9. Solvang/Buellton

Leaving Morro Bay on Saturday felt like an entirely new start to our adventure. Since moving out of our home, the last 10 days were a jumble of making plans, changing plans, watching the weather in different parts of the state, canceling reservations, making new reservations, canceling those reservations, etc. And the RV park in Morro Bay was depressing. It was a mostly-deserted concrete parking lot. No one wanted to say hi – let alone make eye contact. There were no kids anywhere. Perhaps the weather was to blame? 

The 101 was open after yesterday’s flood, & we headed 3 hours south to Flying Flags RV Resort in Buellton (10 minutes from Solvang), it was such a boost of excitement. The sun was shining, & families & kids were everywhere, riding bikes, grilling, & playing games.

TJ backed-into our spot easily, we set up camp, & we walked to the outdoor restaurant for dinner. We immediately decided to extend our stay. Besides our gorgeous spot, the park had pools & hot tubs, bocce courts, an ice cream shop – & the town’s Wine & Chili Festival would be happening in the park the following weekend!

The kids hit the pool right after dinner.

We spent one day walking around the small, Danish town of Solvang. We ate cream puffs, toured the Hans Christian Andersen museum, and had sausage & beer at the outdoor beer garden. 

On our way home, we stopped at the ostrich farm to feed the ostriches & emus. And squirrels. 

Both kids have enjoyed cooking for all of us. The hand-washing of dishes, not so much. But we’re happy to wash if they cook!

TJ spent one afternoon doing some upgrades & tweaks on the 5th wheel. He adjusted our steps, installed a keypad lock for the door, installed a bar on the inside of the door, inspected the roof, and a few other things.

Rainy nights are great for cuddling the pup you’d abandoned all day & watching History of the World Part 2!

When we decided to extend our stay, it meant that we’d need to change spots in the campground. So, one of the days TJ & I spent packing-up and moving to our new spot while the kids hung out at the pool. Our new spot was a pull-through on crushed granite. As TJ pulled into the spot, I watched from behind with the walkie-talkie. From the other side of the trailer, I heard an awful scraping, crunching sound. Our middle stabilizers are extremely low, & one caught on the crushed granite (& popped off our sewer cap). TJ, calm as ever, said, “It’s ok, I’ll just circle around & back-in from the other side.” I love this guy. 

The kids & I needed haircuts, so we did a little Yelp search & landed at Lace & Leather Salon in Solvang. For the last 10 years, we were lucky enough to visit the same stylist, Sarah. We loved her, & she always knew exactly what we wanted & needed. I even texted her on the way to this new salon. What if we looked like Moira Rose after her spa day in Schitts Creek? Luckily, all went well, & we had a great time with the salon owner & stylist! While we were getting pampered, TJ took care of some other stuff like TMobile & groceries. And afterward, we played Bocce, Sofina rode around the campground, we played basketball in the dark, & we made a fire.

During our time in Buellton, we had a wonderful surprise – our friends, the Ankowskis, visited us! When TJ & I moved to CA, TJ got in touch with a distant friend, Andy (this friend and TJ both grew up in Ohio, and they were both friends with 2 brothers. So, they knew of each other). When we moved to CA, Andy & his wife, Amber, became our best friends. I feel like we got to “grow up” together as adults. We had lots of fun, then we all had kids at the same time & had even more fun. Having them there with us meant so much! They brought Guinness & the fixins for ham & cheese toasties for St. Patrick’s Day. Saturday was a lazy day at the pool. The kids swam & played & made friends with the kids “next door.” And then we had to say goodbye all over again. 

The Buellton Wine & Chili Festival was on Sunday. We literally got to walk across the road from our home & straight into the festival. We ate so much chili, petted all the dogs, & TJ & the kids snagged wine glasses people left behind – now our nicest drinkware & quite possibly the most unrealistic thing to have in a house that travels down the road at 60 mph. 

We were supposed to stay one more day here & leave on Tuesday, but the weather had other plans (dun dun duuuunnnnnn). We wanted to leave before the forecasted 50 mph winds hit on Tuesday, so we left Solvang a day early. Again, with the weather. 

So, on Monday, we packed-up early and headed to…