Santa Barbara

  The City of Santa Barbara is a rare combination of small
town charm and big city advantages. Few cities of Santa
Barbara's size offer so many cultural opportunities. The
Santa Barbara Museum of Art has been endowed with many
private collections. The University of California at Santa
Barbara (UCSB) maintains a gallery of permanent collections,
and a number of private galleries offer a special selection
of rare works for sale. Among the Santa Barbara museums also
Museum of Natural History, Historical Society Museum and a
Carriage Museum.
  The city has its own symphony orchestra. Local interest in
dramatics runs high. A half dozen little theatre groups, as
well as UCSB, Santa Barbara City College and Westmont
College, present plays and musicals of excellent quality.
  The Santa Barbara area has 37 developed parks, many with
picnic equipment. Over 400 restaurants, coffee shops and
snack bars serve the area. 
  The area is acknowledged as an educational center. Its
city and county schools rank among the state's best and
three major institutions of higher learning are located
here: UCSB, Westmont College, and Santa Barbara City
College.





Solvang

   Danish, Charming and unique best describe the Santa Ynez
Valley's largest town of Solvang. Windmills in the blue
California sky tell you that you are in Solvang, where
shops, bakeries and restaurants celebrate the village's
authentic Danish roots every day.
  Solvang features more than 350 charming shops, from those
reminiscent of Old World Denmark to the best of the new
designer outlet stores. It is a picturesque village with
windmills, a horse-drawn streetcar and carriage, thatched
rooftops with wooden storks, colorful hand-carved signs,
brick walls, flowers, bicycles built for 2, 4 & 6, costumed
clerks, clean air and views of "Sunny Fields" (the meaning
of the Danish name "Solvang").
  Nestled in the center of the Santa Ynez Valley just 35
miles north of Santa Barbara, Solvang is surrounded by
rolling hills, picturesque mountain vistas, fields of grapes
and award-winning wineries, miles of country roads for
cycling, acres of horse ranches, Lake Cachuma and Los Padres
National Forest. Among the other attractions are Old Mission
Santa Ines along with the "theatre under the stars,"
Theatrefest.