Sometimes there is a clear path we march along, our heads held high, our goal in sight. But more often we are led down the abstract way where the twists and turns are so jagged that we can't see our way forward. We keep moving along because we have no choice…that is what life asks of us.

As we take each step our journey is fueled by the hope that the answers we seek are up ahead…just around the bend of the abstract way.

Chapter 26-Santa Barbara with James

Our reservations are at the Biltmore, a Four Season landmark hotel resting on the beachfront of prime Santa Barbara real estate. Like almost everything else in Santa Barbara it is classically Spanish architecture with whitewashed walls, terracotta adobe roofs and arched windows and doorways. The structure is low and spread across the sprawling property surrounded by rolling lawns edged with palm trees. Clusters of indigenous wildflowers bring spots of hot color to the verdant blanket of green.