Later in the 90s

When we met in 1970

The Bachelor Mr in the 70s

The Bachelorette Mrs in the 70s

The Mr, doing his thing

The Aquarium at Scripps

Managing to wake up in the AM hours the Mr and I headed for a little sight-seeing in the city we will soon be leaving. Scripps is one of the oldest and largest institutions for oceanographic research. They have a cute little aquarium with tanks of local Pacific coastal creatures from Alaska through Mexico. We almost died in a shark attack - well not really. But we did see them getting fed in a tank. And we saw many creepy creatures - including sting rays, one little octopus and one giant red octopus, jellyfish, nettlefish (like jellies but orange and shaped like a nuclear mushroom cloud), and the super-creepiest of all: rock fish that blend in with the rocks and are absolutely deadly!

After we were thoroughly creeped out we went and ate at a local crepe shop. Yum.

Santa Barbara and then home

We spent the last of our California honeymoon in Santa Barbara. The city actually faces south to the coast - pretty unusual. It is not set into a cove and the ocean is expansive. We could see those off-shore drilling rigs in the distance from the pier. It is pretty windy out by the water, but refreshing in August.

We checked out the Courthouse which has beautiful European interior decorative touches - including painted ceilings and a huge mural room detailing the history of Santa Barbara over the centuries. At the top of it all is the tower and the stunning 360 degree views of the city.

Later we had some yummy sushi (from a female sushi chef - a first for me, and I've been told that the Japanese believe that women's body chemistry negatively affects the taste of the fish...hmmm?). After another lovely evening at The Storybook Inn we headed back down the coast through L.A. and back to TLN. It was good to be home.

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On the pier in SB:

The direction we will both be traveling soon. Strangely from this point on the West Coast you must pass over the Pacific to go East.

My new friend

On the tower

In front of the loveliest little city on the coast

Our trip to Europe

We've spent the last couple of nights in Solvang, California. Sounds European, doesn't it? Well, we had been discussing how likely it would be for humans to discover how to go back in time in the car ride over. We discovered when we got to Solvang, that we had found a fold in the space-time continuum and somehow drove over the Santa Maria mountains and into Northern Europe. The German architecture of the town's buildings play up the history of the town as a settled by Danish educators just after the turn of the century.

It is a little tourist destination with way too many gift shops and a strong penchant for Hans Christian Anderson, the Danish author of many famous children's fables. Also heavily encouraged is the Danish breakfast treat, aebelskivers. These are golf-ball shaped pancakes draped in raspberry jam and dusted with powdered sugar. The Mrs. says Yum! The Mr. says Not worth the hype.

Some other crazy things we found out about Solvang:

* Much of the Oscar-winning 2004 film Sideways was filmed in Solvang and in nearby Buellton
* Patricia Hitchcock, the only child of the film director Alfred Hitchcock, currently resides in Solvang
* Rancho del Cielo, President Ronald Reagan's ranch which served as the "Western White House" during Reagan's two terms in office, is located about six miles (10 km) outside of Solvang.
* In The Simpsons episode "Little Orphan Millie", it was revealed that Milhouse has an uncle from Solvang named Norbert "Zack" Van Houten. Bart has a telephone conversation with a switchboard operator in Solvang, and a wooden "Solvang Air" airliner, whose fuselage resembles buildings in the town, is shown landing at Springfield Airport. Uncle Zack's overwhelming pride in his Danish heritage also reflects Solvang's history from its founding by Danish citizens.
* Ska-punk band Mad Caddies call Solvang their home.


This is the Inn we stayed at in Solvang

Yum, Aebelskivers. This was the first three out of the 15 we managed to put back while we were there.

Lavender Farm

The Mr was happy to tour the Motorcycle Museum