Next Stop -- Solvang

After spending the morning at the tide pools we made our way north to Solvang. It is a cute little tourist trap, that was settled by three Danish men in the early 1900's. They built the homes and buildings in the style of their homeland and going there is like seeing another country.

My friend, Jenny, is always talking about Aebleskivers, a Danish dish that is like circular pancakes, and we had some while there. They were so yummy that we ate them up quick and forgot to take a picture of them. But, Jenny has directions and the history of them on our Cooking European blog. Super yummy!

This year I planted cosmos around our shed and I read that if you pinch the tops off they will branch out and grow more flowers. So I pinched them, but not knowing I did it too late in the season, and all the new growth burned under the heat of the sun. These cosmos on a Solvang street are what mine should have looked like had I known better. It was a good lesson learned and until next year I'll have to enjoy pictures of them~

While in Solvang we visited the Santa Inez Mission. It was the nineteenth of the twenty-one missions built in California and was founded in 1804. Even though it is a museum, daily and weekly services are still held there. It has been greatly renovated over the years to preserve it's history and it held many beautiful artifacts.

Here's another shot of the front with it's long corridor. We are in the picture, but we are just very small ~ ;)

The beautifully elaborate chapel where services are still held.