I can't remember when was the last time that I've been to Solvang. It was back when we had those non-optional family road trips with a couple of other families. I was a scrawny little kid back then. I suppose that I could relate to Hans Christian Andersen's story of The Ugly Duckling. Just like any kid, I didn't really like those trips. However now that I'm going by myself, I was looking forward to this trip.
Before hitting the road for Solvang, I stopped at the nearby Target to pick up some snacks and water for the trip. I was on the road at about 9 am. I timed it so that I wouldn't get stuck in some of the morning work traffic.
Snacks and water
It was pretty much smooth sailing the entire way along the 101 with the usual traffic through Downtown LA. I made it to Buellton in a little over 3 hrs just in time for lunch. I decided to have lunch at Pea Soup Andersen's Restaurant. Before getting a table, I stopped in to use the restroom first.
Pea Soup Andersen's
During my research prior to the trip, I knew that they had their Travelers Special which was all-you-can-eat Andersen's World Famous Split Pea Soup. Sounds like a good deal since I do like split pea soup. However I wasn't too keen on drinking that much pea soup the day before a race! So after perusing the menu, I ordered their Danish sausage sandwich with potato salad. I also did the Hap-Pea's add-on which had the option of a split pea soup and an iced tea for my drink. The sandwich was really good with some yellow mustard on it. The soup was definitely good as well. Next time, I will have to try the soup with extra toppings.
Split pea soup, pumpernickel and onion cheese bread
All gone
Danish sausage sandwich and potato salad
After settling my bill, I hopped in the car and drove a few miles East on Highway 246 into the city of Solvang. The race expo was located in the parking lot just South of Solvang Park. Unfortunately I didn't find any parking immediately next to the park, but I was able to find street parking near the corner of 1st St and Oak St.
Danish capital of America
The race expo was pretty small. After picking up my bib and race shirt, I was done with the whole expo within a few minutes. Even though it was small, the vendors were giving out samples. I got a sample can of Zevia organic tea. I saw that Firestone-Walker Brewery had a booth for you to sample some of their beers. They brewed some of my favorites when I used to drink. I liked their Luponic Distortion series, Merlin milk stout, DBA, and Union Jack. Every now and then, I do miss drinking beer.
Race expo
Bib pick-up
Shirt pick-up
Race shirt
Tea
Beer sampling
I swung by the windmill on my way back to my car. I enjoyed walking around the quaint little town. It definitely makes me want to visit Denmark.
Danish Village
Windmill
For this trip, I stayed at the WorldMark Solvang. It was a very short drive from where I was parked. The property was located just on the outskirts of all of the town's stores and restaurants. Everything looked to be within walking distance, so I left my car here for the weekend. One of the things that I liked about this property was that they did not pester me to attend an owner's update with a complimentary breakfast. I don't think they have that at this location. It's always hard for me to say no because they always dangle so many Wyndham Reward Points in exchange for my attendance.
After I got settled into my room, I went back out to check out the rest of Solvang as well as to time how long it would take for me to walk to the start line for tomorrow's race. During my stroll, I checked out The Little Mermaid fountain, the Hans Christian Andersen statue, the Solvang Founders, Artistic Pony Studio, and a clock tower.
The Little Mermaid fountain
Hans Christian Andersen statue
Solvang Founders
Artistic Pony Studio
Clock tower at 1st St and Park Way
Before heading back to my room, I stopped in at The Book Loft to check out the bookstore and the Hans Christian Andersen Museum. If you are a bookworm, you will need to check this place out. The museum was located upstairs and was pretty cool to check out, but it seemed a bit clustered. I ended up purchasing one of their The Ugly Duckling t-shirts.
The Book Loft
Hans Christian Andersen Museum
The Little Mermaid
The Ugly Duckling
The Ugly Duckling shirt
Back at my room, I went to the game room area to rent out a movie to watch before dinner. While going through their movie selection, I came across Star Wars Ep 8: The Last Jedi. I have no problem watching those God awful prequels, but I absolutely cannot get myself to watch this piece of hot garbage for a 3rd time. I think I gave it more than a fair shake by watching it a second time when it was still in the theaters. Instead I checked out Sorry to Bother You. The guy at the front desk asked if I had seen this movie before. When I told him, no, he warned me that I'd better be ready for a mind-trip. In short, he was correct. It was a very weird, but original movie. I definitely haven't seen anything like it before.
Star Wars Ep 8: Hot Garbage
Sorry to Bother You
On my way out for dinner, I first dropped off the movie at the front desk. I decided to check out the Bit O' Denmark. At first I was a bit skeptical to come here because according to the Yelp reviews, it appeared to be a hit-or-miss restaurant. Still I wanted to check out their roast duck entree. I'm always game for some good duck. The prices were on the higher side, but the portions were big. Normally I don't eat this much food the night before a race, but man, that was some good duck meat especially with the gravy! Everything that came with it was also very good! There was nothing left on my plate except for a pile of bones when I was done.
Bit O' Denmark
Roast Duck
After walking back to my room, I relaxed a bit and laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's race. Lately I've been wearing the race shirt from my previous race. I've gotten to the point where I haven't been very motivated in choosing what to wear. That might be a sign that I've been running too many races.
Flat runner
Saturday 5/11
The race was scheduled to start at 7 am, so I planned to leave my room at 6 am after one last emptying of the bladder. It was going to be a warm day, but there was still a bit of a chill in the air so I brought along my mylar blanket.
Start line
The course started next to Solvang Elementary School. From there it was a nice big counterclockwise loop up to Los Olivos. There were several picturesque vineyards along the way. The entire first half appeared to be flat, but it was a steady incline. For some odd reason I was feeling hungry in the early miles. That made absolutely no sense since I ate so much yesterday. I started eating some of my energy chews that I had brought along that I normally reserve for after reaching mile 8. That climb up Ballard Canyon Rd was mighty steep. However once I got past that section, it was mostly downhill all the way to the finish line on Copenhagen Dr at 2nd St.
Finish line
Finish: 2:00:19
Click here for my Garmin data.
I was hoping to keep it under 2 hrs, but I came up a tad short. Honestly I just felt fat, heavy, and out-of-shape. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with all of the delicious food that I had the day before the race!Relive 'Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon'
After getting my finisher medal, I also got a bunch of post race goodies and a bottle of QURE water. Since I don't drink alcohol anymore, I decided to skip the post race wine tasting and head back to my room.
Finisher medal
Post race goodies
Along the way back, I came across Edelweiss. I stopped because of the name, but it was just a gift shop. I ended up taking a picture of my medal with the windmill in the background. A random Asian tourist came up to me. I'm guessing he didn't speak a word of English, but he gestured that he wanted to take a picture of my medal. I obliged.
Edelweiss
Finisher medal and windmill
After getting cleaned up, I watched a bunch of TV and took a nap. I went back out for a very early dinner at the Hitching Post 2. Their steaks came highly recommended by one of my trusted steak-eating friends. I was there at about 4:30 pm and the parking lot right next to the restaurant was already packed. There was plenty of additional parking right next to it. Since I was there without a reservation, I thought that there was going to be a wait to get a table. However since I was dining solo, they were able to put me at a small table near the entrance right next to the bar. The bar was packed with day-drinking tourists as it was made famous by the movie, Sideways. For me, I came for the steaks!
"World's best BBQ steaks"
Bar area
I started things out with an iced tea. For my meal, I ordered their 15 oz Prime Top Sirloin with a baked potato and a side salad with blue cheese. While waiting for my steak, the waitress brought out some fresh vegetables and pickles. That was followed by a cup of turkey tortilla soup and the side salad.
Appetizer
Cup of turkey tortilla soup
Side salad with blue cheese
Then came the steak. I can see why my friend recommended this place. From reading the Yelp reviews, I knew that the cook knew how to properly cook a steak. I ordered it medium and it was a perfect medium. I have to order medium-rare at quite a few steakhouses to actually get it cooked medium. That was one of the best top sirloin steaks that I've ever eaten. I was definitely not disappointed!
15 oz Prime Top Sirloin with baked potato
Medium
Sunday 5/12
I wanted to get an early start on the drive home, but I also wanted to catch some of the English Premier League football matches as it was the last week. The champions of the Premier League wasn't decided until the final week. It was unbelievable that Liverpool came in 2nd having lost only 1 game all season! In the end, they lost by 1 point to Manchester City.
Last week of the EPL
After packing up my stuff and checking out of my room, I stopped at the Chevron in Buellton before hopping on the 101 freeway. I was actually surprised that the price per gallon was pretty much the same as what I pay back at home. I was expecting a touristy location to be a bit higher.
Expensive Californian gas
During the drive home, the Waze app kept telling me to head up to the 118. It might have been because people were slowing down with all of the butterflies flying across the freeway! I didn't see any accidents, but there was a lot of congestion. Once I hopped on the 23 North and got on the 118 East, there were less of those butterflies and the traffic was much more free flowing. From the 118, I got onto the 210 East.
The drive home took just a little under 3 hrs. It was one of the instances were following Waze helped cut the travel time. The first thing I did when I got off of the freeway was roll into one of the neighborhood McDonald's. Before placing my order, I had to go empty my bladder first. I ordered 2 McDoubles for $3 plus a Happy Meal. Home sweet home!
Home sweet home
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