Knotts Berry Farm

Yesterday I got to head down to LA to check out a theme park that a bunch of friends have told me about. Knotted berry farm is a place where during Halloween days they have scary mazes, haunted houses, and of course roller coasters. It's funny walking through the haunted houses and trying not to be startled by the masked people. I tried to walk through and be very observant so that I wasn't surprised by any of the features. That failed. In every maze there is at least one thing that gets you. It's a good time and I highly recommend going down to check it out this week. 

This is one the rides I went on. Super fun. Super fast. Super tall. 

SB and IPhones ain't too bad

Santa Barbara is obviously a place with a bunch of spectacular views. One spot in particular that I'm a fan of is east beach. Usually after work I'll spend about a half hour walking my dog down the length of the beach. It's a solid little walk and I do it to spend some time outside and so that my dog isn't hyper at night. But the thing I learned today was a snipet about photography with an iPhone. It's actually pretty incredible to think about how intricate an iPhone is considering I was playing Pokemon on a gameboy 10 years ago and that was super high tech then. Today I took a picture of the same exact view but focusing the iPhone camera in a different direction every time. The results were interesting. 

 

East coast

So with the sox in the World Series and me getting nostalgic about being back home I thought I'd write about where I'm from a little bit. I live right outside of Boston on the north shore. For anyone who knows what the Salem witch trials are, I live in the city next to it called Beverly. Now I may be weird but one of the things I miss most about home is the weather. I think most people would prefer the Santa Barbara weather of sunny and 75 every day but not me. I want it to snow two feet so I can take a snow day and drink hot chocolate with a fat stack of pancakes. Unfortunately I don't get to go back too often because I'm too busy with school, I have to work, or I flat out don't have the dollars for a plane ticket. But when I get the chance to go there is one place I like to spend my time most. It's called the silo. Probably my favorite place on the planet. When I go home next that's for damn sure where I'm headed. 

Here it is in all it's summery glory

Texas mini pig

For those of you looking for an out of the ordinary pet that doesn't take too much maintenance, look no further than the Texas mini pig. These little guys are super awesome. They don't get much bigger than a cat and don't eat too much so take up too much space or money. The only catch is that they cost pretty penny. It's around $1200 for one but thankfully they are fully healthy and have all their medications. Interestingly enough they are actually really smart. They can be trained just like a dog to be house broken, sit and stay, and do other things on command. In guessing a landlord might think its a little weird but wouldn't have a problem with it. Go check it out online. Super cool little things mini pigs are

This is me with my sisters pig Olive. 

Get hiking

In case you were able to check out my post from a little while ago in hiking, I thought I'd give people a reminder. Santa Barbara is packed with trails all over the place. There are dozens of trail heads located with in a small 5 mile radius. It's a great way to exercise, get outside, and see Santa Barbara. There are times I like going by myself to have some thoughts to myself or going with a buddy makes for solid conversation. If you're feeling real adventurous, the early morning hike or late evening hike when the sun is coming up or going down makes the hike that much better. It's Santa Barbara so when you have some time away from studying be sure to get outside. 

This is one of my favorite peaks in montecito. I'll let you climb and search for it yourself. 

Solstice

Every year Santa Barbara has festivals that everybody goes to. Fiesta and solstice are the biggest ones. Solstice is probably my favorite just because fiesta is a little more expensive. At solstice there are tons of things to do. There is live music all day. There is a bunch of good vendors. There is a parade. And there is my personal favorite part of solstice. The beer garden. For a few bucks you can buy a wristband and drink tickets to go into the beer garden. Inside is a great place to kick it with your buddies and make a bunch of new ones. I highly suggest makin a day of solstice when it comes up next year. 

Just a quick snap of the parade

Bay Area

I've been in Santa Barbara for the last two years and this one is my third and final. As I am transferring at the end of the school year my hope is that I have the resume to be able to get in to uc berekley. I absolutely love the Bay Area. San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland are all excellent. I don't even know out half of the things that are available to do there but I'd like to learn about as much as I can. A couple of friends of mine live in a sick spot in San Fran and I got to spend some time up there after I finished summer class this past semester. We spent some time in the city checking out a Peruvian restaurant and a chill dive bar. I definitely recommend making a weekend out of a trip up to the bay. 

This is the view from my friends balcony. Pretty spectacular.