Driving The California Coast

At 5:45am our alarms rang and we drug ourselves out of bed and grabbed a few remaining bags, the bikes, and were soon rolling out of Los Angeles.  It was bittersweet pulling out of our cozy Westwood neighborhood and waving goodbye to the shiny Beverly Hills buildings.  We opted to add a few hours to the trip and drive the coast, and as we headed toward Santa Monica the sun started peeking out giving the sand and ocean and peachy, hazy wash.  It was beautiful and we looked at each other wondering just how much we were going to miss the glorious beach lifestyle of SoCal. 

roll out.

We drove through Malibu, which had become one of our favorite spots while living in LA.  Nothing matches the beauty of the beaches, and the smallness you feel staring off into the ocean. 

We stopped at various points along the way to snap some pictures...

strawberry pickers!

The husband found a small town called Solvang a little ways off the road and we decided to stop there for brunch.  Solvang has a complete replica of the square in Copenhagen, Denmark.  It is an authentic Danish Village with wooden shoes, windmills and architecture. Needless to say, it was amazing and if I had the time I would go back and spend an entire week here walking around in the shops and eating all the amazing food.

We ate at Paula's Pancake House and it was TO. DIE. FOR.

There was a long line waiting outside but the host kept it moving and we only had to wait about

twenty minutes.  There is plenty to walk around and see while waiting, so it wasn't a problem.

I wanted to try something authentic, so even though I hate sausage I ordered the Danish Omelette which had sausage inside and was topped with havarti cheese.  I got some fresh salsa on the side and hashbrowns as well.  The omelette was amazing, and if all sausage tasted this good I might be a fan!

Husband ordered the Paula's Special which are Danish pancakes.  The pancakes were super thin and lightly dusted with powdered sugar.  A heaping pile of fresh strawberries and whipped cream came with this dish, and it was also out of this world.  The maple syrup was fresh and homemade.  It was so thin, it was watery--not thick like traditional syrups-- but the flavor was perfect!

We give Paula's a 10/10 and would recommend stopping here for some authentic danish fare!

After eating we wandered around for a little while and checked out the famous Mermaid Statue replica, Hans Christian Anderson museum and the original building of the city built back in the 1800's! 

we picked up some wooden shoe ornaments from here!

We had to get back on the road eventually though, and the scenery went from ocean to sprawling, rolling hills and farms.  California truly has it all when it comes to landscape, scenery and climate.

morrow bay

"take my picture of my serious face mom"

sleepy bella

We also stopped off to see the Elephant Seals on the side of the road.  This time of year they are molting so some of them looked pretty gross.  There were literally hundreds of seals sunning on the beach and they were all grabbing sand and flinging it on their backs.  They looked like they had human hands inside their flippers and when they "grabbed" the sand it really freaked me out!

can you spot the seals?  there are only two in this shot...

if you look all the way in the background you can see a huge group of a few hundred...

seals, seals, everywhere!

oh hello

looking a little rough

At this point of the car ride I was getting REALLY carsick... I mean, look at those roads!  Imagine doing that for a few hours.  We had to take a  mini break in Big Sur because I thought I was going to puke.

We stopped taking  pictures after we got into Monterrey and made the rest of the drive into San Jose.
First impressions?  OPEN SPACE!  We can breathe!  And see!  And there is no traffic.  And we love our apartment complex.  Hopefully I will get a post up with some pictures of our new place!  I also got to have a blate on Easter (and Bella did too!)  Picture on that coming tomorrow!

Over & Out,

A

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