I have a lot of history with Santa Barbara. My dad lived there most of his life, and his mom stayed there until just a few years ago, when she moved with my aunt and uncle to Berkley. My mom is from Palos Verdes but moved up to Santa Barbara to attend UCSB for college. She met my dad there, and they lived there for about 5 years before moving up to Oregon together.

Growing up, I would go to Santa Barbara at least once a year to visit my grandma and other family friends, and always had an amazing time. I have such fond memories of staying up on the hill in Montecito at my grandma's house, taking trips down to the beach, eating lunch on the pier, and walking down State Street.

Oddly enough, David also has family history in Santa Barbara. His mom went to school at UCSB also, and later his cousin went there as well. His cousin Josh stayed there after college, and earlier this month got married there! David and I were lucky enough to to go down for the wedding, and it was so great getting to explore the city together.

We stayed at an adorable house just blocks off Paseo Nuevo and State Street, and we spent a lot of our free time wandering around the shops and restaurants. The weather was amazing, and it was so great being in the sunshine after the fall weather in Portland.

During the trip we also took a boat tour with other wedding guests, which was a great way to get to learn more about the bride and groom and see Santa Barbara from the ocean. We toured the Courthouse, which offered great 360 degree views of the whole city.

The wedding itself was absolutely gorgeous, and it was great spending time with David's family and getting to know everyone better. The whole trip was fantastic, and it was great to get away for the weekend for sunshine, family and fun!