MORE MESA
From: richard@West.Sun.COM (Richard M. Mathews)
MORE MESA is located about 5 miles west (aka north:-) of downtown
Santa Barbara and a few miles east of UCSB. No hassle. Quiet.
Occasional surf. Oil/tar sometimes; but the oil companies assure us
it's "natural leakage", so we feel ok about it:^( There are quite a
few egg-sized smooth rocks in the sand near the water's edge, but the
sand was otherwise clear and very comfortable to bare feet. The high
dirt cliffs above the beach looked like they occasionally drop clods
of earth to their base, so it's probably safer, as usual on California
beaches, to keep a short distance away from the base of the cliffs when
you're parking your towel.
Exit U.S. 101 North at Turnpike. Turn left over the freeway. Drive
down the hill, and turn left at the light (Hollister). Turn right at
Puente (the next light). Continue past the stop sign, up the hill, and
park on the street where Mockingbird Lane goes to the left. Do not
park on Mockingbird lane, as you will be towed. Walk up Mockingbird
lane, and when it ends continue on the dirt trail/road that runs to
the left. The trail will go left, then straighten out to the cliff,
then a wooden staircase leads down to the beach. Once at the beach,
the area to the right tends to be the "always-CO" area. Depending on
the size of the crowds, sometimes the CO area expands to the entire
beach; but on lightly populated days, the left side (as you face the
water) seemed to be textile. Total walk is about a mile. Don't forget
to bring water.
Rumor is that local sheriff has been cracking down on nudity at some
Santa Barbara area beaches due to complaints about sex. So far More
Mesa has been left alone, but the locals blame the sexual activity on
people from L.A. and other outsiders. (Certainly no-one from Santa
Barbara would have sex on a beach! :-( ) Anyway, because of this the
locals seem to have copped an attitude towards outsiders and if you go
there they might not be especially friendly.
Weather reports for the area can be found at
| http://www.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/Webweather/ww?city=sba
[Original from "anonymous"]
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