The other weekend we traveled to Santa Barbara to celebrate my 30th birthday– our first getaway since Augustine was born. It was both exciting to get out of town for a few days, but also a little stressful. Of course, we left 3 hours later than we wanted, and packed about twice the amount of things we really needed. As we’re learning, traveling with a baby has its challenges!
Our First Family Getaway to Santa Barbara
We stayed at this cute little hotel called The Spanish Garden Inn. I loved that it was walking distance to our favorite sandwich spot, Panino, as well as Handlebar Coffee. Being walking distance when you’re with a baby is so nice. It means you don’t have to deal with the in and out stroller/car seat frustrations! We were also right around the corner from Zaytoon, a Lebanese restaurant that my sister-in-law raved about! Santa Barbara is full of so many great restaurants. I feel like I still have such a long list of ones I want to check out.
Other favorite hotels in Santa Barbara include The Canary {where I stayed for my bachelorette weekend} and The Goodland in Goleta.
We went to the SB Wine Collective one afternoon and I couldn’t wait to snap a photo of this bar! I loved how it looked with the antique mirror, brown wood, and black metal chairs. Even more stunning in person! We did a Babcock tasting and it was so good! Such a great flight of wines. I especially loved their Chardonnay.
For my birthday dinner, we went to The Lark, which is a restaurant that has been recommended to us multiple times. I have to say it lives up to the hype! Their brussels sprouts were recommended by a reader {owe this girl big time!}, the grilled Spanish octopus was super soft and tender, and the hand cut pappardelle with mushrooms, pine nuts, and white truffle is a pasta I’ll dream about for a long time! The restaurant also surprised me with a piece of birthday cake which was so sweet and thoughtful!
While we had a good time during the day, the nights were a little trickier for us. Augustine is very used to his crib and didn’t like being in the pack-n-play to sleep. A soon as he would cry I’d pick him up, nurse him, and bring him in bed with us. All things I don’t normally do at home, but I resorted to in the hotel because I didn’t want to annoy the other guests. This was tricky because the first night Matthew and I accidentally ended up in bed at 7:45 with Augustine. The second night we were hoping he would fall asleep on our way to dinner, but instead, he cried the whole time because he was so tired and wanted to be in his bed. Poor guy! Our night out turned into food to go! I have so much respect and admiration for a mama who can travel {and fly!} with her babies. It’s definitely not easy! Matthew and I were hoping to go on a bigger trip later this summer, but that might have to wait! If any of you have any tips for us, I’d love to hear! Maybe we need to get a hotel room with a separate room so he can sleep at his normal bedtime but we can still enjoy a glass of wine or TV show. Or maybe an Airbnb? Or just wait to travel until he’s a little older?
Even despite the tough nights, I can’t wait for our next trip back to Santa Barbara. It really is one of my favorite cities!
xox
