Santa Barbara Wine Trip Day 1 ToDoTC.com To Do in the Twin Cities

	Santa Barbara Wine Trip Day 1 Date: July 1, 2026 TC > Santa Barbara for a working wine vacation. Wed July 1-5 2026

We had a 9AM Delta flight from MSP to LA
Uber picked us up at 5AM, quiet driver, no issues.

We saved both boarding passes on our cell phones. All worked fine.

Next time give Delta our TSA # to get Quick TSA

No issues at TSA except express. Next time bring meds in pictures not bottles. Load the week in daily holders. No issues with my cork screw through TSA.

We were at the back of the plane so we checked our overhead bags. No issues.

Landed LAX at 11A local. 3.5 hour flight.

Rental car pickup at LAX you need to ride a bus. We had FOX car rental set by expedia (we booked air from Expedia) Fox has few shuttles, I asked the Avis Shuttle guy and they took us to the rental car building a mile away.

Took us ten minutes, second in line with five agents. Ten minutes to check out. We got a Hyundai Alantra. It did NOT have Navigation, poor choice. We prepaid gas if not full on return.  We checked for toll roads based on our travel before checkout. There was none.

Photo’d 360 of the car + lisc plate. Ellen found a mark and documented it, so we did not need to pay for it later. Loaded and left. The main 405 freeway was a block away, no issues. Next time we are going to take the model of car and do a 5-minute YouTube video on how things work; it was NOT obvious.

Drove five miles to I-90 to Santa Monica Pier, parked by the pier for $20. Had two burgers & Fries for $30 took 5 minutes. Walked the Pier.
They have a picture place where Route 66 ends. There’s a great view up the coast and Malibu from The Santa Monica Pier, it’s a great stop.

Got on CA 1 went up to Coast to 101 to Santa Barbara. 101 had an exit to the SB Marriot.

Marriot was fine with issues. Restaurant was an app only $15/app. We got 2 free drink coins. Found out later drinks did NOT include alcohol, who decided THAT! Pool & Hot tub. Ice only machine.

Room: bad room numbering… looked for 5 minutes to find our room. Found 170 & 172 but 171 was around the corner. No dresser drawers, lack of storage. You have to request for room service. Same towels for days?

Has safe, 65” TV with Fox. Bed is comfortable.
Hotel has parking $30/day
No continental breakfast, no bathrobes.

We located a Bodega or Mercado for us Midwesterners a small mini mart across the street from the hotel. We needed a case of water and Hydrochloric peroxide (A must have for gargling if you don’t want to get local diseases). The minimart was open at 8AM, well except when we needed it. So, we looked for a Walmart and found a two story small Target.

State street goes pass the hotel it is non-driving 3 blocks away. It’s like the Nicollet Mall in Mpls. There is a ton of close Restaurants and farmers markets.

We first night ate three blocks away at a Mexican restaurant. $100 with 4 margaritas. It was very good.

We came back to the hotel and Vegg’d in the Hot Tub smiling for no major issues. We got out of LA ALIVE! Never saw a homeless person until we got to Santa Barbara then only three.

Next page Dinner at Calitos in Santa Barbara

Contact us Dennis@ToDoTC.com