After church on the 14th, Jesse and I drove up to Santa Barbara for a beautiful day in my old stomping grounds. Since we had both been sick that week, we waited until the last moment to make the decision to go. We didn't make dinner reservations, and didn't book a hotel. We figured that we were flexible as far as food goes (who says Valentine's Day has to have a candlelit dinner with roses?) and that if we decided to stay in the area (loving that the next day was another holiday!) we could spend the night at Mom and Dad's house instead of fronting a hotel bill.
Last year was our first Valentine's Day as a married couple, and the first one that Jesse wasn't sick! Our very first Valentine's Day, we spent in the emergency room because Jesse had a fever of 105! We're not against laid-back holidays :) As long as we're healthy, we're happy!
Anyyyyyyyy ways, Valentine's Day was beautiful. The weather was just perfect, and we enjoyed every bit of our day.
We got to Santa Barbara around 3:00, and drove straight to the pier so that we could sit and enjoy the breeze and waves.
I love that we spend so many of our special days at the beach!
Santa Barbara is a special place to us, because it was one of the first dates we went on as a couple.
I made this shirt as a 'gift' for Jesse
(only a guy wouldn't notice that my tag was sticking out!)
The writing on the bottom of the shirt says "He's my #1!"
My handsome man, being in four places at once :)
I love the Santa Barbara pier, because it's not just a pier. It's a community! Musicians bring guitars, keyboards, harmonicas, fiddles, steel kettle drums. Fishermen bring their rods and chatter while waiting for their catch. Artists set up easels and get to work, with plenty of pieces for sale nearby.
Even the homeless are creative:
(these blankets were set out right below the pierwalk so that people could toss coins while the men slept in the shade.)
"Make a wish!"
"Why lie? Need Beer."
"I know the other guys have bigger blankets, but I'm new at this."
I remember this man from years ago. He makes a new sand sculpture every day. Each one is a piece of art.
My family has been going to Palazzio, an amazing Italian restaurant on State Street, for about 10 years. Whenever we had a special occassion to celebrate, we would go to Palazzio. Somehow, though, it had never worked out to be able to introduce Jesse to this special tradition. I was bent on bringing him on Valentine's Day!
When we called Palazzio to see if it was possible to make reservations, they said that they were completely booked. They suggested that we put our name on the waiting list when the restaurant opened at 5, and see what happened.
After enjoying our lovely sunset on the pier, we went over to State Street to Palazzio. There was already a line of people outside, waiting to put their name in. Jesse looked at me like this was a hopeless cause, but I was determined. We stood in line, put our name in, and were told that it could be anywhere from one hour to two. We found cozy little niche in the wal that was still warm from the sun's heat, and enjoyed a local keyboardist as he played "My Funny Valentine," "Moon River," and other classics.
Jesse was so hungry that his food radar was going off and he was pointing out all of the other restaurants that didn't look as busy. I told him to just be patient :)
Fifteen minutes into our wait, they called our names and seated us on the patio. I was so excited! The weather was still just perfect outside, and this way, we could still enjoy the beautiful music coming from the sidewalk. Pretty soon, a man with a saxophone walked up the the guy with the keyboard, and they started playing "L-O-V-E" together. It was so perfect!
I absolutely love the family-style dinners at Palazzio, and was happy that Jesse enjoyed the food, too. (Of course, there aren't many people who wouldn't enjoy that food, and there isn't much of anything that Jesse won't eat!)
Here we are with our delicious pasta and amazing tiramisu--yum!
At the end of dinner, our waiter came by and gave me a long stem rose! It was a perfect touch to an incredible meal. I'm so glad that it worked out that Jesse and I could come spend another special day in Santa Barbara. We don't need much to enjoy each other, but we were thankful that God worked it out that we could have a candlelit dinner, romantic music, and even roses on our Valentine's Day!
0 comments:
Post a Comment