cookiesinheaven

Nestled on a quiet corner on upper De la Vina Street, you may or may not have noticed Mimosa. For the past 27 years, the restaurant has been serving some of the best French cuisine found in Santa Barbara. This week — Tuesday through Thursday — it will celebrate with a 27th anniversary special: a three-course pix fixe meal with a glass of wine for $27.

The restaurant opened in 1983 under Ann and Camille Schwartz, but since 2000 it has been run by Chris and Derrick Melton, who worked in the kitchen in the 1990s before moving to San Francisco to experience myriad other styles of cooking. They bought the restaurant from the Schwartzes in 2005. - Noozhawk

One U.S. senator and a core of young organizers turned April 22, 1970, into the day the environmental movement was born.

On that day, 20 million Americans in 2,000 communities and 10,000 schools planted trees, cleaned up parks, buried cars in mock graves, marched, listened to speeches and protested how humans were messing up their world.

....Earth Day was the brainchild of Sen. Gaylord Nelson, a Wisconsin Democrat, who came up with the idea of a national teach-in on the environment after 3 million gallons of oil spilled across the beaches of Santa Barbara, Calif., and killed 10,000 seabirds in January 1969.

Nelson's idea gave birth to a green movement and a "green generation" that would be as powerful as the industrial revolution in shaping the future of civilization. - Cleveland.com

Springtime at El Capitan Canyon means the creek is gurgling with winter rains, wildflowers scatter the hills and, on the organic farm, new crops are growing. This year, guests get a day on the Canyon farm, which starts with a guided hike to learn about local flora and fauna as well as sustainable farming practices from the Canyon's own heritage farming specialist, Larry Miller. In the fields, kids of all ages are welcome to dig in the dirt to collect a little soil for their complimentary flowerpot, in which guests can plant seeds for a take-home memento of their day on the farm. Afterward, guests visit the llama pen and then return to the Canyon Market & Deli for lunch.

The Farm Fresh Package includes two nights for up to four guests in any of the Canyon's classic white safari tents or cedar cabins for a camping experience in comfort. The package also includes a gardening starter basket with four gardening pots, trowel, and seeds, four lunch vouchers redeemable at the Canyon Market & Deli, a point & shoot disposable camera to capture the moment, and a guided hike of the Selma Rubin Trail. Rates start at $415, plus tax, depending on accommodation type, and the package is available through June 3, 2010, excluding holidays.

On the guided hike along the Selma Rubin Trail past the Canyon's farm, Larry will not only impress guests with his vast knowledge of native plants, crops and farming practices but entertain them with a special visit to his herd of slightly grumpy llamas, playful goats and laid back donkey. Larry is El Capitan Canyon's director of maintenance but also heads the farming program, where he draws on knowledge from his days on the family farm in Iowa, an agricultural education from Utah State University and years of raising sheep.

The Farm Fresh package is part of the Canyon's environmental ethos. Set over 300 acres of rolling hills and canyons, environmental stewardship is inherent at the Canyon. The property has several environmental programs with the goal to help restore, preserve and protect its lands and waterways. - Marketwire