So last weekend, I took a little trip, a little �weekend getaway� as they say. Living here in Southern California, there are so many places that are close enough to go away for a weekend and not spend the whole weekend driving. I�m sure this is true for other parts of the country as well, but I don�t live in other parts of the country and I�m learning not to speak of things I do not know (well, sort of� I do like to pretend to be an expert when I am, clearly not when it comes to some matters� in this way, you never know if you should be taking my advice, but really, you should ALWAYS take my advice� see how well it works in MY life???).
Soooo, long preamble over, I went to Solvang for the weekend with a co-worker. Now the Solvang area is best known for its appearance in the cult wine classic �Sideways�. It�s also a Danish community� settled back in �the day� (precise years were given to me at the �official� Solvang history museum, but they seem to have run right through me) by 3 brothers who bought many acreage in this area. Soon relatives were joining them and so on and so on and, like the shampoo commercial, soon the area was overrun with �The Danes�. (Or something like that.)
At some point, someone said, �Hey, a lot of us are Danish, let�s make the town look like Denmark�, (or something like that) so they began turning their hamlet into a little Danish village.
The area, apparently, is also home to other things as well, including wineries, vineyards (which, I guess, go along with the wineries and I have now stated the obvious, but oh well), and other types of farms and places where they grow things (which will be elaborated on further in the entry � don�t want to spoil the anticipation by letting the cat out of the bag! Oooh, the suspense, I think I might pee my pants!).
Did anyone follow the very twisty run-on sentence I just wrote?
Anyway, one thing that I did not know is that Solvang/Buellton is also horse country. As we drove into Solvang from the main freeway �artery� known as �The 101�, we passed these lovely rolling horse farms/estates. The country road was tree-lined and behind the farms, in the distance, were rolling hills. The horses frolicked. It was truly lovely. On one farm, I saw a momma and a baby �chillin�. Another farm had a pack of adolescent horses checking out the chicks next door and daring each other to ask them out. I did not get any pictures of the farm as that part of the highway was not amenable to stopping the car and taking pictures so you�ll have to just take my word on the fact that it was beautiful. (And I do have other pictures of the area, so you can infer from those that I am not a liar.)
And as you know, I take pictures wherever I go. And I make people take my picture in front of things too, cuz I�m just kind of like that.
Soooooo, we got there Friday afternoon and found a nice Danish restaurant for some lunch. I have to say, Danish sausage, um, not so much. But they did have excellent hash browns (served breakfast all day! Gotta love those places). After lunch, we checked into our hotel and then came back and wandered around Solvang.
There is, apparently, a museum on the history of the area so we went there first. (After all, what good is it to wander around a place when you don�t know the history I ask�) The Elverhoj Museum was beautiful. The door, in particular, was amazing. The man who lived in the house was a woodworker and a carver.
And here is one of those funny horn things:
And the flag (and why does the Danish flag look exactly like the Swiss flag? Is it just me?):
A windmill (which I thought was associated with the Dutch, but apparently, these northern European countries are quite incestuous � and I don�t intend to insult any Danes or Dutch that read this diary, I have Dutch blood in me and probably some incestuous ancestors back in my genealogy somewhere):
And here is a picture of a stork on the roof of a building� apparently, it is considered good luck in Denmark to have a stork nest on your roof:
Friday night, there was a restaurant that was having a free wine-tasting event with out door music and free appetizers. Did I mention that everything was free? Of course, I had to buy a glass of wine and a more filling appetizer, but still, an enjoyable evening that didn�t cost that much is always a good thing.
Whilst we were in town, there was a Triumph car show going on� I liked the ones from the �50s best:
And doesn�t this car look like it might start talking to you? I swear, it told me some stories (they�re so �racy� that I can�t even repeat them here � ha! I�m so funny):
And some creative person made some furniture out of Triumph car parts -- very cool:
We were lucky to be in the area that weekend as there was a lot going on. In a local town, Los Olivos, they were having �A Day In The Country� which was sort of like a small-town fair. There was a parade and then craft booths and such..
And how lucky am I? I got to see both a real live unicorn and honest-to-goodness fairy both in the same day. (And I know you want to lick me now.)
More of the parade:
It�s not officially a day in the country until you pose with a tractor:
While at the fair, we did some wine tasting:
This hip chick is the owner of �Vixen� winery. What a cool name, eh?
The wonderfully charming man who poured our wine (I tried to call him a sommelier, but he insisted he was just a pourer):
After the fair, we visited a lavender farm. Though the lavender was not in bloom, the place was just so peaceful and beautiful. Even the entrance was like something out of a story book:
And don�t I look cute in my new cowboy hat? I bought it at the country fair�
More lavender farm:
This was the kind of place where you could just show up with a picnic and hang out� and next time I go to the area, I will definitely do that. Oh, and have a couple bottles of wine too!
Some more of the farm and surrounding countryside (see, I said it was beautiful, I am not a liar � not on this at any rate):
We were in a farming kind of mood, so we went to an apple farm next:
After that, we visited some more of Solvang, including the Hans Christian Anderson museum. After all that exploring, I was wiped so we went back to the hotel for a swim. We had intended to go out for dinner that night, but I was too exhausted. We did a lot of walking.
Sunday morning, we got up and went to a pumpkin farm. I had never seen a real live pumpkin patch before, so the 4 year old in me definitely came out. I kept expecting to see Linus there, but I think he didn�t show up until the next day.
Out of the whole field of pumpkins, I very carefully chose mine. I do believe I chose the best one. Truly, when I look at it, it is pumpkin perfection.
After that, we had tasty waffles at a caf� and then drove home.
And that was my weekend.
And the answer to the question (that I know you are all pondering) is:
I bought 5 bottles of wine. Not a Pinot among them.
