Trip to Solvang over Easter Break

Gabe and I had the opportunity to get away for a quick trip to Solvang over Easter Break. It was a well needed change of scenery even though we only stayed one night! We left mid-morning, stopped at In N' Out for lunch in Ventura, then continued up the coast and inland to the little Danish town of Solvang. Gabe had never been before and kept asking, "Now, what do they have here again? What are we going to see?" Ha, ha, explaining Solvang to a boy as a cute little Danish town with cute little shops and cute little windmills didn't exactly go over so well, but oh well! We visited a lavender farm in Buellton and enjoyed just walking around town and sampling a couple of pastries when we got there, even though most of the shops were closed for the day. We stayed at the hotel part of Split Pea Andersen's and had dinner there as well. Yep, just as I thought...I still DO NOT like split pea soup!

The next day we went back into town to walk around and actually visit some shops. It was relaxing and fun and we were able to pick up a couple of gifts as well. After shopping and eating, we hopped over to the Santa Inez Mission on the edge of town. We walked the grounds, which were beautiful, but we didn't go in because it seemed a bit pricey to us, but we did enjoy the flowers and the view!

After the mission, we headed over to the Quicksilver Miniature Horse Farm. This was fun! Who doesn't love miniature horses? Especially when they are foaling and there are miniature, miniature horses all over the place! They were so cute and mostly friendly - rather like dogs, they loved being petted and scratched. We talked to the stable lady for some time and just watched the babies play. Relaxing and fun!

After the horse farm, we headed down the road in search of a winery where we could do a tasting. We ended up stopping at the Gainey Vineyard on our way out of town as we were told they had a tasting running for a decent price. I'm so glad we stopped! Not only were the grounds beautiful, but for ten bucks we got to taste six wines and take home a souvenir glass. Not bad! And Gabe and I just shared one tasting...basically, I took one small sip from each pour, just to taste them, and he finished them off. It was a great weekend!