Santa Barbara Warnings Or Dangers

Not that I would ever complain about homeless people, but Santa Barbara has many who cruise up and down State Street looking for some change or handouts. You cannot blame someone who is homeless and starving. One poor fellow who was covered in dirt sitting right in front of a fancy side walk restaurant and everyone was ignoring him. I gave him some change, and yes I very well know many are just scamming people, but the look in this guys eyes told me different.

While window shopping I encounter one who immediately spun around and started to babble all kinds of "Colorful Metaphors" that Spock would say.

Another was following us to the parking lot, but I was fully aware of what he was doing and just as he crossed the lot towards us a truck with two guys pulled up next to my parking spot and he spun around and left in a hurry. SO BE ON YOUR TOES!. What is funny the next day I noticed him down by the wharf sprawled out and sleeping while I was taking advantage of the Trolley Tour....lol!. Maybe he just wanted to hit us up for change.

Santa Barbara is a small city and seemingly safe for travelers. During the day, you can walk around anywhere and it is easy to get around. However, at night, Santa Barbara is not well lit. Make sure you know where you are going and have a map. If you are unsure, take a taxi or drive to your destination. The hotels always have free maps of Santa Barbara and are more than willing to help guide you to where you want to go. Taxis are not expensive and if you get to know your taxi driver, you can even arrange for them to pick you up when you are done.

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, the catchy title of the 1992 bestseller by John Gray, succinctly expresses an ancient dilemma. What--if anything--do men's and women's brains do differently?

The general statement that men and women respond and behave differently under the same circumstances is true; For example, from the crib, male babies tend to be more aggressive and females more passive. As adults, in spatial operations, men have the edge in such skills as negotiating a maze, reading a map, and quickly discriminating between right and left. Men also perform better than women when asked to visualize an object and imagine rotating it. On the other hand, women tend to perform better than men when asked to look at objects of different shapes, sizes, and colors, and then to group them in some order.

This still doesn't explain why Relinde turns the map all around when I'm asking for the road to travel, while I like the map at one point so I can better visualize our position. Help!

I cannot imagine ever trying to fit Santa Barbara into a night or two ever again. The next visit will definitely warrant more attention on our part. Be prepared to be blown away by this beautiful and sunny little town and be prepared for it to be difficult to leave, especially if you are there only for a short amount of time.

Due to naturally occurring offshore seeps there are clumps of tar on the beaches- now I am not sure the why or how exactly but I do know the tar is a bugger to remove. A couple of tips, know which beaches are known for tar, wear old shoes and watch where you step. If you get it on your feet or other area of skin, I have heard that baby oil removes it best. Personally I used soap and a scrub brush- it removed it but not what I would call "easily removed".

Update: "goo be gone' is a product locals use and it removes tar easily

I felt pretty safe when I was in Santa Barbara, even during the night. There were a lot of people shopping on State Street, with restaurants and stores wide open. So I think Santa Barbara is a pretty nice city to relax and stroll.

Many of the cities in the States have this law, but none enforces it like Santa Barbara. Since SB is a mix between retired rich people and poor college students, the police tend to be a little *** retentive to always try to keep the roar down to a minimum. Don’t walk out on public property with an open container of alcohol… The excuse “I am from out of town, and didn’t know better.” NEVER WORKS. (Usually because it is the “outsiders” that cause the most disturbances)

When I first moved to SB I had a hard time with the oilrigs that are located right off the coast and making them a part of the horizon. This is because right below the seafloor lays some hefty oil deposits. The people that figured that out probably were not very smart, but instead walked on the beach. SB beaches are filled with black tar that naturally seeps up through the ocean floor. This is a pain in the arse to get off. So I got the tip for you to remove it from you feet… BABY OIL. Trust me, it is the best thing to use.