After a slightly chaotic evening, we arose for breakfast this morning with an eager attitude to accomplish what we could for the day given the circumstances. With the bad weather and flash floods last night, it was easy to feel frightened or worried. Despite the hectic situation, the California Grey group remained attentive, and ready to execute any plan that our leaders or Jasmine asked of us for today.

After a delicious breakfast at the hotel, we had a solid amount of free time because many activities had been postponed. We played card games, bonded in our hotel rooms, took a walk to a nearby shopping center, and some even received a laundry lesson from Ms. Evans. We then boarded the bus for lunch at Rincon Brewery, which was a short drive away.

After filling up with some tasty food, we walked over to the beach, where we were met with beautiful views and strong wind gusts. Jasmine explained to us the beaches at Santa Barbara are ever-changing: there was significant debris on the coast that hadn’t even been there three months prior. It was lovely to take in some serene views after the aggressive weather we experienced last night. It was a great opportunity to see just how different weather can be on the west coast, and the experience changed many of our perspectives as we learned about geographical differences between Nashville and California.

After our beach walk, we were surprised by our leaders with an ice cream stop! It was the perfect end to our afternoon excursion. After a bit more downtime at the hotel, we walked to dinner, which of course was another beautiful and delicious stop. To say we have been well fed on this trip would be an understatement. After dinner, we had a group meeting where we discussed plans for the next day, then headed off to bed. We are excited to see what the next day brings!