By the time we got to Santa Barbara, COVID-19 lockdowns had really settled in. As a result, we didn’t do any exploring. We worked, went on hikes and went to the grocery store every week and a half or so.
Catching Up
It’s a bummer that we didn’t get to check out any of the towns that we wanted to, but we were able to get caught up on some fun projects! During the lockdown, we made a few vacation videos from past trips, wrote some blog posts, built some apps (here and here) and made photo books. It’s nice to get caught up on some personal projects!
Staying In and Staying Put
I mentioned above that we did a lot of hiking. Other than our rare grocery store visits, this is the only time we get out of the RV. We feel really fortunate that we are in a such a beautiful place with hiking options. We did contemplate driving back across the country to where we are from, but ultimately decided that would do more harm than good considering we have safe places to hunker down here in California. Thank you Elks Lodges! Not to mention, we don’t have a house or a piece of property to go to either.
Santa Barbara Shores Hike
This was a quick after work hike. It is a really pretty trail along the coast with gorgeous views.
Knapp’s Castle Hike
We attempted to hike to Knapp’s Castle. However, it is now a private construction site! We found the road and parked by the gate. We walked down to the end of the road and found a house under construction. It looks like someone is building something where the ruins were. We felt weird being there so we left pretty immediately. At least it was a really pretty drive up there!
Jesusita Hike
After the Knapp’s Castle Hike didn’t work out, we stopped off on the road to attempt another hike. Once again, it was a bust. This trail was very overgrown and we were afraid of rattlesnakes. Instead, we headed to the trailhead to do the Jesusita Hike. This was a great trail and oddly enough – here is where we saw a rattlesnake!!
Other than the hikes, we don’t have any fun adventure stories from this time. Like the rest of the world, we are looking forward to things getting back to normal but are doing our part to slow the spread and flatten the curve in the meantime.