Ventura to Monterey (via Solvang)

Someone's been having too much fun I fear, and not doing enough blogging. Its tragic.... or really, really awesome :)

Yeah, definitely awesome.

So I woke up relatively early in Ventura after staying up to watch Jay Leno's last run on the tonight show (very touching - he seems like such a genuinely nice dude) and doing a bit of reading.

I packed up the car and deposited the dog, and set out - deciding to stop at the Ventura Farmers Market on the way. Poor Zack wasn't allowed (its illegal throughout California to brings pets into any farmers market, even outdoor ones), so since it was hovering around 60 degrees, I opted to leave him in the car as I did a quick 10 minute minute sprint through the stalls.

One aisle of the market

Two girls I met who were busking (playing music for tips) street side at the fest. They also Irish dance.


I bought me some fresh local cherries! Since there were no grapes (right, Annie B.?) they are serving as my "car snack".


As are the insanely sweet and colossal strawberries!

They also had beautiful heirloom tomatoes:




Then I felt guilty that Zack didn't get to come hang out, so I drove a few blocks back to a little outdoor art market I had had spied on the water earlier, and we got out there. Not much interesting or different in the stalls (except for a guy who was making art from bark - like the kind of bark you find on beaches, worn and curled and shaped by weather, probably palm tree skin? hmm... anyways, the idea was cool but all the faces he was painting on them were clowny and creepy), but we had a nice walk and spied:



a beautiful walkway (extends far in both directions) full of people walking their dogs, dogs walking their owners, and lots of joggers/runners/walkers in groups. Its a truly communal community - everyone is super friendly, stopping to chat you up and pet your dog. It was a lovely way to start the morning - and they seem to do it every day!



Beach squirrels! I thought the lady who told me about them was nutso but, shame on me, not so much. They live in rocks on the beach and they are everywhere. Can you spot the three (at least) in the third photo? Come on kids! (insert inane Barney skit music here)

Back to the car, to head up to Monterey. The PCH is so beautiful - full of twist and turns that make you feel like you're riding on a race track - going 77 around hairpin turns made for very wet palms - and for some of us, perhaps a damp seat... Course, holding the camera wasn't smart either, but, hey..



Its amazing how you just turn a corner and find somebody has hung a postcard.
Oh - the last pic is for Dad - Santa Claus Ln ;)

So I continued on my merry way til I had to stop and fill up Spitz (thats the Prius, by the by). Randomly, it ended up being in Buellton, CA. While refuelling and pouring myself the nastiest cup of gas station coffee anybody ever insulted their mouth with, I noticed a sign: Solvang, 10 miles.

No. Freakin'. Way.

Why the excitement?? Um, hello?! http://www.solvangusa.com/ Its an authentic Danish village in the middle of Cali. I had no idea I was that close.

It had to be done.

On the short drive there, I saw an ostrich farm (selling ostrich eggs), loads of cherry stands, and a pig farm (selling whole, live pigs. I bought two).

And then: Solvang.



Everything is done in tudor style - houses, shops, restaurants, government buildings: everything. The last one is a courtyard with several cafes. I bought a sandwich at Paninis: provolone, avocado, red onion, lettuce, green bell pepper, tomato, on a baguette. Nummm.


This shop sold just santa/gnome things, available in both genders.


HAHA! Seriously funny. The pet store had two rubber daschunds outside. Zack thought it was a real dog and ran up to it growling... then sniffed it, realized the error, and tried to play it off all cool. It almost worked, until he spotted the other one, raced over to it, and, well, repeat. HA



Back on the road to Monterey.

So I pull into Monterey, where I have a confirmed reservation at a dinky Super 8. When I go into the office and give him my name, he says "Oh yes... but you have dog."
"Yes, I have dog. That's why on the email confirming my reservation, it confirms for me and a dog."
"Oh no... we don't take dogs."
"Um... I have a confirmed reservation. With my dog. And your website says you take dogs. And you obviously knew I was bringing him, because you said 'you have dog" and never let me know. I just drove 6 hours, and me and dog need room"

So round and round we went, and no room. But golly gee whiz, they said they wouldn't charge me! Super. So I call around, trying to find a room at 6:30 on a Saturday night. This is one of the two double beds in the room I was given at the lovely Bay Ridge Hotel:


Its kind of hard to see, but yes - that is slightly U shaped. When I attempted to get IN the bed, I rolled to the middle and then left, at approximately a 30 degree angle.... and I aint that fat. It was so bad it was comical - luckily the other bed was suitable, as the dog eagerly demonstrated:



Normally I put a sheet I bring down first, but screw this place, and their $25 dollar craptastic room service.

But the coffee in the morning was stellar!

Due to arriving so late, I didnt see any of Monterey, but... such is life.
And tomorrow?
San Francisco :)