Santa Maria Sun / Art

The Best adventure

BY SHELLY CONE

Some adventure Jennifer Best said just because it’s called Best Adventures doesn’t mean it’s a reflection of the “best” activities in the county. In her book that’s a play on her name, Best said she tried to include everything a family would be interested in doing in Santa Barbara County—but not everything there is to do. PHOTO BY SHELLY CONE

With that done, Best plopped herself down on the couch of her Orcutt home, tucked her bare feet underneath her, and brushed her long blond hair off her face. Once she got settled, she took a deep breath and started to talk about her latest book. But then the tea was ready and her two daughters, busy doing their homework, wanted some.

It quickly became easy to see why this former reporter embarked on a multi-year effort to compile a book of family adventures in San Luis Obispo County and now Santa Barbara County: to spend more time with her family. And she wants others to do the same with their families.

“We have all this electronic distraction,” she said. “If you do something peacefully together, somewhere quiet, without the distraction, that’s quality time together.”

In her jeans, green hoodie sweatshirt, and relaxed demeanor, Best doesn’t come across as pretentious—but she said she sometimes feels she does when she talks to people about things to do in the area. She explained, almost apologetically, that people often ask her if she’s been to this place or that location.

“And I don’t know what to say,” she admitted. “I don’t want to sound like a know-it-all, but yeah, I kind of wrote a book about it.”

 But she quickly added a challenge: “If there’s something in the book I’ve left out or I don’t know about, my e-mail is in there and you can bring it to my attention. I love finding out about new places.”

Best Family Adventures: Santa Barbara County features maps, resources, and activities from a local’s perspective. Best said it isn’t just the highlights—she actually visited every pocket park, museum, and art gallery included. Her daughters visited most of them, too, though that’s not to say the book focuses only on activities children would like.

“I wanted to define family in a broader sense,” she said. “If you’ve never had children, then that’s your family. If your children are grown, then that’s your family now. For college students, that core group you are with all the time, that’s your family.”

Be the Best For more information about Best Family Adventures Santa Barbara County or to find a bookstore where it’s available, visit bestfamilyadventures.com.

“But I set down the terms: I’m taking my daughter with me. And I’m not doing it when she’s sick.”

With the rules set, Best spent 2 1/2 years writing about her family’s hiking adventures. Eventually, she realized the service she was providing to other families.

“Three different families said they were ripping out these stories and making binders, and I thought, ‘If they are making a book, maybe I should.’”

A San Luis Obispo native who now lives in Orcutt, Best said before writing her books she thought she knew everything there was to do in the area. Now she knows better—especially with her latest book covering Santa Barbara County. For instance, it includes places like the Natural History Museum, which she never had time to visit as a reporter.

“It’s a small place, but they have so much there,” she said. “And the docents are really good. Everyone who works there has a specialty in something about the area.”

And now Best herself has a specialty—an answer to anyone who complains there’s nothing to do around here: “You just slap down the book and say ‘Here’s 272 pages of things to do. Pick something.’”

Arts Editor Shelly Cone’s life is always an adventure. Join her at scone@santamariasun.com.