On To Santa Barbara And My Older Brother!!!

After spending some amazing quality time with my Sister Lauren and her entire family, I was off again to Santa Barbara, CA about an hour South from Lompoc to visit with my older Brother Chris! The drive down Hwy 101 was amazing and the days sunshine never failed to show itself and all that it could offer!

When I arrived in town I pulled up to my Brother's apartment and received the biggest "BEAR HUG" known to man! You see the Allen's are 'World Famous' for their quote, unquote..."Professional LUV" and it all started many years ago with "Bear Hugs" from the bro! I don't get to see my brother much these days, usually every few years so these times are especially important to me!

We decided to take a stroll down "State" street and go down to the Wharf! Every time I go to Santa Barbara, I have to visit the Wharf and eat seafood on the pier! They have some amazing places to have Ri-Donk-Ulous delicacies or just "Darn-Good" local seafood! I ended up having local crab which can vary in quality and style depending on the season but it sure was good! We even got to witness a gray whale that had stumbled into harbor a few days ago and wouldn't leave for unknown reasons! The whale was laying low apparently, perhaps on a bit of a road trip much like myself! I wondered (very briefly) if it too was unemployed or had been given the pink slip from "THE MAN!!!" Just kidding, looking back, it appears that this was the best thing that could have happened under the circumstances! Sometimes...When life throws you a Curve Ball... "You just let it fly and let life unfold as it may! Maybe it hits you and you get a free base, maybe you swing and miss and learn not to chase it next time or maybe you muster all of your inner strength and swing-batta-batta-swing and turn it into a "GRAND SALAMI" as our beloved Mariners Announcer who also happens to be in Cooperstown used to say!!!

Anyways, long story short! Seeing the whale and not having to go on a whaling expedition and paying up the "WAZZU" to have a chance at seeing one...Was rather intriguing and a gift from above! Thank you Whale, you made quite an impression on myself and everyone else lucky enough to witness your presence!

After this, we walked back up State Street and bought some souvenirs! I'm starting a shot glass collection for major stops along my way in this trip! If I was a tad bit smarter, I would have started a collection years ago but alas, I have always been an intermittent shot glass collector! My biggest item in souvenir collecting has always seemed to be t-shirts! If you truly know me, you know that I am rather easily amused and that "clever-phrase" t-shirts also burst my bubble and get me rolling on the floor!

After some serious souvenir collecting; remember to ask me about my T-SHIRTS later... We decided to stop by the Sportsman which is a very well known bar in down town Santa Barbara! I'm a big fan of little holes-in-the-wall that have jukeboxes, pool tables, and dart boards! For the first time ever I challenged my brother to billiards and though I came out on top! Every single game came down to the 8-Ball! This was the best way to spend some quality time with a brother I never see but love more than I can ever begin to try to explain! Awesomeness!

After a brief time we walked back to my brother's place and cleaned up before heading to Goleta, CA and meeting up with more family! We decided to go to the E-BAR, now I must admit after visiting with my good friend Jocelyn who manages the E-Bar in a very upscale mall in Walnut Creek, CA, I first thought we were talking a little meal at a Nordstroms, which I have done many times and had amazing snacks and meals and drinks thanks to Jocelyn and other friends of mine over the years! It turned out that this is a nickname though for the "Elephant Bar" which they have in several places in California! The Elephant Bar is a great restaurant with lots of different choices when it comes to ethnicity of food and the atmosphere is amazing too! We dined and dined and dined and then had a Ri-Donk-Ulous dessert that capped off an amazing day with family I hadn't seen in years!

After dinner, we retired to my "REAL" brother's place and plugged in his XBox! I haven't played in some time so we rocked some original "BURNOUT" which is one of my favorite original driving games! Chris had been practicing but I still knew how to represent, cause believe it or not, video games are often like riding a bicycle! We stayed up WAY later then we should have and had another amazing bonding experience! I wouldn't take change it for the world! Chris is an amazing brother and I can't wait to see where life takes us in the years to come!!!

After a long evening (and a decent amount of sleeping in!) I headed off to Arizona in the hopes of meeting up with some brothers if I was lucky enough on timing and especially some "SPRING BALL" with the Mariners that I had always wanted to do but never had the opportunity! My hopes were high, My heart was full and my life was lucky! I couldn't ask for anything more! (Besides A Job!!! ;)

Stay Tuned, for some other amazing things, experiences, and drama (very little) that you would or perhaps would not expect! Thanks for following along whether you actually join my blog or not but stay tuned, cause I have some very INTERESTING Pictures to come if I am ever able to download them, Videos that will leave your "Sides Hurting" and more blogs to help you "HOPEFULLY" understand where I am coming from and the "PASSION" I live as long as I can with!

Till Next Time When There Will Be A Return Of The Mack...

Much Professional Luv,

Matthew