Southern California Coast Road Trip

This summer we drove up the California coast and spent one night in Santa Barbara. This was a good opportunity to check out the Santa Barbara Mission before continuing our trip north.

Isn't it a beautiful building? It is "The Queen of all Missions" built in 1786 and the 10th mission in California. It is supposedly among the most photographed buildings in the US.

Inside the chapel the adobe walls are painted beautifully and the altar is amazingly decorated. 

I like visiting missions in California and have seen a few already. The Santa Barbara building was the largest and most impressive building so far.

Continuing our journey north we also stopped in Solvang. the quaint danish town. We had passed by this town so many times on our drives, but this time we took the detour and exited Highway 101. To our surprise Solvang was not far from the highway, so we had more time to browse through this lovely little town.

Of course the first thing to do in Solvang is to find the Danish Bakery .

And then select a few pastries for the afternoon. 

Stumbling upon the statue of Hans Christian Andersen was a treat as well. The stories remind me of Danny Kaye. I still have a vinyl record of narrations by him which I loved listening to as a small child.

It was such a wonderful day.

We continued our trip to Monterey with one more stop in Morro Bay on Highway 1. This is a small fishing town and the most prominent feature is Morro Rock, where the endangered Peregrine Falcon nests.

Highway 1 is always worth a drive. It may take a bit longer to get to your destination as it is a windy two-lane road but it offers spectacular views.
More on our Monterey trip in a future post.