A day trip up the PCH

This weekend we decided to get out of the city and drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to Montecito and Santa Barbara. The PCH is considered one of the most scenic drives in the United States. I've only driven from San Diego to Santa Barbara for now and have yet to continue north all the way to San Fransisco. I'd only been to Santa Barbara once before and hadn't seen much of the city so I was excited to go back. Our first stop was the center of Santa Barbara and we parked the car and walked around doing a little bit of sightseeing. 

Just on the block where we parked was this beautiful old colonial building that we found out was the Santa Barbara Courthouse. This beautiful old building with historic Spanish architecture caught our attention and we decided to stop by and walk around for a little bit. The architecture is gorgeous, including spiral staircases and thick wooden doors. The backyard is dreamy and perfect to sit and relax on the grass. There's also a clock tower with the most amazing panoramic view of the city and surrounding mountains

After our little sightseeing in the city hunger hit us, but instead of sitting down at a restaurant we decided to get take away and enjoy it at the beach. We did a little bit of googling and the choice was between Butterfly Beach or Leadbetter Beach. 

We decided on Butterfly Beach which is beautifully situated in Montecito, close to the Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel (which I think is being renovated right now). The sandy part of the beach is quite thin, but it was pretty empty when we arrived so that was not a problem. It was just perfect; the view of the Pacific horizon, the sound of waves, relaxing with a book before ending our day with the most gorgeous sunset.

We are definitely coming back to explore more of Santa Barbara and Montecito. It was the perfect getaway/day trip from LA. Next time we want to drive further up the coast to Big Sur and eventually San Fran.

Whats your favorite road trip?