California Dreamin’ claims my soul in new ways now that I’ve strolled Santa Barbara.

Hummed the Mamas and Papas song in the ‘60s, of course, but after four days in

this lovely Pacific Coast city of red tile roofs, whitewashed walls, soaring mountains and Pacific beaches, I’m dreamin’ new dreams too.

    Like returning to California.  Santa Barbara’s personality is warm, welcoming, and, well, forgiving too.

    The driver who took my quarter, and heard me praise the 25 cent shuttle ride in downtown, gently mentioned that his vehicle was actually a hybrid bus: 85 cents for age 62 and over and $1.35 for younger riders.

    Isn’t that delightful? Cheap, efficient, abundant public transportation, and even though I was on the wrong bus, people were oh so polite.  I’m more accustomed to having my mistakes pointed out.

    Santa Barbara is so pretty that walking is alluring, but when time and energy didn’t allow, these shuttles and buses got me to the beaches, shopping promenades, the 1786 Mission, active today, the Museum of Art and the Botanic Garden    

    Eighty-five cents to the Garden and it’s a 20-minute trip on winding mountain roads.  Santa Ynez is the name of these mountains, visible all over town, running east to west, funneling fog and cool ocean air to the vineyards.

    More wine stories to come but this is still about the buses. I’d recommend the ride to the Botanic Garden simply because the round trip is a grand tour, including wildflowers.

    I double-checked the schedule behind the driver’s seat to be sure I’d be the right place at the right time to get back to my bed and breakfast, the Bath Street Inn.

    “Oh no,” the driver said. “Just call me when you’re ready. We won’t come back this far until we know someone wants a ride.”

    Imagine? In Santa Barbara, visitors get personal bus service.

    When I told that story to my knowledgeable docent at the Botanic Garden—a homey, comfortable place filled with native California flowers, trees, shrubs—she said her volunteer time was over at the end of our walk and she’d just drive me wherever I wanted to go.

    Apparently, congenial is normal for Santa Barbara.  I was headed to a rooftop party on the Canary Hotel on Carrillo Street in downtown, officially designated one of the Leading Small Hotels of the World and she dropped me off at the door.

    Glorious views of the city’s red tile roofs, mountains to the north, loads of treetops and parks, only a few tall buildings.

    Santa Barbara, it turns out, has some regulations to prevent buildings from blocking the views.  How refreshing is that?

    No special access for me; this party anybody could buy a ticket: good band, fine food, grand views. Wine tastings happen on the roof Monday nights, May through September.

    I’d say in Santa Barbara it might be more worthwhile than some places to check the newspaper and tourism bureau listings for “Events” to discover extra specials.

     This is a small city, population 95,000. Either they’re hungry or visitors are abundant, because when I branched out from the city bus system to ride a tourist trolley, the guide said Santa Barbara has 500 restaurants.

    Six performing arts centers too so these 95,000 people and their guests really love theater, the symphony, ballet, movies and music.

    Since I eavesdrop a lot, I overheard a woman tell her friend in front of the Arlington Theater, “I didn’t care what was showing, I bought a ticket just to see the inside.”

    Price? $9.75

    Thought about it myself, but opted for a long stellar dinner at Olio e Limone Ristorante instead, the same night Drew Barrymore thought the same.

    I ate luscious eggplant soufflé with a goat cheese center, duck ravioli, halibut, pannacotta; Barrymore only walked by my window.

Santa Barbara is a star-studded city. “Sideways” was filmed here in the wine country, plus “Scarface,” “Seabiscuit” and many more.

 Charlie Chaplin’s black-and-white silhouette is on the Montecito Inn at the end of Coast Village Road, and Flying A studios produced more than 1,200 silent films and westerns in Santa Barbara from 1912–1919.

    There’s a tour devoted to filming locations and celebrity homes but I skipped it in favor of food, wine and walking.

    Eating local in Santa Barbara doesn’t mean seasonal limitations.

    This growing season is all year and it’s easy to find fresh from local farms. Farmer’s markets are abundant so ask servers what the chef selected that morning for the menu. Good chance there will be choices.

    Cooking classes with Market Forays start in the farm and fish markets for ingredients, then on to the lesson and fine eating.

    Wine’s fresh in its own way too. Drive yourself or join a tour with driver to savor more.

The vineyards are magnificent but I only drove by on my way south from San Francisco.  I opted for a third choice to experience Santa Barbara wines.  

On foot. The Urban Wine Trail intrigued me. A dozen tasting rooms from the beach into downtown.

Two are really close to East Beach, where I wanted to loll about, plus visit the oldest, longest working pier on the west coast, Stearns Wharf.

Kunin Wines was my first stop, sleek, minimalist design with toys to match. Really. The Kunin family includes a two-year old; the dad became a vintner after graduating from medical college.

Family-friendly walk-up wine a block from the beach, in view of the mountains, with the promise of more. Wish I’d had a friend to share this lushness.

Municipal Winemakers is just around the corner from Kunin with a different charm.

Techie this one, placing orders and texting receipts from an iPad, but if you pay with cash, change comes from the cash register of the owner’s great-great grandfather.

This vintner studied winemaking in Australia, and France’s Rhone region; a sleek flat-screen TV showed vineyards and the winemaking process as I sipped a dark red 2008 blend with hints of blackberry jam, chocolate and black currant.

Cleared my head with a stroll down Stearns Wharf, exhibits about the giant kelp in this submarine forest, and a visit to the Ty Warner Sea Center with child-friendly exhibits of sea life and the nearby Channel Islands.

The islands are a national marine sanctuary and national park, with 145 species of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) protects the ecosystems, with the National Park Service, for five of the eight channel islands.

Kayaking, fishing, boating and hiking are all possible, with loads of guidelines to protect all these living treasures so check first.

The city side of the ocean includes banks of succulents, and a big green park, hugging the sandy beach. My trolley driver the first afternoon pointed out 1,500 palm trees planted, he said, in the 1920s.

The waterfront park was a gift to the city, and the deed stipulated no condos should ever be built.

Contrast that to some other beaches you visit.

I was ready for Kalyra Winery after my waterfront time, including a two-block walk with my back to the beach.

This one calls itself “a wild and pleasant place,” reflecting the homeland of the Australian owner with viticulture and enology education from the respected University of California at Davis winemaking school.

The roof is thatched, Aborigine masks fill the wall and the vessel for excess wine is handcrafted pottery.

Had I known much of anything before starting this trail, I’d have saved Kalyra for after lunch or dinner because their orange Muscat dessert wine really spoke to me.

Get the Urban Wine Trail brochure to map a course before you start out. Include lunch because some of these tasting rooms open by 11:00 a.m.

Glorious places to sit along this trail and around Santa Barbara.  Special seats, like the big tile chair in the County Courthouse stairway, also tiled.

Spanish Moorish this National Historic Landmark building, a rich mix of towers, arches, color, murals, grillwork, balconies and gardens.

The courthouse loveliness took me by surprise much like the National Archives in Washington, D. C.  So well worth a self-guided walk through.

Walking the Red Tile tour is another nice Santa Barbara jaunt, simply because the compact city is so pretty.

Seventeen stops on this walkabout, a mix of museums, public buildings, parks and promenades.

Number three on the Red Tile Walking Tour I heartily recommend — the Museum of Art. It’s small and exquisite, like the city.

Japanese printmaking, an ancient world Egyptian funerary mask, works by Cezanne, Whistler, and Gauguin and immense photography portraits are among the many treasures.

Perfect vacation place, this southernmost city in Northern California, also Southern California’s northernmost town.