Sheilaclapkin's Blog;

When we talk about Natives on Tour, the natives consist of our whole family. We get along great, usually, and enjoy going on tour with each other. There are many adventures and experiences that can only be taught by going on tour. Come with us next time. Got any good ideas for the next tour?

We are home from our lovely Natives on Tour in Santa Barbara.  Did we go to the museums? Yes. Did we go to the Zoo? Yes we did and we enjoyed the grounds almost as much as seeing the penguin feeding, the giraffes, the flamingos, the gorillas, the huge guinea pigs, the lion, the elephants and visiting amongst ourselves.  Did we get to the Mission, no not this time?  Did we go to Sterns Wharf, drive on the wharf, and hang around watching the fisherman, buy candy and shop? Yes, we did.   Did we do the whole State Street thing from the Museum of Art to Cabrillo BLVD.? Yes we did.

Did we stay in the cutest B&B in Santa Barbara? Yes we did and was there unbeknownst to us a huge construction project going on right next-door? Now, we stayed in the cutest B&B, but we did not know about the construction next door starting at 6:45 a.m. with the pounding of jackhammers among other work being done. So, we jack hammered the myth of sleeping late in the mornings at this cute little B&B. We complained to the innkeeper, but she said they promised not to start work until 9:00. Wrong.

We were given good advice about eating at the China Palace on Coast Village Rd. It was delicious and our large table outside on the patio was delightful.  Good choice. Also on Coast Village Road is a lovely looking Mexican restaurant. It looks good and it tastes fair. We were guided here as well. Did the person who guided us here know that they charge you $2.25 for each small, slightly filled basket of chips? No. There were 17 of us and we ate chips like crazy. We had a busy day touring and we were hungry.  We ordered more chips and the waiter said you have run out of your allotment of refills, so another round of wildly expensive, mediocre chips arrived at a cost. My blood started to boil. I finally asked the waiter to take the chips and three kinds of run of the mill salsas off of the table.  Our cousin, who joined us for dinner ordered guacamole and they would not give her chips. She turned red and demanded chips to eat her guacamole. This was downhill before it began. 

Did the person who steered us in the direction of this Mexican restaurant know there was only one bathroom for the entire restaurant, males and females included behind the one and only one door marked, Bano?  We all made plans to line up at the door and with our large number we imagined a snaking line that would wind around the restaurant. One person was designated to go to the CVS, which was next door and buy chips for the table and then, the laughing started. Why? I don’t know for sure which one of the many outrageous things started the laughing, but the tears were streaming down some faces and the bellies started to hurt from belly laughter, the best kind.  I know one of them might have been when I was organizing a line up at the bathroom door, my cousin, stuffed my purse with sugar packets. She was so frustrated she had to do something to show the borderline rude manager, she could do something ratty, too. It was Jodi’s birthday and someone brought a cake into the restaurant, and of course, you have already guessed it, they charged a dollar per person to serve the cake, but they only brought plates over and then left. If they charged, shouldn’t they cut the cake? Oh gosh. The bill was, naturally, unusually high and the food was disappointing, but the laughing, the devious planning, and the memories were worth their weight in gold. All things measured in belly laughs and tears of laughter, fun and togetherness are what eating out is supposed to be all about; But, you folks in the Coast Village Rd. area, if you are really smart you would not allow this restaurant to charge and over charge you for just ok food and service. Rebel and sweep this place out of town.  You can find much, much better Mexican food in your town. Oh, you may have to drive a little further, but it is worth it for principal and better, more authentic food.  You won’t make any kind of move. You did not look like the kind of crowd that would even make a little teeny tiny wave. Ok, have it your way, but stop and buy a bag of chips on your way in. They will taste better, you will get lots more for your money and you will have made some kind of wave. You will be laughing and having fun like we did instead of sitting there being silently abused and over charged.