Solvang

I may have not said this before, but I was called as  the Young Women's second counselor soon after we moved back into the ward. We may not have the biggest youth program, but the girls are awesome and are friends with each other, which makes my job pretty easy. I'm in the presidency with Kate Garcia (president), Sharolyn Waite (first counselor), and Rita Pierce (Secretary). It's been a humbling and happy experience thus far... I'm still trying to figure out why I'm in this calling though.

Last weekend, we went on a trip with the Young Women to San Simeon and stopped off in Solvang for some culture on the way. Glen came with us so we could have the Priesthood along with Risa's dad, Bryan. Bryan takes pretty cool pictures: you can see the photos he took from our trip here and photos in general here.

On to the trip: Solvang. I had never heard of this town before Sharolyn presented the idea of going. I don't hear a lot about anywhere/anything. A little town in upper-Southern California (if that's a thing) mixed in with all the vineyards and ranches; a half Spanish, half Danish tourist trap if I've ever seen one. The town was once a Spanish village, evident by the Santa Inez mission we visited within it. Also, by the archways on many of the lower portions of the structures. The story goes that a group of Danes searching for a home settled here and decided it would be awesome to have a little bit of Denmark, so they built Danish-style second-floors/roofs atop the already existing Spanish-style structures. That's what the guy on the trolley tour said anyway. Do not take the tour! It's a commercial for where to buy souvenirs and food. I could have told everyone what he said just by reading the signs on the store fronts. Not cool.

We went to this Red Viking Restaurant for lunch and it was good. Not great is what you're supposed to get from that statement. I had the fish and chips. I liked the salad that came with it because they have decent blue cheese dressing. Glen had a plate with the 'authentic' food things on it (according to the waitress) and the sausage was tasty, meatball was mushy (not good), mashed potatoes were good, and the what-is-that-cabbage-side-thing was taste-tested and that's all you need of that. We're not so convinced of the authenticity of any of it -- town included. Not to say we didn't enjoy it -- it's fun for a day trip for sure, but a rip off for any amount longer.

 

The mission is obviously beautiful; it's actually active in providing church services. But these vines are amazing! Glen grabbed me one of those pods hanging in between the slats and it was softer than my eyes imagined. Velvet in texture and cool to the touch. I almost took one, but Glen pointed out that we couldn't plant it anywhere and so I left it hidden in a bush to not cumber the ground.

We went back on the town so the girls could try their luck at finding souvenirs worth the money. Glen and I got some æbleskivers from the same restaurant we had lunch and those were worth the day. They're a spherical pancake type of pastry that came with a raspberry preserve dip. I drank the rest of the dip after the spheres were gone. We will be attempting to recreate these in the future. Just need to fashion a spherical pan for the occasion.

A cool story the guy on the trolley told was of Hans Christian Andersen and Frozen. I read the Snow Queen (the original story that Frozen came from) and it boggles my mind to think how Frozen came from that... I guess the snow part is the connection, but that's it. Anyway, if you say Hans, Kristoff, Anna, Sven quickly enough it sounds like his name. Still not worth the trolley.

This just solidified the desire I have of going to actual Denmark. So, good job, Solvang -- see you never.
Aloha.