Hangin Out at the Jail

Santa Barbara is one of the most picturesque cities I've ever visited. Mountains to the east, the ocean to the west, with beautiful architecture and people in between. We stayed at the Upham Inn, two blocks from Main Street, a pleasant walk down a tree lined city street. The Inn is reminiscent of any other victorian inn, with comfortable furniture, expansive porches and a fire in the fireplace in the main lobby. It was chilly at night, in the 40's, so sitting by the fire with a glass of chardonnay followed by oreo cookies before bed was the perfect ending to a perfectly fun day.

The train ride to Santa Barbara was shared witha lovely lady from NYC. Traveling alone, she was on her way to visit her niece. We shared stories and contact information, and promised to be in touch. We were greeted at the tiny train station in Santa Barbara by Jeff-and we almost missed him too! As we headed inside to use the restrooms....again.

One of the highlights of our visit was a trip to Jeff's office...located in what used to be the Santa Barbara jail. His office was actually in a cell....on the 4th floor of the Santa Barbara Courthouse-made famous for the location of Michael Jackson's trial, amoing others. Across the beautifully landscaped grounds through the immaculately tiled stucco courthouse, up the antiquated elevator..beyond the blanket, hung from the ceiling to keep out the draft, sits the office of city planning...with an absolute breathtaking view of Santa Barbara and the surrounding countryside.
"Do you want to see solitary confinement? Go ahead in, I'll take your picture!" How creepy was that. You could actually feel the ghosts of inmates crawling behind the chipped paint of the creaky steel barred doors and cement walls.
"I like it up here..it's very quiet and peaceful." Jeff's cell is about the size of a closet, with bars on his one little window...where he sits and does the work of a city planner. How ironic that his city and the courthouse are so beautiful.

Once down the twisted staircase, out into the bright Santa Barbara sunshine, we spent the rest of the day shopping and sunning. Hopping the trolley back to the train station, we were met by others on their way home from somewhere. An elderly gentleman sat down next to me, and proclaimed he was retired from professional baseball. He claimed he was a former pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers....and pitching coach for the Red Sox. He claimed he played with Ted Williams, and he hadn't watched television since the 90's. Radio was his thing....As we approached the train station, he departed and went on his way...a myth or the real deal? Who can say...

One thing is for sure, you never really know who you will run into out here, where famous people walk the streets and live their lives side by side with the locals. The train ride back to Solana Beach was delayed, but we made it back safely, nontheless...no detours this time. No big adventures, no surprises, but lots of memories and pictures.