Road Trip, Day 18

This morning we drove up to the Santa Barbara Mission.  It was an interesting building, but I always feel sorry for the Indians who were enslaved by the "Christians" who built these buildings to enslave and convert them.  This mission is apparently one of the more well preserved ones.  We were lucky that we got there early because as we were leaving, swarms of school children were leaving.

We then drove to Solvang.  Thanks to the cab driver who delivered some of the group from the airport, we knew to take the scenic route (Highway 154) through the mountains.  It was gorgeous up there!

Solvang was fun.  It's a town founded by Danes, so most of them know how to spell my name.  Although one shop was selling magnets promoting Hans Christian Anderson.  When I pointed out to the young woman running the cash register that the name was misspelled, she was indifferent.  I told her I'd buy my souvenirs in a store that cared a bit more about such an important figure.  There's a Hans Christian Andersen museum there as well as a statue.  There's also a replica of the little mermaid statue.

I had forgotten to bring my large camera and thus all the camera impedimenta.  All of a sudden my new small one announced that the memory card was full.  I had forgotten it came with a 2 MB card.  Asked at the restaurant where we were having a typical Danish lunch of open-faced sandwiches where I might buy a card in town.  Was directed to the small shopping center about half a mile out of town.  Went there, but couldn't find anything.  A helpful local woman who was also seeking assistance suggested that I go the other direction, past Solvang, two miles up the road to Buelton, where I would find Albertson's and a CVS.  The CVS had one, thankfully on sale, since their prices are normally astronomical.

On the way back to Solvang, saw ostriches in a field.

Back in Solvang, I checked out the Bethania Lutheran Church, which is a typical Scandinavian church.  Spare and beautiful.  Many Scandinavian churches have a model ship hanging from the ceiling in the sanctuary, symbolizing a haven of safety across the waters of life.

I stopped by the Chamber of Commerce office to ask where I might find Solvang magnets.  The volunteer running the office was sporting a beautiful Solvang Centennial pin, so I asked where I could get one.  Turns out they were selling them.  Found a magnet place a few doors down and bought one that the fellow who owned the store had designed.

Also checked out the Hans Christian Andersen Museum, the statue in his park, and the replica Little Mermaid statue.  Then found the others and we went back to the restaurant where we had lunch to have ebelskivers for desert.  We then came back to Santa Barbara via the scenic route.

Had our usual gathering on our patio and then decided to have dinner at the hotel's restaurant since the breakfast was so good.  We only have one full day left here.  It's time to start figuring out where I'm going to go next.