solvang a problem

wow, i'm getting really bad at post titles.

ooh - and a reminder!  my auction to benefit #afundforjennie ends today at 5:00PM, PST.  there's still time to bid on a dozen of my delicious, super cute sugar cookies - and help someone in need at the same time.  go!  go now!

so with our first camping trip in ages, we were starting to make a list of things to bring next year.  too bad it also meant re-learning stuff the hard way - like how much nicer it would've been to bring air mattresses.  that ground was hard, yo.  my back was KILLING me.  ugh.  and the weather, while deliciously cool, didn't exactly work for a trip to the beach.  oh, well.

we'd tried to simplify our meals and had bought pre-packed bowls of cereal, but after the girls and i had each devoured one, a familiar craving hit.  and when MIL overheard us, she hopped right into one of the cars and headed to a nearby grocery store.  i tell you, she is so good to us.

with the hub and the bean off on a walk to see the beach, it was up to me to take care o'business.  and my wilderness skills are, uh, limited.  although i suppose that starting a fire with some charcoal and a cigar lighter wouldn't really qualify as "roughing it," huh?  but i was so damn proud of myself for actually getting it done.  i hopped around that BBQ, threw up my arms and did my best tom hanks in "castaway" impression as i shouted "look at what i have created!"

with our easy peasy menu plan for the trip, we'd packed no pans.  so i improvised.

with a beach trip not really an option, the hub suggested that we go on a little road trip.  so we grabbed some quarters and took showers (ice cold for MIL, who was still on texas time and had gone early) and got ready.

okay, just kidding.  we cleaned her off before we headed out.

as we drove along, we passed an ostrich farm that we'd taken the teen to ages and ages ago.  just the sight of it totally brought the memories back to that daytrip we took to hearst castle with her, when she was about 6.

and not long after that, we were here:

with the bean asleep in the back seat, the hub dropped us off to wander the farmer's market and check out the shops while he drove around and waited for her to wake up.

everything was so pretty and colorful.  too bad i don't like fruit, because this stuff looked awesome.

without being able to buy much of anything here, we were done with the farmers market and wandering the streets of solvang in no time.  after browsing a couple of shops, we found ourselves here:

 this little shop was stuffed to the gills with...well, socks.

although they did have other things too.

when the clerk told her that they had a "buy 10, get 1 free" policy, MIL set us free to pick out two pairs of fun socks apiece, plus some for FIL, brother wan and the hub.  we had so much fun in there, and the clerk was so amused at our antics.

in another shop, i spotted something that would look awesome on the bean:

but not for $50.  bah.

i would've loved to stop in here to see what ebelskivers are supposed to taste like (as opposed to my own homemade efforts), but i wasn't really hungry.  yes, that actually happens.

the shops in solvang do a sidewalk sale on the 3rd wednesday of the month.  how lucky were we? at one such table, i found more fun hats.

the hub texted me to let me know that she'd finally woken up and that they were having some ice cream in a shop right across the street from where we were shopping.

we couldn't leave solvang without a plastic tub of cookies and a few pastries to sample.

while i wasn't really a huge fan of the stuff, it didn't seem right to drive all that way and not make a stop for split pea soup at andersen's.  the hub digs it, so we did.

this was just inside the door.  um, i'm so not ready for christmas anything yet.

as the hub waited for his soup, i perused the products for sale in the shop and wondered how different the canned version is from what they serve in the restaurant.

upstairs, we found this:

the hub enjoyed his soup in a cup on the drive back down to the campsite.

since i hadn't actually tried the stuff in years, i decided to give it another shot.  besides, after all the sugar i'd eaten in solvang, i kind of needed some salt to balance it out.  i really don't like the taste of peas, but found that it wasn't as pronounced in the soup as i'd thought.  so yay - next time, i'll get my own cup!

that night, we busted out the carne asada we'd bought for our blowout grand finale dinner.  it was scrumptious, and we capped the evening off with - you guessed it - more roasted marshmallows.

oh, and because i'd stupidly forgotten my uggs at home, i was stoked to break open one of my pairs of fun new knee socks.

so sad to see our camping extravaganza come to an end.