August 9 - Winding Down

We left Solvang about 8am today after spending several days shopping, eating and having fun with special friends we had not seen in 25+ years.  What a great time was had by all!!!

We left about 8am and arrived in Long Beach to have lunch with eldest son in Los Alamitos at Taco Surf on Los Alamitos near Katella.  Great food, great company.  Bill surprised us with his 65 lb weight loss....he looks GREAT!

After lunch we headed to Santa Ana to spend some time with my cousin Hillary. Such a sweet lady, who suffers with Alzheimer's.  She paid more attention to Howard than me...having fun flirting with him. She loves to whistle along with the music.  We visited with her for some time and then jumped in the car to head to Yuma AZ to visit our youngest.

California coastline near San Diego

California coastline near San Diego

We arrived in Yuma about 6:30 pm, grabbed some fast food for supper, visited for awhile and are now ready to drop in bed.

August 7 - Fun Day in Solvang

What a fun day we had today! Nothing like being with special friends we hadn't seen in years.  We started with Danish Blueberry Pancakes at Ellen's Danish Pancake House in Solvang.  We got our exercise by walking the streets, and shopping the stores, of Solvang.  For those who don't know Solvang is a quaint little town in the foothills northeast of Santa Barbara (about 25 miles).  We used to come here often in the 80's before moving from southern California and had not been back since.

After a short rest we headed to Andersen's Pea Soup for a light supper and then came back to our hotel for a few rousing games of "Chicken Foot".  We quit about 9:30pm and retired to our rooms for what hopefully will be a good nights rest.

This is where we ate Friday night in Solvang.

August 6 - Fun in Cali

Of all the places we have been this summer we have had THE BEST weather  in California! Monday was absolutely gorgeous as we toured the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.  Tuesday was just as wonderful as we kicked back and recupped from the previous day.  We also had lunch at Marie Calendar's in Camerrello and took a driving tour of the area. In the evening we met hub's sister & her hub's friends - enjoying Lemon Merrangue pie and lots of talk.

Wednesday we arose early, packed, snapped a couple pictures and said our goodbyes before heading north to Solvang.  We stopped for a couple hours in Oxnard for lunch with my brother at The Lazy Dog...great food and lots of fun playing 'catch-up'!  Tonight we met up with our good friends in Solvang. We went to 'The Red Viking Restaurant', a Danish Smorgasbord in the heart of Solvang.  Tomorrow we plan to do the touristy things and see how much damage we can cause and how much $$$$ we can spend/save

Howard and Dorothy

August 4 - Summer Trip - Phase 2

Yesterday we started phase 2 of our summer trip.  After recuperating from phase 1 we took off into the pouring rain and headed to southern California where we are now visiting hub's sister and brother-in-law.  We arrived here Sunday night after a 7 hour drive.  After a short rest we all went to Chili's for some supper and then came back home for some early shut-eye.

Up early this morning, we all headed to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley,...what a beautiful and interesting place.