No. 5 Los Angeles to Solvang

On Friday, we spent the afternoon at the LDS Los Angeles temple for our friends' wedding.

Cory and Garrott were mission companions in Costa Rica, and he was a groomsman in our wedding. Almost 4 1/2 years later, Garrott (finally!) tied the knot. He says he wanted to marry Chanelle the moment he met her, and they really are perfect for each other. So, needless to say, we were very excited to spend the weekend celebrating them. 

Our destination was Pismo Beach for their Saturday reception, so we drove there from Los Angeles on Friday evening. We decided to stop in a little Danish town called Solvang to explore and stretch our legs. 

We got there around 4 PM, so we didn't have a lot of time to walk around before the sun went down. We stopped into Bit O'Denmark for a bite to eat. This was a great choice because it has a variety of food choices - from the classic American cheeseburger to Danish plates we couldn't pronounce. We decided to go for the Danish sausage and meatball combo plate that included boiled cabbage and pickled cucumbers. So weird, but surprisingly so good! Weslie enjoyed the meatballs, too. We started with a cheese plate that was delicious, as well!

Cory followed Weslie up and down the street for a little bit, while I popped into a few of their trinket-y shops.  We stopped into one of their 5 bakeries to pick up some danishes and a bucket of butter cookies before heading out. I don't know if we would make this detour again, but it sure was a fun place to experience at least once!

No. 4 Venice Beach/Canals

Cory and I lived in LA for about 6 months - 3 months before I got pregnant with Weslie, and during my first trimester. That August, we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary and spent the day in Venice Beach. While we were walking the boardwalk, I stopped to look at some trinkets at one of the table set ups. As I started walking away, a lady selling handkerchiefs (who was sitting on the ground next to that table, and whom I hadn't previously noticed) stopped me in my tracks. "Do you have children?" she asked me. "No," was my reply. "A child is coming," she kept repeating. I walked away speechless and with tears in my eyes. Cory and I had been trying to get pregnant since that May. The next month after that "premonition", I was pregnant. So we went a couple of weeks ago, this time with Weslie in tow, half to see if we could find that lady again and half to check out the Venice Canals. 

If I could, I would ride a bike with Weslie in the back, like, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! It was weird getting used to at first, because of the extra weight, but it wasn't hard. They gave us a cute, pink helmet that was just her size, but that girl has an opinion about everything and there was no way she was wearing it.

There are a bunch of different places to rent the bikes, but we parked at a lot by the pier and there was a stand right there. We rode over to the main shops, ate some lunch on a grassy spot (among the many birds and homeless people) and watched the street performers. We only rented the bikes an hour because the rain clouds were rolling in, so we didn't linger long. 

After returning the bikes, we were walking back to our car and a pedicab driver was parked right next to it. He said he could take us to the canals for $5, so we hopped right in!

The canals were such a different atmosphere compared to the boardwalk; so serene and peaceful. We only walked down one little strip, but there are lots of little passageways to check out!

Quick Tip: If you spend a day in Venice Beach, eat at 26 Beach for breakfast, first! And definitely rent bikes!

No. 3 The Mission Inn

My grandparents celebrated their 53rd anniversary, yesterday! They are such an amazing example of love and family, and I am so grateful for them and all they have accomplished together. To celebrate, they stayed two nights at The Mission Inn in downtown Riverside and invited us to dinner. We've been wanting to see all the lights that are up during this time of year, so we were really excited to be a part of their celebrations!

They took us to dinner at one of the restaurants, there, called Duane's. It is a really nice steakhouse that has the best french onion soup and caprese salad I've ever had! I'm still dreaming about them! I was a little nervous when I walked into the restaurant and saw how nice it was and not knowing how Weslie would be, but she was great. We got a booth and she was content playing between Cory and I and eating bread. 

After, we walked around to look at the lights and Weslie had a ball. There were horse drawn carriages and street performers and plenty of sweet treats to choose from. It gets chilly, so if you go, dress warm! Thanks GG and Papa for the great night time adventure!

QUICK TIP: If I'm being totally honest, don't make seeing the lights your main activity. Go ice skating at the rink, or ride one of the carriages, or have dinner at one of the hotel's restaurants. The dinner at Duane's was by far the highlight of the night...for me, at least!