To fulfill the required stay for the Radisson Big Night Giveaway, we chose their Santa Maria hotel for a mini-vacation on a Friday Night in July. There was really no reason for us to be in Santa Maria but thought that it would make a nice trip driving through the cities along the coast. Traffic on an early afternoon was heavy as expected, especially between Thousand Oaks and Oxnard. The view while driving up was amazing. We arrived at the hotel around 5pm and the hotel already had our room upgraded to a king suite with a private balcony. There are certain perks for being a Club Carlson Gold member. The suite is huge with a separate sitting area and a little kitchenette (minus a stove). Again, a sleep number bed was provided. The suite was clean and comfortable but it was dated. It felt more like an apartment to me and lacks the classy relax atmosphere that a hotel room should. It really needs a good remodeling job.
The spacious sitting area
Sleep number bed
from the bedroom
Huge private balcony that overlooks the swimming pool on one side and the airport the other.
The clerk at the front desk suggested that we should have dinner at Shaw's Steak House, which I already planned on doing after reading their reviews. Apparently this is a popular restaurant. We got there around 6:30pm and missed their Early Bird specials. It took them 15 minutes to seat us and it was indeed very busy.
For the 15 minutes waiting time we were looking at this old photos hanging on the wall...I suppose it shows the old fashion BBQ that Santa Maria is famous for.
Complimentary relish
Excellent clam chowder
We both ordered their rib-eye and they came out perfect!
Part of the airport from our balcony. We really couldn't see the runway though.
The next day, after having breakfast at Carl's Jr. we headed back home. Of course we had to stop at Solvang on the way and visit our favorite antique store. Fortunately we did not spend a dime in town.
Stopping at a vista point to take in the magnificent views of the California coast.
Yep, that's the train track that the Coast Starlight went on when we rode the train between L.A. and Seattle a few years back.
OK, time for some crabs. We stopped at H.C. Seafood at Oxnard Fisherman's Wharf for some fresh crabs. Because it was late in the afternoon, the place was not as crowded as last time.
One spider crab and one stone crab for the two of us.
A wonderful ending to another mini-vacation.
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