In July of this year, we got invited to a birthday party in LA.
Now, we've been to Southern California quite a bit, attending our fair share of weekend weddings, red egg ginger parties, and graduations. Plus, I used to live down there... So suffice it to say, we've done most of the touristy LA stuff. But the biggest difference now is that we have TIME! Without the confines of work, we are now free to explore some of the sites that in past SoCal trips, we drove by and said, "Maybe on the next trip, when we have more time..."
"SoCal off the Beaten Path" is a week long road trip that captures years of deferred sites and activities. I've highlighted our Top 8 on this trip, and at the bottom of this post is our full itinerary to give you an idea of how long each of these activities might take.
TOP 8
1. Feed the Ostriches and Emus at Ostrichland
When I took my sisters here over 20 years ago, Ostrichland was free-- and not crowded at all. There was a coin operated food dispenser if you were inclined to feed them, and that was about it. Now, the farm has built in walk ways, and the line to pay the nominal $5 entrance fee (an extra $1 for a bowl of feed) was out the door. But its not every day that you get to see the ostriches' and emus' large mesmerizing eyes and long eye lashes up close, much less feed them! In our eyes, it's well worth a 30 min to an hour detour. Who knows? You may end up buying an ostrich egg from their shop and throwing an omelette party. Each ostrich egg is equivalent to 18-24 chicken eggs!
Tip: Walk further down the walkway before you start feeding the ostriches to avoid the crowds-- people tend to bunch up at the first stop and start feeding.
2. Sample Pastries at Solvang's Danish Bakeries
Solvang is a small European village with a high concentration of bakeries. You won't be able to resist sampling all the danish pastries. We sat down at Olsen's to enjoy a napoleon's hat, danish style apple strudel, and a raspberry filled cookie bar. As if that wasn't enough sugar, we stopped off at Arne's for a plate of aebleskievers, pancake balls dusted with powdered sugar and served with raspberry jam; and then later Mortenson's and Birkholm's for buckets of butter cookies. Don't worry. The buckets of cookies were gifts for friends.
3. Visit Hans Christian Andersen Museum
This is a very small museum located on the 2nd floor of a book store. When you first walk in, you may be turned off by it's non-high tech display, but if you take the time to read, you'll find fascinating tid bits about the author (I was most captivated by his love life) as well as a model of his childhood home and hundreds of volumes of his works. I love "rags to riches" stories, and Han Christian Andersen exemplified that-- going to a poor neighborhood school, then leaving home at 14 to find work, yet by the end of his career, wrote over 3000 works that are now shared and read around the world. If you're a fan of fairy tales, this is worth a stop; and if not, well... there's excellent AC in this free museum!
4. Kayak the Caves at Channel Island
My husband had always wanted to visit Channel Islands National Park. This national park is made up of 5 islands (Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara) off the coast of California that were isolated thousands of year ago, allowing plants and animals on the islands to evolve independently. Often nicknamed the "Galapagos of North America", there are over 145 species of plants and animals on the island that are found no where else in the world.
Tours to the islands fill up fairly quickly, so we booked the 8AM ferry and the 9:30AM "Discovery Sea Cave Kayak Tour" in advance with Channel Islands Adventure Company to guarantee a spot. The ferry launched from Ventura Harbor and took about an hour to get to Santa Cruz island. Pods of dolphins entertained us as we got closer to the island, and the captain slowed down to give everyone an opportunity for a photo-- so make sure you get a seat on the top deck. Do bring a wind breaker, though, as even in July, the ride was pretty chilly.
Once we landed at Scorpion Bay, we met up with our guide, stored our hiking packs and sandwiches in lockers, and geared up with helmets and life jackets (aka PFD's--personal flotation devices) to begin our cave kayaking adventures. It was an enjoyable experience to learn techniques of how to maneuver in these low and narrow sea caves, and kayak among pelicans, cormorants, and seals. (The guide also pointed out a star fish to us, but I couldn't quite see it cuz I was trying not to get too close to the rock and flip our kayak.) Before we knew it, 2 hours had passed and the tour was over.
After we docked and changed, we ate our lunch under the watchful eyes of island foxes (pictured above). These foxes are descendants of the mainland gray fox, and found no where else in the world, so we took some time to watch these small creatures as well. After our fill of foxy pictures, we hiked the 4.9 mile (about 2 hrs) Potato Harbor Trail (also pictured above) for picturesque views and to see if we would encounter additional unique wildlife. (Note: Download google maps of Santa Cruz island ahead of time so you have a hiking map readily available on the phone if needed, as there's no cell service on the island.) We did find some unique bugs on the trail with a symmetrical geometric red and black pattern on their backs (see photo above). It kinda reminded me of patterns on frogs acquired in the game pocketfrogs. Anybody remember that game? Anyways, I've never seen bugs with this pattern before, but I'm not a bug expert, so I'm not sure if it's indigenous to the islands or not. If you know the name of this bug, please let me know!
Even though the Channel Islands are the least visited national park in the US, do not miss an opportunity to explore this gem.
5. Visit USS Midway Museum
6. Pet the Kangaroos at San Diego's Wildlife Safari Park
The evening before, we had met up with friends that just visited the Safari Wildlife Animal Park. The 10-year old advised that the Australian Walkabout was the highlight and we should head there pronto-- and I'd have to agree. The Australian walkabout was designed with a walkway inside the enclosure such that if the kangaroos and wallabies approach the walkway, you are free to pet them. Ooooohhhhhh.....so so soft and different than what I imagined! We went back to this exhibit twice! That's how much we liked it.
There's a lot to love about this place.
For starters, it's free.
But I may be impartial to Griffith's Observatory as I'm a bit of a space buff. I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid--until I realized that you have to be physically fit and good at math. Failed on both fronts, so that was the end of that dream. But whether you're a space buff or not, Griffith's has something to offer for everyone.
There's a remodeled planetarium with daily shows, educational displays explaining the seasons and tides, the inner workings of a telescope, and an entire periodic table with samples of each element (when physically possible and not an imminent health hazard to visitors of course). As if that wasn't enough, they added in a whole new level below the observatory with displays of meteorites, moon rocks, mars rocks, and demos of cosmic rays though spark and cloud chambers. Even the short film on all the engineering that went into excavating underneath the old observatory to add a new level was fascinating.
But even if none of this science stuff fancies you, the views of the iconic Hollywood sign and the LA skyline from Griffith's are priceless.
8. Pick up treats from Porto's Bakery
Two words. Potato Balls
These are GOOD! Fluffy mash potatoes filled with a mix of ground beef, onions, peppers, and spices, and then rolled in bread crumbs and fried to a golden brown. At a little over a dollar a piece, these are a no-brainer. Their guava and cheese strudel are delicious as well.
Be kind to yourself. Just go and get a box of a dozen (or two) for yourself.
Our week long itinerary in July 2019
| Date | Time | Activity |
| Day 1 | 1 PM | Arrive at Ostrichland (610 E Hwy 246, Solvang) |
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| 3 PM | Park in downtown Solvang and explore the town |
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| Sample danish pastries at Olson’s, Birkholm’s and Mortensen’s |
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| Visit Hans Christian Andersen Museum (1680 Mission Dr., Solvang) |
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| Visit the 3 Windmills of the town and the Little Mermaid Fountain |
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| 6 PM | Dinner at Mad & Vin (1576 Mission Dr.) |
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| 8 PM | Drive to Sheraton Hotel at Ventura Harbor and Check in |
| Day 2 | 7 AM | Channel Island Tour (1691 Spinnacker Dr) Ferry departs @8, but check in 1 hr prior |
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| 8 AM | Ferry Ride to Channel Islands |
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| 9 AM | Gear up for kayaking the caves |
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| 12 PM | Lunch and unguided hike to Potato Harbor |
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| 4:30 PM | Return Ferry ride to Ventura Harbor |
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| 7 PM | Dinner at Brophy Bros. Ventura |
| Day 3 | 8 AM | Check out of Sheraton |
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| 9 AM | Channel Island National Park Visitor Center |
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| 9:30 AM | Start drive to USS Midway (3 hr 40 min drive w/o traffic) |
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| 2 PM | USS Midway Museum |
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| 5 PM | Dinner with SD friends |
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| 9 PM | Check into Hyatt Carlsbad |
| Day 4 | 8 AM | Check out of Hyatt |
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| 9 AM | San Diego Wildlife Safari Park |
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| 6 PM | Dinner with SD friends and overnight stay |
| Day 5 | 8 AM | La Jolla Cove and Caves |
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| 9 AM | Start drive to LA (2 hr drive) |
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| 11 AM | Meet LA relatives for lunch |
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| 2 PM | Griffith’s Observatory |
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| 6 PM | Dinner with relatives and overnight stay |
| Day 6-7 | AM | LA Friend’s Special Event |
| Day 9 | AM | Drive home stopping off at Porto’s Bakery for treats |