We made the best out of our last couple of days in Santa Barbara. The ocean was flat but weather was breezy, sunny and warm. Jen cruised the strand and hopped off her bike to SUP for an hour in front of the Biltmore Four Seasons. One lonely seal darted by. Apparently, there has been lots of shark activity in the last few weeks. Hammerheads mostly, and reportedly aggressive- that’s if you’re a seal or spear fisherman. This prompted the cancellation of the weekly Night Moves Duathalon at Ledbetter beach for awhile. But it was just Des’ luck that the swim/run race was ON on Wednesday night. He swam 1 k in choppy, cold water and ran 5k. He won his age group, of course! Kai wrestled with a gut bug and missed out on the duathalon event. While shopping on upper State street Kai made a new friend, Mojo, at the print shop. He barked for treats and seemed to like Kai more than us. Kathe Ireland (former SI swimsuit model and Santa Barbara local) ate with us at Farmer’s Deli. Okay she was seated with her son while Jen smiled and nodded her way!  It was great to see old friends Sandy, Andy, and Jackie. I’ll miss the Kyoto Japanese dinners too.  Paragliding with the Eagle crew and surfing will have to wait for another trip.

Suddenly, it was departure time. We timed the-around -LA route perfectly. Too bad it just got hotter and hotter and hotter as we drove east. Only one way out really, and that’s to Vegas. Temperature topped at 120 degrees and was over 110 for hours on the road. However, the torture ended in St. George UT. Storm clouds rolled in and a slight drizzle capped off the long day.