NATURAL PERSPECTIVES:

At this time of year, Vic and I usually head off to snow country. This year, we had a change of pace. We enjoyed a weekend of relaxation in Santa Barbara and Monterey. The trip was short, but we packed it with pleasure.

For Saturday evening, I picked the Hotel Oceana Santa Barbara because it was right across the street from the beach. Our vacation getaway really began the moment we stepped into the lovely lobby with fountains burbling around every corner. We coined the term “ambience therapy” to describe the beneficial affect these surroundings had on our attitude.

Vic made dinner reservations for us at The Wine Cask, which is located in an historic building in downtown Santa Barbara. The lavishly decorated wooden Spanish ceilings were magnificent, and the food and wines superb. I had a sage-brined Kurobuta pork rib chop, while Vic enjoyed paella. Kurobuta pork, from a heritage breed of pig, is known for its unparalleled flavor and juiciness. The chef’s treatment with micro Brussels sprouts, fire-roast apple and sweet potato hash, and bourbon-apple jus was fantastic.

The next morning, Vic popped out of bed early to go for a walk on the beach and look for birds. Left to my own devices, I slept until 9:30. That’s my idea of a good vacation. After checking out, we toured the El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park. The Presidios of California housed Spanish soldiers and their families during the late 1700s to early 1800s. The soldiers of the Presidio guarded the settlers and nearby missions from attack by Indians and outside invaders.

We were fascinated by the size of the living quarters. Each family had one windowless room that was about 140 square feet. Vic and I contrasted the size of these housing units with those that we have lived in. When I was a child, my family started out in a 900 square feet, two-bedroom, one-bath house with a basement. This was the average size of a house in the 1940s, a far cry larger than the 140 square feet that suited Spanish families in two hundred years ago.

Vic’s family also started out in a two-bedroom, one-bath house. Vic shared his bedroom with two younger brothers and a baby sister. Today, Vic and I live in a four-bedroom, two-bath house that is nearly double the square footage of those tiny houses.

According to the National Home Builder’s Association, the average sized home in 1970 was 1,400 square feet.

Today, the average house size is 2,500 square feet and mega-mansions sprawl to 10,000 feet and more. Larger homes take more energy to heat, cool and light, so from an environmental point of view it is not a great concept for homes to keep getting bigger and bigger. Some cities are now banning construction of mega-mansions. That’s not a bad idea, and one that our city council might want to consider.

After our morning in Santa Barbara, Vic and I drove to Monterey, stopping at old Mission San Antonio de Padua along the way. This lovely mission built in 1771 is well off the beaten track, nestled within the Fort Hunter Liggett Military Reservation. This has prevented development around the mission. Deer dashed across the road and coyotes prowled among the scattered oak trees. Most missions are now surrounded by urbanization (e.g. San Diego, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Barbara, San Francisco). Mission San Antonio is almost entirely surrounded by grassland and oak woodland, making it easy to imagine what the world of the padres, soldiers, and Indians was like.

We stayed Sunday night at the Best Western Beach Resort Monterey, a location that offers tremendous ambience therapy. Vic and I watched the waves crash on the beach below while enjoying our dinners in the fourth floor restaurant. This restaurant follows the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s seafood watch guidelines, serving only seafood that is sustainably harvested. We had sand dabs from Monterey Bay.

In the morning, we walked on the beach, spotting dolphins as well as mew gulls, pelagic cormorants, and other birds. Eight-foot high waves rolled toward shore in glassy, blue-green half-tubes that tipped thunderously into a misty white froth that slathered the sand. After our walk, we lingered by the lobby fireplace, sipping coffee and watching the waves from the warmth and comfort of big easy chairs.

Next, we drove to Old Fisherman’s Wharf and had a delightful lunch of seafood at Domenico’s On the Wharf. California sea lions and sea otters put on quite a show for us. We even spotted a harlequin duck, a rarity that shows up occasionally in central and southern California. Vic found a couple of harbor seals sunning on the rocks in a cove.

Our final stop was the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Their three-story kelp forest exhibit is stunning. We identified leopard sharks, anchovies, opal eye, sheepshead, senoritas, yellowtail and many other fish that are found in our local waters. We lingered over the exhibit of jellies, watching orange-colored sea nettles drift and swirl in lazy loops against a blue background.

Vic really enjoyed the live Laysan albatross that was being shown to a crowd by two aquarium volunteers. The volunteers displayed a plateful of plastic items that had been removed from the stomach of a dead Laysan albatross. We learned there are 46,000 pieces of junk plastic floating in every square mile of the Pacific Ocean. Albatrosses and other marine birds eat these pieces of plastic, thinking they are fish. The juveniles are especially likely to be killed by this trash.

I flew home from Monterey into the Long Beach Airport Monday. Vic headed north to visit his family for a couple of days. I’m back at work with an invigorated attitude from my weekend of ambience therapy. Vic said that God only knows what attitude he will return with after several days with his relatives!

VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and environmentalists. They can be reached at [email protected].