Overnight Stop At Goleta
Left surreal Solvang behind and spent the day in Santa Barbara, with plans to spend a couple more days visiting Wineries and Missions. On this trip so far, I've really enjoyed staying at little Inns and B&B's in small outlying towns next to the big urban ghettos. From Felton to San Simeon to Solvang, I've enjoyed the woods and the peace and serenity of a rural setting. So, in keeping with that, I made the decision to forgo the luxury Santa Barbara hotels and drive a short distance out of Santa Barbara and check out a few Goleta hotels.
After poking around a bit, I stopped for some tacos at Pepe's, a Mexican eatery, and I took the oppurtunity to ask for some real woodsy kind of hotels, set in the woods with no shopping malls or nightclubs in the vicinty. I was directed to the el Capitan Canyon, which it seems, was a kind of kind of rich man's camping ground, with some pretty well equipped safari tents and cedar cabins set in an outdoorsy setting. The whole point was to be able to get that feeling of spending a night in the wild without having to give up the sissy urban comforts that we take for granted in hotels rooms. I mean, heck, they have hardwood floors, a friggin four poster bed, tables and chairs, a small work desk, electric lamps and a heater inside a tent, for Christ's sake. And the outside isn't any less sissy either. Instead of a campfire, you have a firepit all set up for you, along with a grill, and instead of a river or a bubbling brook, you have a heated outdoor pool, state-of-the-art bathrooms and showers for cleaning up. For food, the staff at the el Capitan Canyon serve gourmet meals. No hunting or fishing necessary in this camping expedition.
I thought at first that it would be a good idea to combine the best of both worlds, but after spending the night here, I can tell you that you end up neither a camper nor a hotel guest. Its like paying for punishment. I mean, if you want a taste of the outdoors, you might as well go the whole hog, and find yourself a camping ground and do it all yourself. If you can't, and you have to pay for accomodation, then you should recieve all the comforts that go with a modern hotel room. This is the last time I pay $200 plus for a bloody tent, a bath and a hot meal in the middle of nowhere. I've quite had my fill of Goleta, and the morrow will definitely not see me sitting inside a tent.
That said, I can understand the attraction this luxury camping thing can have for certain people. I mean, if you're a city slicker who wouldn't be able to put up a tent, start a fire and skin a fish even if your life depended on it, a chance to play a camper without really being exposed to the elements might be a good way to spend a weekend.
Info: 11560 Calle Real Goleta CA 93117; (866) 352-2729; www.elcapitancanyon.com
