Day trip to Santa Barbara with my wife

First, let me tell you that this is a good value. If you want to take your partner for a day trip, this is a fun and cost-effective way of doing it. We took the train from Orange County to Santa Barbara for lunch and sightseeing. Starting off at the Anaheim train station, it is right across the street from the Honda Center. We took the Pacific Starliner which uses the Amtrak tracks. The price was only sixty dollars round trip each. You can park your car in the parking lot for free all day. The train ride was a few hours, but you got to ride the train and look out the window at everything going by. You can even take a nap on the train.  Riding the train is so much better than riding a bus. Some of the train depots are pretty breath taking with their own architecture, especially Union station in the heart of Los Angeles and of course Santa Barbara station.  The trip is worth it plus, you do not drive, you sit back and relax. We could have driven to Santa Barbara, but what is the fun in that? The seats are comfortable, and you get to snuggle up to your partner too. You can bring snacks on board or purchase them from the snack bar car. It is a little pricy, though. They do have electrical outlets at every seat if you want to charge your phone. This helps especially going back, we used our phones a lot and they needed to be charged. Pulling into Santa Barbara is exciting. It is an old train station, very nostalgic. The Santa Barbara pier is only a quarter mile away. Certainly, a short walking distance even with my bad knees. The pier is where a lot is, restaurants, gift shops, and museums. Also, the sites of the ocean and beach. Walking from the train station to the pier is a little trek, but not difficult at all. No need for uber, taxi, or renting a car. You can soak in the salt air and sunshine by walking. At the pier, there are plenty of restaurants, mostly seafood. They can be very pricy so, keep that in mind, but if you work it, you can have a nice lunch with your partner for under one hundred bucks. We had lunch at Moby Dicks (https://mobydicksb.com/#seafood-with-a-view) Extremely good food and the service was impeccable. The tables are set up by big windows so, you see the ocean front area.  Don’t forget to peruse the gift shops, I bought a hat and refrigerator magnet, but that’s what I do. They have many different items. Then, the museum, The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. . It is pricey, about twenty bucks each but it is interactive. Good outing for kids or grandkids. Then, walking back to train station, we stopped for ice cream at McDonnells (https://mcconnells.com/pages/find-us#shops). The line was long but did not take long. A great way to cool off, we went in August, but Santa Barbara is a year-round destination. Then, taking the train back home. We were tired and the phones were almost dead. We napped and charged our phone and even took in the snack bar car. We got back to Anaheim still daylight. Left in the morning about 7am on a Saturday and got back at about 6pm. Great outing and will not break the bank. Memories to last a lifetime.