Getaway Weekend

Last month my darling husband and I had a fabulous getaway--and it was practically free. Grant was one of the winners of a sales promotion at work and was awarded a free weekend stay at the Bacara Resort and Spa in Santa Barbara.  The prize also included the valet and resort fee charge and a gift card for expenses.  Thank you, Hormel. We were upgraded to a wonderful suite when we arrived, yay!

  Isn't it lovely?  The other half of the suite was the luxurious and huge bathroom. 

Soaking tub, separate shower, generous vanity.

Opposite the bed was a console with TV and amenities, and a fireplace in the corner, with these double french doors leading to the private balcony.

 Our view was unobstructed since we were at the edge of the resort.  Ahhh.

The occasion was our 30th wedding anniversary.  We took this selfie right after arriving, and, I think, before Grant surprised me with some lovely diamond earrings and made me cry!

Before dinner we took a nature trail to the beach (I posted a picture of a bridge on the trail previously).  This shot is looking back to the large resort on the cliffside. 

Some local old dudes were freestylin with a Frisbee while the young surfers headed out to the waves.

Breakfast on the restaurant's outdoor patio was fantastic in the morning. 

This pier is privately owned and boats that service the offshore oil platforms moor here.

The next afternoon we took the Cliff Walk  that passed the restaurant patio--it was steep!  But charming scenery. This is looking south towards home.

We hung out a lot on the patio with our peekaboo view of one of the two pools.  Construction going on just below us was no bother. They were expanding one of the three restaurants on site and building another bar.

I brought some handwork and improvised a Hera marking tool with an iphone and a room keycard :)

This is my long term UFO, Pink Lemonade, from Lori of Humble Quilts' quiltalong a couple of years ago.  Someday I'll finish all the big stitch quilting.

"Fountain" in the resort entrance courtyard. There's a drought here and no water is running.  The reflecting balls are about 2 feet in diameter--gorgeous.  The grounds and Spanish-style buildings were stunning, and the staff could not have been better.  I don't think there was a single time that a staff member we encountered did not greet us or offer assistance.  We finished our anniversary weekend with a real treat, massages at their fantastic luxury spa.  It was a wonderful weekend and since it's just up the coast from home, there was no tiring long return trip.  We did give ourselves another day off on Monday which made the getaway glow last a bit longer :)