By Harry Nelson

	‘(I.V. parks create) a convenient place for harried UCSB workers to recharge their batteries…’

In my first year at UCSB—now 16 years ago—I discovered a nice breather from daily stress. I’d duck off campus at lunch to enjoy the calm of I.V.’s Window to the Sea park at 6691 Del Playa, where I could sit on a swinging bench and soak in the incredible view of the Santa Barbara Channel and its islands.

A few years ago, a bluff-top park even nearer to campus—Pelican Park at 6543 Del Playa, a 7-minute walk from Storke Tower —opened with four artful, stone benches. This created an even more convenient place for harried UCSB workers to recharge their batteries during a quiet lunch while relishing a million-dollar view.

Both parks are extremely well maintained. (A map of the Isla Vista park system is available in the Internet at <www.ivparks.org/map/map.html>.)

At this time of year the view from the I.V. bluffs is particularly interesting. The migration of the gray whale from Baja to Alaska takes place between January and May. Mother-calf pairs hug the coast at peak migration, usually in mid-March, as many as 20 whales parade by I.V. in the daylight hours.

The viewing is so good that the American Cetacean Society has a permanent whale census station at Coal Oil Point, at the western tip of Isla Vista. (The whale conservation group’s local Web site is <www.acschannelislands.org/graycensus.htm>.)

Isla Vista also has some terrific places to grab a quick lunch before heading to the bluffS. My favorite, which is in the heart of I.V., is Freebird’s, operated by Mark Orfalea at 879 Embarcadero Del Norte. Recently described in the New York Times as the best fast food in Santa Barbara, Freebird’s servers will roll a burrito to your specifications while you watch.

Mark is obsessive about the quality of his ingredients, and he frequently experiments with new items. Freebird’s is also a 7-minute walk from Storke Tower; an additional five minutes and you are at Pelican Park.

Two other standouts among I.V.’s many lunch places are the I.V. Deli Mart at 6549 Pardall and Little Asia at 6527 Madrid. The Deli Mart serves mid-eastern shawarma (marinated lamb or chicken) and falafel in pita bread that some call the best west of the West Bank.

While Little Asia serves a variety of Asian food, the Korean dishes really stand out, attracting Korean food lovers from all over the South Coast.

After finishing lunch and watching the whales, sometimes I drop by the Isla Vista Food Co-op, at 6575 Seville, to pick up a few groceries. The co-op is a lot like Lazy Acres in Santa Barbara, only more economical.

But my favorite route back is down the coastal access stairs at the foot of Embarcadero in I.V., a short way west from Pelican Park. Then I walk along the beach to the UCSB Lagoon, and up the path to the UCen.

I’ve made a complete circuit from my office in Broida Hall in less than an hour, although the food, views, fresh air, and whales are so exceptional that it is tempting to linger. Surprisingly, few UCSB staff and faculty get out and savor these next-door delights, even though you don’t have to give up your parking spot to enjoy them.