Solvang et. al.

This is a continuation of the photoblog series..

Solvang is really beautiful. Cute shops that look like they are frozen in time. It is almost like visiting Denmark, with the addition of pedal carts, horse drawn carriages, no tto mention the cute shops..

It was a treat to take pictures of the kids in the Solvang park, which is right next to the Hans Christian Anderson Museum..



The statue in the park ..


The cutesy pedal carts in Solvang..



Window displays outside stores that are a treat to watch..


We came to Solvang pretty late, after spending the day at Lake Cachuma and the Mission at Santa Ynez. (I will post on those two places separately). So before we knew it, the town shut down and all the shops closed and it was just us and the lights..



The main street and two other streets were well lit (beyond that it was residential areas, just like any other city). Here is one of the side streets.



The Main street in Solvang, nicely lit.


The courtyard of a small mall with a fountain that had four horses in the four sides..



Statues at one end of the mall



After spending time in the few blocks of well lit Solvang, we realized that there was no place to eat!! The place where we stayed (the famous Pea Soup Andersons) closed down at 7:15 for Christmas eve. It was a pity that we stayed here but never drank the Pea Soup..


We were left scampering to find food. Thankfully, there were two options. A mexican place and a Chinese place. We choose Chinese. The Mandarin Touch restaurant, which I will never forget. Probably only place open in Solvang till 11:00 on X-mas eve !! We thanked Jesus for this restaurant ...


The fried rice was yum yum yummy delicious! It was either this or go cook Maggi noodles in the microwave in the Hotel room..

Will have two more posts on this local travel series. One on Lake Cachuma and one on the Mission at Santa Ynes, over the next two days..

Sisters at play !

This is a photoblog of Jr. and her cousin during our recent trip to Solvang, California..
At Bixby bridge..





The tunnel at McWay falls that goes directly under Route 1..





At the Ostrich farm in Solvang..





Seriously observing Morro Bay near the Morro Rock.. They were trying to find out why the water near the boats was so filthy ?





Wandering into the wilderness, at Limekiln state park..





Many more samples, but these were definitely the best. Brought back so many memories of my own childhood and the fun I had with my brother and sister when we were little.

Stay tuned for more photoblogs of the trip..

Christmas travels

As is customary when we do not have a few month old baby at home during Christmas, we went on a long trip.

In our hurry, forgot to wish one and all a very merry Christmas, happy Hannukah.. So, would like to wish you all a belated Christmas and Hannukah. Would also like to wish you all a happy holiday season and a great 2007!!

Our original plan was to go to a quiet place where there is not much to see except a quiet rustic life, not too far from home, without stressing out the kids..

As our partners in crime Cousin family put it, "Solvang" fits the bill on all counts!!

Except, there were two things that were overlooked. First, Guys by definition, just do not believe in this "lets have a quiet time in a hotel" kind of vacation.. They need to be moving, taking photographs in the middle of highways because they have a moral obligation to JPEG some scenery!! Second, Solvang pretty much shuts down at sunset, Christmas eve or otherwise. So you have extremely well decorated streets with closed shops and restaurants which leaves you scrambling for something to do or a place to eat on Christmas eve. Two years ago we were in a similar situation in Zion National park (we didn't even know a Tsunami had hit till we came back to civilization a day later!).

We had a wonderful trip as we(the men) changed the focus of the trip from the "quiet hotel stay" to the "great coastal ride" ! We practically stopped at every major state park on the scenic coastal highway #1, did some hiking, not to mention the photography..

So much was covered in the last three days that it would take a few posts to describe it..

I am going to split it up into a few posts.

1. Sisters at play: Jr. loves spending time with her cousin. This is her first road trip with her cousin and it was a treat to watch them together. I was secretly taking pictures of them (secret photos/videos are becoming my speciality now) and have a small collection..

2. Coastal highway from here to Pismo Beach (in pictures)

3. Solvang by night (replace "night" with Christmas eve at 11:00 PM with no one else on the street except me and Balaji standing in the middle of first street with a tripod!)

4. Things to see around Solvang (Cute places to spend a "quiet day" and take pictures)

5. Limekiln State Park and sunset in Big Sur(a place that deserves a post all by itself).

Stay tuned for the series of posts..