Our family went to the Santa Barbara Zoo on Labor Day---and let's just cut to the chase. If you were a zoo animal, you would think you had a pretty cushy life here. Sure, the enclosures aren't the most "natural", and there isn't a large variety of animals here---but the weather is always nice. That has to count for something!
Parents especially enjoy this zoo because it is sooo much more manageable than the amazing LA Zoo just 2 hours east. You can arrive at Santa Barbara Zoo by 9:30 AM and be finished by lunch. Without kids---in and out in 1 hour, I'd say! :)
After the zoo, we took a shuttle from the entrance of the zoo to the wharf. Just $.25 a person. Oh--and as if that weren't cheap enough--Jenna was free. We jumped into the nearest food joint on the wharf. I recommend Harbor Restaurant & LongBoards for beautiful views and good food--and the kids meal prices are nice (about $2.95 - $4.95). I thought the adult menu was pricey, but I happened to enjoy my Grilled Chicken BLT a lot!!
After dinner, we walked along the wharf and marveled at how entrepreneurial the homeless can be! I wish we had photos of them--but it just wasn't weird enough at the time. For future fundraising, take it from the pros....anchor a bedsheet to the sand (any floor will do), and put a large tupperware bowl of water in the middle with a "Make a Wish" sign nearby. People willingly throw out their good money to make it in the bowl!We saved our change for the shuttle to take us back to our car at the zoo. .
