Santa Barbara

Skipped Kimball; showered and washed my hair; had breakfast, then took off for Santa Barbara.
Got the bus to the transit center at 9:00 and the bus to SB at 9:43, arriving at exactly 11:30. Went up to Betty's and we waited for her neighbor, Marian Hawk, who came a few minutes later.
She's a trim, attractive woman, whose late husband had been a bond trader and who has children, grands, and great-grands. She's lived in the San Franciscan for three years and in California since 1978. She drove and took us to Fresco, a restaurant she likes, but I didn't.
As the new despicable trend seems to be, you have to order your own meal at a counter. The counter person then enters into a screen, which he swivels over to you to sign; prominently, it includes something that asks if you want to give a 10, 20, or 30 percent tip. Damn, I didn't want to give any tip, but I clicked the 20, of course.
One room had high tables and stools, so we sat in the other, which was so jammed, there was no regular tables left. I got  my order first, so grabbed the only available table, a minuscule one for two. I put another chair up to it and we--barely--were able to put our plates on it. Betty's took so long to come, Marian and I were almost finished before she got it (she had urged us to eat, of course).
After that, Marian took us to Carpitaria. I mentioned that my friend, Sue, and I had taken some things to a consignment shop there a few years ago, but had never heard from them. I also couldn't remember the name. Now we stopped into an antique store and the owner said the shop was called "Peggy's," but it had closed about a year ago. Marian then said she played bridge every week in Carpataria and one of the players said Peggy's had been held up by a man with a gun and they had subsequently closed. There went my priceless doodads--although I can't remember exactly what they were.
Back to Betty's, then we went over to her club room and left off some flyers for "Art Comes Alive." She and I walked up to State Street and said goodbye as I boarded the first of the three buses home.
Got in at 5:30 after an enjoyable, but tiring day.