On Sunday, April 16, 2000, we left Porterville for Solvang and Cambria, CA. Our adventure is described below...
Links to other sites on the Web
Reynolds Family Homepage
Cambria Pines Lodge
Fillmore & Western Railway
Solvang, CA USA
Cambria, CA USA
McLintock's Restaurant
Details of the trip written by Steve:
We left Porterville late morning on April 16th. We stopped for gasoline in Bakersfield, then continued our journey. Lunchtime occurred in Fillmore, CA. While there we stopped briefly at the Fillmore Western Railroad. We didn't have time to ride; we may return to ride at a later date.
Cindy's aunt Mimi lives in Santa Barbara. We chatted with her, then took a couple of pictures of Andrea @ the Santa Barbara Mission before continuing onward to Solvang.
We arrived in Solvang just as the rain began. It continued throughout the night and half of Monday. Streets we'd traversed in Santa Barbara were underwater on Monday! We were cozy in our room at Solvang Country Inns and Suites. We had a nice room--downstairs for the kids; loft upstairs for Cindy and me.
We toured the town Monday morning. We were dressed for WARM Southern California weather so Solvang in the rain became a soggy experience for us...
Shopping in the afternoon was a nicer experience--sunshine and no rain:-). We also toured the Santa Inez Mission.
Tuesday AM, we cleaned up, checked out of our room, then toured more of the town. I found a shop that sold "G" scale trains. Now railroading, including model railroading, is part of the Reynolds tradition. Larry Robertson at Molly's Cupboard made me an offer I couldn't refuse. I'm now an LGB train owner.If you're interested in LGB trains, you might like to contact Larry. He's been selling LGB trains longer than there's been an LGB, USA. He gets some great deals on trains and ships all over the USA.
Early afternoon we left Solvang and began our 100 mile journey to Cambria, CA.
Three miles west of Solvang is Buellton, CA and the home of Anderson's Pea Soup. This stop brought back memories for Cindy and me--it and Solvang were stop #3 on our honeymoon; perhaps it brings back memories for you too. The restaurant is no longer owned by the Anderson family and it's surrounded by many neighbors now. I took Andrea and Kristen's picture in the "painting with the openings for faces" of Hap-Pea and Pee-Wee.
We continued north, through Santa Maria, Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach to Shell Beach and lunch at McLintock's Restaurant. If you've not experienced a meal at McLintock's, add it to your "to do" list for your next coastal journey. Great food and service!
We arrived in Cambria late afternoon on Tuesday. We had a nice suite--more square footage than our first house in Porterville!!! Well almost:-) There's a front room, kitchen and bathroom in the middle, and a back room for parents. I set up the LGB train in our room in the back.
Wednesday, we toured the town and visited the beach. Nate, Andrea, and Kristen enjoyed the water and digging in the sand. Cindy and I enjoyed the view and watching the kids play.
We thought about a trip to Hearst Castle, but other things took priority.
I have wonderful memories of Cambria at night in the winter--fog-shrouded buildings and the glow of street and building lights. We didn't get to see that, but it was nice to walk the streets and remember...
We returned to our suite and Andrea took to the pool. She spent lots of time swimming. Wednesday evening, we played hearts, blackjack, and golf (a card game). We brought food back to the room from the Main Street Grill--great food!
Thursday morning we toured the town, then packed up the car, lunched at the Main Street Grill, then headed for Porterville. 150 miles and three hours later, we completed our 550 mile journey; we were home and thinking about the next time we'll get to visit Cambria and Solvang.
© 1997 sreynolds77@hotmail.com
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