Pink Everywhere!

 The next stop on the drive home was at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo.

I wanted lunch at the cafe.

These goblets were heavy and quite detailed.

I started with a thick vegetable soup. It was so comforting and delicious.

This was my friend's sandwich. The bread was so pretty.

My lunch was an enormous, delicious salad. It had tuna, hard boiled eggs, and avocado. I very much want to duplicate this at home. It was SO GOOD.

One of the many quirks of this hotel is the presence of pink. Alex Madonna loved when his wife wore pink, and covered half of the property in the color. Even these napkins are pink!

This well was on the lawn in front of the cafe.

It is a beautiful property. I hope to stay in the hotel one day.

There are some water features at the property.

And at the edge of the hotel, there is this pink cow. Is that where strawberry milk comes from?

And from there, it was time to go home.

The Danish Capital

 No, not Copenhagen, the capitol of Denmark. But Solvang, the Danish capital of California.

After checking out of my hotel, I headed north to go home. My first stop was for coffee. I got an iced caramel macchiato from Starbucks.

My first stop after that was in Solvang. I went there just to visit Mortensen's Danish Bakery. I loaded up on cookies, including my favorite, the Napoleon hat.

I also got an assortment of danish, chocolate sandwich cookies, and fruit thumbprint cookies.

This is such a cute town. A tourist trap, to be sure, and definitely one of my favorite roadside attractions.

I will be back soon, to sample wines in their tasting rooms, to walk around the cute town, and to eat lots of delicious pastries.

Ventura Harbor

 One of the biggest draws to Ventura is the harbor.

There are shops and restaurants here, along with water activities such as kayaking, boating, and riding paddle boats shaped like ducks.

There is also a lot to look at with art work and statues.

Oh how I love being at the water.

Beautiful Highway 1. In Southern California, it is known as PCH.

These signs are fun, but I really needed Mr Duffy to be there to pose with me. Maybe next time!

Boats!

Boats!

Many of the art pieces were mosaics.

Look closely, those are fish!

After some walking around, I wanted some lunch. The Boatyard Pub looked inviting.

I ordered a fried calamari appetizer.

And of course, clam chowder. I do have to sample it everywhere I go.

My main dish was seafood scampi. The rice was good, and salad delicious. But they really were conservative with the seafood. Two scallops and tw shrimp for a very high price.

On this particular weekend, they were hosting a mermaid celebration.

I got to be a mermaid and sit in this giant shell. Look at the size of the pearl!

As I was walking around the harbor, I came upon a chocolate shop. They specialize in custom chocolate bars.

At the counter, you tell them which kind of chocolate you want for your bar. Then if you want to write a name or word, you pick the chocolate letters. And then you can pick toppings such as sprinkles, chocolate chips, gummy bears, cereal, marshmallows, and dozens of other options.

I put in my order, then they had me wait fifteen minutes for the bar to solidify.

And I got my name! I chose gummy bears, cinnamon bears, teddy grahams, and sprinkles.

This was a pleasurable day. Seafood, chocolate, being at the water, and lots of sunshine. Just another lovely day in California.