Santa Barbara Farmers Market

I have always wanted to cook my meals with goods from the Farmer's Market, and be a supporter of the local farms. However, living in Charlotte, NC, buying local foods from restaurants or stores is not feasible. We have one Farmer's Market in the whole city, it is located in a very small area just outside of a neighborhood, not making it possible for a more food/ shoppers/ and parking.

Don't get me wrong, I am really glad to have a Farmer's Market, but after visiting Santa Barbara, there could be much more room for improvement at home!!

If you have never visited the Santa Barbara Farmer's Market, it is all fresh, local, and delicious! The city closes down a single strip of road (about 3 blocks) in downtown Santa Barbara and opens it to the public for some outdoor grocery shopping! There was cross guard, making it safe for everyone with crossing traffic. Everyone was very friendly and there was some very interesting food like tri-colored carrots!

Going to Santa Barbara's Farmer's Market was such a great experience; it expanded my interest of buying and eating local foods. Last night, we made a 100% local dinner; chicken (that was killed 2 days ago) salad, acorn squash, cauliflower, and carrots. Olivia Dillon was our chef, she cooks some mean chicken. Devon Gorry and I were her sous chefs, cutting and cleaning anything!


Above is a picture of a guy selling balloons, one of the many great people watching moments!

This is what the market looks like from one end, there were a TON of people there!Devon likes the sweet multi colored berries!

This guy was playing 4 different instruments at once!

Apparently this are really wonderful apples, maybe I should have told the Kiwi Customs police how good the apples are in America!

Some interesting avocado I have never seen before.... I still do not know what it is.

Another musician entertaining us along the walk through the market.

These two older women know how to grow some good avocados! They were so nice and sweet!

This cool hippie plays the ukulele, just like me! I wanted to join in badly!

Powers says "Oh snap! These mandarin oranges are tARRRRt!"

AnneSlam eats the whole orange in one bite.Carrots of all different colors, white, purple, and red!Olivia (OD) can eat this whole bag in one morning. That is how much fruit she eats in a day!

To end our Farmer's Market journey, a nice beach cruiser and fresh flowers in the background. It was a great experience and lots of learning of a different culture (and I didn't even have to leave the country!!)

Thanks for reading!! Keep following for more updates, tomorrow morning, we pack up the bus and head south for SanDimas. Goodbye Santa (Claus) Barbara, I had a great time!