The Mission

{I'm posting every day this month for the 31 Days writing challenge!
Click here to see an introduction and a list of all the posts I've written so far.}

One place I always forget I love so much in Santa Barbara is the Mission.  I usually only think about it when I’m passing it on my way to hike Inspiration Point or one of the other trails nearby, but whenever I get a chance to go there for a relaxing afternoon or a fancy chalk art show, I feel an extra surge of gratefulness to live in this incredible city.  

If you’re visiting Santa Barbara, you have to make time to tour the Mission.  But don’t just drive away after your tour!  Stay and walk through the gorgeous rose garden; lay out a blanket and have a picnic; play bocce ball or cornhole or frisbee; let your dog run wild through the grass.  What I’m saying is: soak up some Santa Barbara.  The Mission is one of the best places to do it.  

That fancy chalk art show I mentioned earlier is called I Madonnari, and it’s usually on or around Memorial Day weekend every year.  Local businesses, schools and charities “sponsor” squares or sections of the pavement, where an artist will create a magnificent work of chalk art from start to finish during that weekend.  People come throughout the day to watch the artists at work or see the finished products, and it’s just a very cool thing to experience.

(Click to enlarge)

This past April, for my birthday, I decided to keep it pretty casual and invited friends to join me for brunch (spoiler alert: this is not the last you will hear about brunch this month), and then we headed over to the Mission to hang out and enjoy the afternoon.  It was absolutely the best way to kick off the last year of my 20s – I felt very grown up and sophisticated...see?

(Click to enlarge)

Really though, it’s a great place to spend an afternoon.  I need to take advantage of it more often!