We  climbed on to Amtrak's Surfliner Train 761 and it was All Aboard for Santa Barbara.  This was the start of our exploration of Santa Barbara's 2016 Car Free promotion which offers train passengers savings on  many of the amenities and activities that abound in this City.
We arrived at the scenic Santa Barbara Train Station just two hours later ready to start two days of activities.
Visitors like us,  by showing their train tickets, can take advantage of savings on hotels, wine tasting, city tours, cycling and sailing.
We walked three blocks on State Street to Hotel Santa Barbara where we were staying. And what a happy choice this turned out to be.  This Writer will have much more to say about this historic property.
Through the years we have spent many pleasant times in Santa Barbara and have long thought that its main thoroughfare, State Street, was the prettiest and most interesting in the State.
Tree lined and with emphasis on foot traffic it offers a huge variety of store front businesses including what seemed countless restaurants.
It also is home to a huge Farmers Market every Tuesday evening extending for blocks and with throngs of folk enjoying the crowd scene, impromptu live music, and the many food stalls.
That first afternoon we took the Santa Barbara Trolley Tour which takes one on a ninety minute tour of the City's main attractions with the opportunity to leave at some point of interest, like the Old Mission, and then get aboard again on a later bus.
That evening we followed the crowd roaming the Farmers Market scene.