Anniversary Get-Away - Day 1 - Solvang

So it's the first day of our little anniversary get-away.  We waited for the peak going-to-work traffic hours to be over and then drove through L.A. with a quick stop for breakfast before heading up the California Coast and then inland a bit to the cute little town of Solvang . . .



One of the cute windmills around town

We both really like Solvang.  It's fun to walk through all the little shops, and usually we sample the Danish pastries as we stroll, but we're trying to be "good", so we somehow managed to be satisfied with just looking and sniffing our way past the very tempting pastry counters.

Cute Little Phone Booth

As we continued walking, we found the entrance to the Santa Inez Mission and decided to take a quick stroll through the mission grounds.

Old Mission Santa Ines



We've been here before, but I always seem to see something that I don't remember from past visits.  This time it was the arches in the front of the Mission.  I thought it was interesting that some of the arches are original and some have been reconstructed . . .

The Original 19th Arch

More Information About the Arches

The 10 Original Arches - Also Notice The Wooden Ceiling, Also Original

Front View of the Arches

The Church and Bell Tower

Look How Thick The Walls Are - The Window is Even With the Interior of the Bldg.

Found This Rose Along Side the Mission and it Totally Fascinated Me - All These Different Colors on One Bush

The view from the Mission is really pretty, and I was having fun playing with my new camera which has a 20X Zoom.  Check this out . . .

See the Clump of Trees on the Right?  Now Look at the Bare Spot on the Hill Beyond

This Is What's On The Top of That Bare Looking Hill

Looking in the Other Direction - Can You See The House Way in the Back of This Photo?

Here's What That House Looks Like!  Pretty Cool, Huh?

John finally got me away from the Mission and we continued our stroll through town.  In one of the store windows, we spotted an apron that had one of John's favorite sayings embroidered on it, so we went inside to see if we could find a T-Shirt with the same saying.  John asked the store owner, who said he could make one for him.  And so  . . .

Embroidery Machine in Operation

20 Minutes Later - The Finished Product

We completed our sight-seeing tour, drove to our Motel in the neighboring town of Buellton, checked in, and then headed out for dinner to a restaurant recommended by my friend, Bonnie . . .

A.J. Spurs Saloon and Dining Hall

What a fun place!  When you walk through the front door, the first thing you see is a huge buffalo (bison), along with several equally huge bears and various other animals throughout the restaurant.  It's very western in it's decor and you just know you're going to have a fun time.  As soon as they seat you, they plop a huge cast iron pot full of yummy beef-vegetable soup in front of you, along with bowls of black beans and salsa, and you're told to mix it all together and enjoy while you peruse the menu.  Yum . . .

The food is really good and very plentiful.  And at the end of the meal, you are rewarded with  . . . .

An Old Fashioned Root Beer Float - So Good!

So we leave the restaurant to drive back to the Motel, and on the way we decide to stop for gas.  John fills the tank, then turns the key to start the engine and . . . . nothing!  Not even the little cranking sound, just silence!  We just sit there for a moment looking at each other in total disbelief . . . We had just driven almost 200 miles, surely we couldn't have a dead battery!  But apparently we did!  So I pull out the cell phone, dial AAA, and hand the phone to John.  As he's talking to the dispatcher, what pulls up to the stop light right in front of us but a AAA truck.  How lucky can you get!  John runs (pretty funny sight!) across the gas station lot and waves down the driver, all the while still talking to the dispatcher.  Best service we've ever had with AAA!  

Long story short, the AAA guy tested everything, jumped the battery to get us started, and asked us where we were staying.  When we told him, he started laughing - our Motel was right across the street from his shop.  Unbelievable.  When John flagged him down, he was on his way home with ice cream for his kids (which I'm sure was very melted by the time he got home), and then he had another service call to take care of, and after that, he came back to our motel, sold John a new battery and we were good to go.  The stars were definitely aligned for us today!