Day 2 - 06/03/2008

I was freezing last night. A sharp contrast from my 2006 road trip, where I never used even a sheet to warm me at night, I had a sweatshirt material blanket on me. Midway through the night, I even pulled on socks to help warm my feet. I didn’t sleep too well because of it, but oh well. I did sleep later because of my eye mask. A little light would seep in at the edges, but I was shocked to see how bright it was through my sheet curtains because of how dark my mask made it.

I took my time getting ready in the morning. I cleaned myself up a little, going into the rest stop bathrooms to brush my teeth, etc. I hadn’t seen a truck stop at all yesterday, so I knew it might be awhile before I found a shower. That would be something to figure out later. I pulled out some granola bars and water for breakfast. I decided to go back to Solvang and see it in the daytime when the shops were open.

I am so glad I did. Solvang is such a tourist-friendly town. It’s deliberately structured in a Danish style, from the architecture to the food. And the store owners are pleasant, seemingly not money-hungry (buy something or get out) like many tourist trap areas are.

I stopped at a visitor info center to figure out what exactly I’d want to see there. I settled on three areas: the Bethania church, the Hans Christian Anderson museum, and the Old Mission Santa Ines.

As I walked around to my three intended destinations, I went into a couple stores and talked with the merchants there about their shops. The first was a store with the signage of a Candle Factory where I met Jenny. The store used to make candles, but now only sells them from candle-making companies around the USA. I saw some pretty neat styles of candles there. One type is a thick candle where the center is clear wax, and there are decorative designs and colors as a 3 mm thick layer around the edges. You can then place it on a light stand (only as powerful as a standard flashlight), and the candle has a trippy glow effect.

I continued walking around and found a glass shop. Unlike the other shops there, this one was very spacious, and not overly impacted with merchandise. A business consultant would go crazy here thinking of all this wasted square footage not holding saleable material, but thankfully I’m an accountant so that things like this do not bother me. I was impressed with everything I saw, but then something caught my eye. A bench for $6,400. I asked about it, meeting the storekeeper Nora, and she gave me the background info. An artist in San Diego made it out of aluminum and accented it with flat glass stones. I was painted with the basic rainbow colors in reflective tones that made it appear that you were looking at it underwater. Nora invited me to sit in and try it out. I did so warily, wondering 1) how comfortable it would be, and 2) if it would hold my weight. Surprisingly, it was both sturdy and comfortable. She said they used to have a sign inviting people to sit in it, but then it started to sign minor signs of wear, with the paint rubbing off on the arm rests, etc., so the sign was removed. Now that sitting on this bench is an invite-only kind of deal, I felt kind of special. Nora then showed me around the rest of the shop, pointing out the different styles of glass art they brought in worldwide to sell here. Another unique style was incorporating bronze with glass art, something only Romania is doing. It is used as an accent, like outlining a glass fish with fins. Absolutely beautiful.

The Bethania Evangelical Lutheran Church was nice. I don’t mean that in an unimpressive way, but I can’t think of the appropriate term. Too big for quaint, too plain for awe-inspiring, too small for magnanimous, and too beautiful for drab. There are pictures on Facebook if one of my readers can determine a better qualifier. The interior was heavily decorated at the front, and the whole inside had an aged feel to it. It felt comfortable.

I then meandered over to the Hans Christian Anderson Museum. The first floor was entirely a bookstore and coffee shop. Going upstairs, I found the actual museum. I didn’t stay long, as I kept thinking about all the other places I wanted to get to today. I did stop to read a news article I found. There’s apparently a statue (bronze, as I recall) of a mermaid on a rick in Denmark, and the statue is apparently the recipient of much abuse. The source and reason for the vandalism is unclear, according to the article. The statue has decapitated twice, and the right arm has been removed once. Most recently, and the reason for this specific article, was that the statue was now missing, having been blown off the rock with explosives. It had been there for a few decades, but only started receiving the abuse in the last couple decades, I believe. The article was well written, with a detective flair written into it: “The author is heading out from Solvang, CA to Denmark to investigate.” That’s not a word-for-word quote, but I can’t recall how to properly document a paraphrase. Clearly I wasn’t homeschooled long enough.

After the museum, I headed over to the Old Mission Santa Ines. I started having lots of fourth grade flashbacks to my mission project. I only walked around for a short while because I didn’t feel like paying the $4 for the self-guided audio tour, which would last 25 minutes. I didn’t want to stay that long. My camera battery died just as I was nearing my desired turn-around point. I would have liked to get a few more pictures, but oh well.

There is always something that goes unplanned on a trip like this, and my thing this time was electricity. I have three primary things with me requiring power: cell phone, laptop, and digital camera. I had a power inverter with me to utilize my car battery to charge these items. My fatal error was presuming that the rechargeable batteries I got for my digital camera would come already charged. They weren’t. And so as I started out yesterday, I was on the last ounce of charge in the standard AA batteries still in my camera, with nothing ready to replace them. I put the rechargeables into their charger and plugged that is through the inverter. Then I hear the familiar beep on my cell phone signifying a low battery. I can already tell that this will be a problem because once I start using my laptop, it will start sucking on the power source. I got my phone charged yesterday, and was alternating between the little life I could pour into the batteries before the other rechargeable pair (I bought four) would die.

I got back on the road bound for Pismo. I’ve lived in Fresno six years and have never been there. Like I mentioned yesterday, I am not a beach person. I followed the signs for Pismo, and somehow ended up at a place called Grover Beach. You could park at the edge of the paved road for free for fifteen minutes, or pay five dollars to drive onto the beach all day. I could see what I wanted to see in fifteen minutes, and I don’t think Serena would make it back off the sand if I tried taking her out there. She agreed. It was nice, but I couldn’t help thinking: Is this it? This is what Fresno is so excited about?

To make sure I had gone to the right place, I called my buddy Matt since I was next going to be hitting up San Luis Obispo, where he attended Cal Poly. He told me I wasn’t at “Pismo” yet, and to drive up the 1 a little ways. He also suggested a place for lunch with amazing clam chowder. As much as I love clam chowder, I really wasn’t planning to eat out on this trip in order to save money. Yes, I’m that cheap that my trunk is stuffed with water, Gatorade, and granola bars. Matt also gave me directions to the Montana de Oro State Park in SLO that purportedly had some amazing tide pools.

I drove up and parked for free a few blocks from the beach. As I walked down, I came to the Splash Café, the place Matt told me to go for clam chowder. I really like clam chowder, so I decided to indulge and get a bread bowl. I hadn’t had one of those since the FPU cafeteria. I ordered at the register, and then found a counter seat behind the fountain drink dispenser. While I waited, I read the info pieces at the counter. Apparently, this chowder is truly world famous, having won awards. More importantly, it’s sold at Costco, so I can get more if it’s that good. There were some other trivial facts about the chowder and establishment that I don’t recall.

I was in a position to see behind the counter as orders were finalized. The waitress would then yell out names and bring the food over to the raised hands. When she called out “Joe,” I signaled her over to me. I frequently use my middle name when ordering food because it has proven more efficient. When I would say “Karl,” it would be more frequently confused with another name, but that rarely happens (if ever) with “Joe.” My coworkers find it hilarious that I don’t use my given name to order food.

I can now see why this clam chowder would be world famous. The bread bowl and chowder were amazing. The exposed insides of the bread had been lightly grilled, and the chowder was perfectly seasoned. Usually I need to add pepper, but not this time. I dipped the bread pieces in to embrace every taste. I tried to take my time and enjoy the experience, but I was lost in the delectable flavor and went a little faster. As I got further down, I started peeling apart the bowl. I don’t know if that’s normally “done,” but it was so good, and no one here would know me, so I went ahead and did it.

I then left and walked further down to Pismo Beach. Instead of going onto the beach, I went out onto the pier to get some pictures. I took a family’s picture with their camera so they could all be in it, and they took one of me with my camera. Again, the beach was beautiful, but I was still bewildered as to the incredible draw it has on my fellow denizens. Then I figured it out: this is the only beach they get to. I’m used to Orange County, where the beach is 30 minutes away, and I’m not even a big fan of the beach. So to people who like the beach but don’t get the opportunity to see it regularly, this would be pretty incredible.

I walked back to my car, and headed further north on the 101 to San Luis. Per Matt’s instructions, I got off at Los Osos Valley Road, and started heading toward the state park. I got almost all the way there, and saw a sign for the Los Osos Oaks State Reserve. I figured that would be as good as the State Park, and that there probably wouldn’t be an entrance fee.

I had borrowed a book on Highway 1 from my friend Daniel, and had looked up the State Park after Matt recommended it. The book called it “primitive. Bring your own water.” I figured the same was probably true of the reserve, so I grabbed a water bottle, my camera, my cell phone, and my keys. I figured I’d hike for a little while. I took pictures as I went, and quickly noticed that the three trails advertised at the entrance to the reserve were very intertwined and poorly marked. That just meant this would be an adventure. In no time at all, I was lost. There were so many forks in the paths that there would have been no way to keep track of which way I came from or went toward, so I just kept walking. I had opted for the trail originally marked “Chumash Loop Trail,” reasoning that a “loop trail” would bring me back around to where I had started. That was a novice’s assumption. I kept walking and taking pictures.

When I decided I was done and wanted to go back to my car, I started looking more intently for the few and far between signs. They would have arrows pointing to one or more of the three trails, and/or the parking lot. I followed the arrows to the parking lot. I came across a fork, went right, and another fork, again going to the right. I was soon back at the same sign. I thought this only happened on T.V. At least I had my cell phone so that I wouldn’t end up a news story about a guy lost in the woods for eleven days. But I really hoped I wouldn’t have to call someone to say that I was lost in the woods and needed someone to come help me out. I went left at the first fork this time, and left at the second fork. Pretty soon I came upon a third fork, and the left was obvious, as going right would take my off the cliff into the dry creek bed below. But soon I was hearing highway noise and got excited. I continued until the trail dead-ended into a pond, and I could see the highway through the brush, but no parking lot. I weighed my options, and decided to go through the brush and get out on the highway to find my way from there. I didn’t know initially which way to go to get to my car, but I soon discovered a familiar sight on the highway that I had driven past. Now with my bearings, I walked the few hundred feet back to Serena, who was waiting so patiently for me.

On the short trek back, I saw something fascinating lying on the road. Something from ancient civilizations: a 5 ¼” floppy diskette. I couldn’t believe my find! I decided to leave it in its natural habitat at the side of the road, undisturbed. But I took a picture to prove the discovery.

I returned to the 101 and shortly pulled off to the 1 to drive along the coast again, pulling off at several “Vista Points” (and even some places that weren’t technically “Vista Points”) to take pictures of the amazing scenery. I stopped at Hearst Castle, but it was closed for the day. At one of the Vista Points, I saw a couple taking pictures of each other. I offered to take their picture, but the husband said the battery had just died on them. The wife offered to take a picture of me with mine, though. We talked for a little while, and exchanged introductions. Their names are Carl and Anna, and they were visiting from Sweden. Anna had a conference to attend in L.A., and so Carl came along with her, and they took some vacation time to see California. I showed them my power inverter so they could hopefully get one for the remainder of their trip. They were a very pleasant couple, and I was glad to have met them. I am encountering so many fascinating people on this trip.

I needed to make it to Seaside tonight to stay with Jared and Beth. I had called Jared earlier in the day to ask about staying with them for a night, and he graciously extended an invitation. I drove through Big Sur, stopping occasionally to take pictures. I called Jared to get exact directions, and arrived here about 9 p.m. They have three dogs, none of whom are too big or too hyper. I am getting more okay with dogs as I get older. I remember being terrified of them as a kid, but now I could see myself having an outside dog once I get a house and am not traveling so much for work.

Beth had to get up early for work, so she retired soon after my arrival, but Jared and I stayed up to talk for awhile. I hadn’t gotten to know Beth too well at Pacific, but I did have a class with Jared where I got to know him. It was nice to get to know them better now and see where life has brought them. Before Jared went to bed, he set me up on their wireless network so I could upload pictures and blogs. I stayed up until 11:30 and then went to bed myself.