Vacation!

I'll admit it: I am not a good vacationer.

Give me five days without work, and I'll certainly enjoy the time off. I'll enjoy not going to work, I'll enjoy relaxing and I'll even do my best to put down the Blackberry for a few days. But will I voluntarily spend money on staying in a hotel? Probably not without some vigorous coaxing. Good thing Devoted Wife is a born coaxer.

Given that my company is shut down this entire week, Devoted Wife seized matters in her own hands and decided we were going to Santa Barbara for a few days. I checked the map: there was no reason why we should drive less than an hour away and pay to stay in a hotel. I usually view hotels as the ultimate in wasted money. Staying in a halfway decent hotel usually means paying through the nose for the privilege of sleeping in a bed that is less comfortable than your own with pillows that are less comfortable than your own, fussing around with a climate control system that is less intuitive than your own and repeatedly realizing that there's no gallon of frosty milk in the fridge when you get the craving in the middle of the night. It makes sense when you're in a far away town for a college friend's wedding, for example, but staying in a hotel near your own home? Preposterous!

But Devoted Wife was smart. Through her internet savvy (and a good tip from someone at my office) she found a very nice hotel in Montecito, an upscale area just a couple of miles outside of Santa Barbara. When I heard the very reasonable room rate I started thinking that this might actually be a vacation I could enjoy.

Turns out that the Montecito Inn has a lot going for it.

The website notes: "Built in 1928 by cinema legend Charlie Chaplin, the Inn was originally meant as an escape to paradise for Mr. Chaplin's closest friends." What the website does not mention is that one of Mr. Chaplin's Hollywood friends who helped bankroll the hotel was Fatty Arbuckle, who allegedly had a problem with young starlets meeting their end in his hotel suite.

His much publicized trial apparently ended in an acquittal with a written apology, and experts now think he had little to do with the death of the young actress, but the scandal ended his career and his image seems never to have recovered. There were drawings and likenesses of Mr. Chaplin throughout the Inn -- but I didn't see any of Ol' Fatty.

The Inn was just a couple of blocks from the beach, where Kate got her first real taste of sand in her fingers and toes (and mouth).

Given her adventurous spirit, I thought she'd dig right into the sand. But it took her a while to adjust to the new texture before shoveling a large handful into her mouth. I've been staying away from the her diaper-end for the last two days.

We had an amazing dinner at Lucky's, right next to the Inn, where I got the best bone-in rib chop I've had in a long time. I can't remember when I had such a flavorful steak. By this time the trip to Santa Barbara was seeming like a great idea, one that I was glad to take credit for.

We had a great time at the beach, at the pool and just walking around the beautiful grounds of the Four Seasons Biltmore hotel. When I realized what the guests in the Biltmore were paying for their rooms compared with what I was paying for this trip, I got even happier.

Overall, we had an amazing time, and we were home in just about an hour after we checked out of the hotel this afternoon. Turns out that Devoted Wife was right again, and the trip was time and money well spent.