montecito and Santa barbara. 

 

For reference..... this was a couple days ago and I'm standing pretty much in the middle of where that river is on the video. 

How’s it looking out there @pops? We’re looking at possibly cancelling our trip. The worry is that we get to LAX on Thursday no problem, but have no way of getting to Los Olivos or Santa Barbara.

[Carl Spackler 3505]

It's been raining steadily in Pasadena, and I know there's been flooding and evacuations in the SB and Montecito areas.  The 101 is closed between Ventura and SB.  And the 166 is closed for now as well, so you wouldn't be able to take I-5 north, go west on the 166, and then drop down into Los Olivos from the Santa Maria area.  Right now it's a big shitshow in that area of CA.    

Edited January 10, 2023 by Carl Spackler

[South Austin 52629]

30 minutes ago, Carl Spackler said:

It's been raining steadily in Pasadena, and I know there's been flooding and evacuations in the SB and Montecito areas.  The 101 is closed between Ventura and SB.  And the 166 is closed for now as well, so you wouldn't be able to take I-5 north, go west on the 166, and then drop down into Los Olivos from the Santa Maria area.  Right now it's a big shitshow in that area of CA.    

Thanks, Spackler.  Doesn't sound promising.  We might have to pull the trigger on canceling our trip tomorrow.  The last thing we want to do is get to LAX and be stuck in L.A. for four days.  Or, we're able to traverse the roads but everything in Los Olivos and/or Santa Barbara is a muddy wet mess.

[texasdago 7581]

On a conference call with someone in Northern California right now and they mentioned having to put out sandbags because of a creek that runs behind their house.

[pops 7007]

2 hours ago, South Austin said:

How’s it looking out there @pops? We’re looking at possibly cancelling our trip. The worry is that we get to LAX on Thursday no problem, but have no way of getting to Los Olivos or Santa Barbara.

It's not bad now and supposed to be dryish for the next few days. 101 is still closed but it doesn't sound like there was any mud so I'm guessing it will reopen soon. 

I have some buddies that are planning on coming in to golf this weekend and they are in the same boat as you. Forecast keeps changing but it appears the worst is behind us. Just not sure how quick everything is going to open back up. 

[South Austin 52629]

1 minute ago, pops said:

It's not bad now and supposed to be dryish for the next few days. 101 is still closed but it doesn't sound like there was any mud so I'm guessing it will reopen soon. 

I have some buddies that are planning on coming in to golf this weekend and they are in the same boat as you. Forecast keeps changing but it appears the worst is behind us. Just not sure how quick everything is going to open back up. 

My weather app has a 92% chance of rain with up to an inch of rain in Santa Barbara on Saturday, when we would be moving from Los Olivos to SB. 

We're past our cancellation window for the Fess Parker Inn at Los Olivos, but they indicated they won't penalize us if we decide to cancel given the weather.

[Hefeweizen 5334]

Not going to spoil a good SB thread but yeah the wind has been insane up and down the coast.  Lots of flooding and Big Sur is pretty much cut off from the world right now.

[pops 7007]

13 minutes ago, South Austin said:

My weather app has a 92% chance of rain with up to an inch of rain in Santa Barbara on Saturday, when we would be moving from Los Olivos to SB. 

We're past our cancellation window for the Fess Parker Inn at Los Olivos, but they indicated they won't penalize us if we decide to cancel given the weather.

Yeah. Supposed to rain Sat and sun but it just keeps changing. 2 days ago Friday and Saturday were clear with a chance of rain Sunday. Now it's showing good until Friday evening then rain off and on Saturday. And again Sunday. 

@caltransd5 is the Twitter handle for the dot in this region and is giving decent updates. 

Edited January 10, 2023 by pops

[pops 7007]

5 hours ago, South Austin said:

My weather app has a 92% chance of rain with up to an inch of rain in Santa Barbara on Saturday, when we would be moving from Los Olivos to SB. 

We're past our cancellation window for the Fess Parker Inn at Los Olivos, but they indicated they won't penalize us if we decide to cancel given the weather.

101 south is open now from Santa barbara to ventura. 101 northbound is supposed to open in a couple hours. So if you decide to come you won't be stuck in LA. 

[We’reTexas 1473]

Yes, but more rain during the weekend unfortunately. 

[South Austin 52629]

14 hours ago, We’reTexas said:

Yes, but more rain during the weekend unfortunately. 

Looking that way.  We pulled the plug on our trip.  Sucks.  The trip was for my finacee's 50th birthday, so she's pretty down about it.  We'll just reschedule for a Spring or Summer visit. 

[SydneyCarton 48203]

23 hours ago, South Austin said:

How’s it looking out there @pops? We’re looking at possibly cancelling our trip. The worry is that we get to LAX on Thursday no problem, but have no way of getting to Los Olivos or Santa Barbara.

 

36 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Looking that way.  We pulled the plug on our trip.  Sucks.  The trip was for my finacee's 50th birthday, so she's pretty down about it.  We'll just reschedule for a Spring or Summer visit. 

Sorry to hear that man, but considering the weather and now the FAA bullshit and flight nightmare today (which I assume will have ripple effects for the next week or more) I think pulling the plug was the smartest move you could have mode.

Probably still time to book a long weekend at a resort in the hill country and pamper yourselves that way for the weekend. It's not the same, but it's something, and like you said you can reschedule in a few months. 

[MalibuSheriff 1091]

51 minutes ago, South Austin said:

Looking that way.  We pulled the plug on our trip.  Sucks.  The trip was for my finacee's 50th birthday, so she's pretty down about it.  We'll just reschedule for a Spring or Summer visit. 

That’s a bummer.   A great backup idea - Gage Hotel trip.  Weather looks to be stellar out there this weekend.  I took my wife there on her 50th birthday and she had a fantastic birthday.  Great food and pampered amenities for the ladies.  I doubt you’d have any trouble booking a room on late notice.

One of the very best places to relax.

[South Austin 52629]

31 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Sorry to hear that man, but considering the weather and now the FAA bullshit and flight nightmare today (which I assume will have ripple effects for the next week or more) I think pulling the plug was the smartest move you could have mode.

Probably still time to book a long weekend at a resort in the hill country and pamper yourselves that way for the weekend. It's not the same, but it's something, and like you said you can reschedule in a few months. 

 

13 minutes ago, MalibuSheriff said:

That’s a bummer.   A great backup idea - Gage Hotel trip.  Weather looks to be stellar out there this weekend.  I took my wife there on her 50th birthday and she had a fantastic birthday.  Great food and pampered amenities for the ladies.  I doubt you’d have any trouble booking a room on late notice.

One of the very best places to relax.

Thanks, guys.  Given the holiday weekend, a lot of shit in Austin and surrounding areas was booked up, so I just got a room at the Four Seasons and managed to find a few nice restaurants that still had availability, so we'll have a downtown staycation.  Between the setting of the Four Seasons and the Apple Watch I got her as a birthday present, chances of getting laid are strong to quite strong.

[SydneyCarton 48203]

31 minutes ago, South Austin said:

 

Thanks, guys.  Given the holiday weekend, a lot of shit in Austin and surrounding areas was booked up, so I just got a room at the Four Seasons and managed to find a few nice restaurants that still had availability, so we'll have a downtown staycation.  Between the setting of the Four Seasons and the Apple Watch I got her as a birthday present, chances of getting laid are strong to quite strong.

Considering the fact you jumped right back into marriage with the first filly out of the box, at this stage of your life, I'd hope that your chances of getting laid are strong to quite strong if all you got her was a smile. Otherwise, you've MadeAHugeMistake.Gif

[South Austin 52629]

2 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Considering the fact you jumped right back into marriage with the first filly out of the box, at this stage of your life, I'd hope that your chances of getting laid are strong to quite strong if all you got her was a smile. Otherwise, you've MadeAHugeMistake.Gif

The chances are still strong to quite strong on a random Monday, but it helps to bolster them on a birthday weekend when she's a little blue about a cancelled vacation.  It would have been the first time in her life that she's ever traveled on her birthday.

[SydneyCarton 48203]

4 minutes ago, South Austin said:

The chances are still strong to quite strong on a random Monday, but it helps to bolster them on a birthday weekend when she's a little blue about a cancelled vacation.  It would have been the first time in her life that she's ever traveled on her birthday.

I mean, she's still going to travel...just not very far, is all. It sucks she's bummed out, but it makes sense. Sadly mother nature isn't always cooperating. 

My wife and I tried several times to do a quick weekend trip to San Antonio, at I think La Cantera. We had to cancel both times (while she was pregnant) one was for Harvey, and another was something else. She was also bummed, and now she says that "We're never trying to book that fucking place ever again, clearly it's cursed for us." So, you know, I understand your pain. 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

Dumb question:

Is CA able to collect a good chunk of this water for future use or is it all falling too close to the coastline and not being captured?

[Ghost of LL 15544]

2 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Dumb question:

Is CA able to collect a good chunk of this water for future use or is it all falling too close to the coastline and not being captured?

Right now, it's the latter.  

But the storms are now moving into the Central Valley and on into the mountains, where it can be held in reservoirs.

What's really needed is for these storms to make their way between Salt Lake City and Denver to dump in the Colorado River watershed.  There's been some in that area, but they need a lot more.

[We’reTexas 1473]

2 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Dumb question:

Is CA able to collect a good chunk of this water for future use or is it all falling too close to the coastline and not being captured?

Long story short, most is lost to groundwater but these storms are the still the state’s largest source of water via the snowpack (which is generally 2x larger right now than usual this time of year)
 

Sorry for everyone who had to cancel trips, this sucks. 

Edited January 11, 2023 by We’reTexas

[Ten Bears 2483]

I canceled and rebooked to this weekend a trip to see my daughter in San Francisco/Oakland last weekend because of the rain (so I missed the SWA shit show too luckily).  Then I canceled that trip this morning due to the rain (and more possible airline shenanigans).

Going to try next weekend.  Third time is the charm!

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

3 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

Right now, it's the latter.  

But the storms are now moving into the Central Valley and on into the mountains, where it can be held in reservoirs.

What's really needed is for these storms to make their way between Salt Lake City and Denver to dump in the Colorado River watershed.  There's been some in that area, but they need a lot more.

Live smack dab in the middle of that watershed…We had a monsoonal summer and have had the wettest early winter that I have experienced in the past decade. It’s been awesome.

Edited January 12, 2023 by DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt

[Carl Spackler 3505]

47 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Live smack dab in the middle of that watershed….

Whereabouts (if you don't mind me asking)?

[SydneyCarton 48203]

13 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Live smack dab in the middle of that watershed…We had a monsoonal summer and have had the wettest early winter that I have experienced in the past decade. It’s been awesome.

And I assume it's still just a bb off an elephant's ass in terms of what the watershed needs to even remotely recover anything substantial, right?

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

19 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

And I assume it's still just a bb off an elephant's ass in terms of what the watershed needs to even remotely recover anything substantial, right?

I've wondered the same....it's weird because at least up here closer to where the majority of that snowpack needs to accumulate, it seems like most years are average to better than average, and there's only been a couple of winters/summers that felt like a drought.

According to this, it seems like by and large the Colorado River Basin is holding up.

You can see the 'short-term' moisture is abnormally high right in the area you mentioned previously.

 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

I have to think that if the late season conditions match what we have seen thus far the bigger reservoirs down stream would get most of that water and there would be noticeable improvement in terms of their levels.

Edited January 12, 2023 by DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt

[Foosters 17889]

On 1/10/2023 at 8:43 AM, Carl Spackler said:

It's been raining steadily in Pasadena, and I know there's been flooding and evacuations in the SB and Montecito areas.  The 101 is closed between Ventura and SB.  And the 166 is closed for now as well, so you wouldn't be able to take I-5 north, go west on the 166, and then drop down into Los Olivos from the Santa Maria area.  Right now it's a big shitshow in that area of CA.    

Are you in Pasadena?

[Foosters 17889]

On 1/11/2023 at 11:44 AM, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Dumb question:

Is CA able to collect a good chunk of this water for future use or is it all falling too close to the coastline and not being captured?

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/11/1148421818/heavy-rain-is-still-hitting-california-a-few-reservoirs-figured-out-how-to-captu

 

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-01-06/why-cant-we-capture-all-this-storm-water

 

The latter:

Quote

The Los Angeles River roared to life this week as a series of powerful storms moved through the Southland. In Long Beach, 3 feet of water shut down the 710 Freeway in both directions, while flooding in the San Fernando Valley forced the closure of the Sepulveda Basin.

It was by all accounts a washout, but despite heaps of water pouring into the area, drought-weary Los Angeles won’t be able to save even half of it. The region’s system of engineered waterways is designed to whisk L.A.'s stormwater out to sea — a strategy intended to reduce flooding that nonetheless sacrifices countless precious gallons.

Voters in 2018 approved Measure W, which is aimed at improving L.A.'s aging stormwater capture system. Officials are making progress, but experts say there’s a long way to go. Of an estimated 5 billion to 10 billion gallons pouring into the Los Angeles Basin from current storms, only about 20% will be captured by the county.

“In a region that imports 60% of our water, it’s just a huge untapped potential for a local water supply,” said Bruce Reznik, executive director of L.A. Waterkeeper. “We passed the Safe Clean Water Program to get us there, but we’re just not there yet. It’s going to take us some years."\\

Many years, in fact. County officials have said it will take three to five decades to build its stormwater capture system to full capacity, with the ultimate goal of capturing 300,000 acre-feet, or roughly 98 billion gallons, of water annually.

Part of the challenge is that the current system was built about 100 years ago, in an era when Angelenos were more concerned about saving lives and property from flooding than they were about drought. Their solution was to lay millions of barrels of concrete to get rid of that water faster — channelizing the L.A. River, Ballona Creek and nearly every other waterway in the area.

Though a few regional watersheds, such as the Upper San Gabriel River, have good soils and systems for capturing stormwater, they are few and far between, with the vast majority of water that comes to the region “on a superhighway to get out,” said Reznik.

“Water is the most precious resource we have, something that we cannot live without, and yet we do everything we can, when it comes to rain, to get rid of it as soon as possible,” he said.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Works spokesman Kerjon Lee said Measure W is working, however. Since its approval in 2018, the agency has awarded $400 million to more than 100 regional infrastructure projects, such as the Rory M. Shaw Wetlands Park Project to convert a 46-acre landfill into a wetlands park that can collect stormwater runoff.

But he also said much of the rain is ending up in the Pacific, with L.A. River outflows measuring about 28,500 cubic feet per second Thursday.

“The conditions were ripe for capturing more, but when it comes all at once — which is kind of how we get our water here — we’ve got to move that water away from city streets and away from properties to save life and property,” Lee said. “We have that dual mission: flood protection and supporting local water supply.”

City officials said similarly that stormwater capture capability is improving, including about 20 projects from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in the last decade. Updates to the Tujunga Spreading Grounds facility in the San Fernando Valley, for example, doubled its ability to capture stormwater from 8,000 acre-feet per year to 16,000.

 

[Carl Spackler 3505]

48 minutes ago, Foosters said:

Are you in Pasadena?

My office is there.

[ClubWhatever 12158]

Ran into Michael Keaton at the Botanic Gardens.  No pics but did happen.

[HenryJames 66188]

On 1/12/2023 at 3:40 PM, Carl Spackler said:

My office is there.

[gernblansten 3197]

14 hours ago, ClubWhatever said:

Ran into Michael Keaton at the Botanic Gardens.  No pics but did happen.

[CooterBrown 18032]

16 hours ago, ClubWhatever said:

Ran into Michael Keaton at the Botanic Gardens. 

Michael Keaton, probably.

 

[ClubWhatever 12158]

Oh, I have no doubt that my presence registered exactly zero blips on his radar.  Interesting note:  he appeared to have dyed his eyebrows black.

[South Austin 52629]

18 hours ago, ClubWhatever said:

Ran into Michael Keaton at the Botanic Gardens.  No pics but did happen.