This is the twelfth installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. Note: At the time of my visit, the façade of the building was ensconced in scaffolding. I… More
Category: Country Mouse
Mountain missionNear Jolon, CA
Tagging wallParrsboro, NS, Canada
Posted 9 years ago
BirdlandCentral Valley, CA
Posted 9 years ago
I’ve written about California’s Central Valley before, and I have a feeling it’ll come up again. But there are just so many things to love about the place. Perhaps the best part of all is the birdwatching. The Central Valley is a main thoroughfare along the Pacific Flyway, and hosts thousands upon thousands of both… More
Village sanctuarySan Miguel, CA
Posted 9 years ago
This is the eleventh installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. I’m not entirely certain why, but this place also makes the list of my favorite missions. Mission… More
Jumbo javaKingsburg, CA
Posted 9 years ago
Vort daglige brødPoulsbo, WA
Posted 9 years ago
Like the town of Solvang in California, there’s a Scandinavian town in my neck of the woods, too. Except in contrast to Solvang, I love Poulsbo. Even though it’s a bit of a tourist trap, Poulsbo feels more humble, more down-home, more real. Its Norwegian roots run deep—I have even heard Norwegian spoken on the… More
Rural retreatLompoc, CA
Posted 9 years ago
This is the ninth installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. Mission La Purisima Concepción was probably the one for which I did the least amount of research—the… More
Soup’s onBuellton, CA
Posted 9 years ago
Now this is more like it. Solvang might have seemed a little too much like a polished Disneyland for my taste, but in the next town over was something much more my speed. Though its name has changed slightly over the years, Pea Soup Andersen’s has been a Santa Ynez Valley institution for over 90… More
Cheese DanishSolvang, CA
Posted 9 years ago
I think you know by now that I’m a fan of roadside attractions—anything cheesy, hokey, corny and kitschy has a special place in my heart. But I need to clarify something: I’m pretty snobbish about my kitsch. It’s got to be either bizarre but well-executed, or so bad it’s good, or of epic scale—or else… More
Mixed-metaphor missionSolvang, CA
Posted 9 years ago
This is the eighth installment of my Mission Mondays series, exploring all 21 Spanish Missions along the California coast. You can read more about this series, and see a sketch map of all the missions, at this post. For most of the missions along El Camino Real, the mission itself is the main feature (and… More