Los Angeles' Best Eats...Eastside Edition-Part 3

See Part One here and Part two here.

The Best of L.A. food lists seem to stop at downtown. We're trying to rectify that by building a "best of list" for the east side of things...

There was a time, not too many years ago, where I was willing to make the not easy drive to the tip of the Palos Verdes peninsula, pay $10 to park, and then pay another $80 for lunch for the three of us.

Yes, the view (on top of an ocean bluff) was legendary (still is -Ed) and the service great but what really made this lunch worth the effort and every penny spent was a burger...the Nelson's burger at Nelson's grill at the Terranea Resort.

Five years ago, this burger would cost $16 dollars, with add-ons, ours came out to $19 but what a burger it was (pictured at top)...1/3 pound of prime ground beef, arugula, garlic aoli, thick slice of fresh beefsteak tomato, bleu cheese and two thick slices of applewood smoked bacon.  I know it sounds like anyone can make it but no one made it like Nelson's.

Now, you can't get it at any price.  A new chef came in, changed the burger (you may still see a 'Nelson's burger' on the menu but it's not the same, it's just the same kind of 'gourmet' burger you can get anywhere), and the best burger of our lives is just a memory. I'm not dropping $90 on a lunch for three that I can get pretty much anywhere for at least half the cost.

Luckily, we have a very worthy runner-up that will take on the responsibilities of the former winner and their best version is in the eastern stretches of our county.

Eureka! is a growing west coast chain (currently 22 locations) that make outstanding burgers and are committed to local and American suppliers. We've been to a few locations, and they're nice, but the best one is in the Village of the college town of Claremont, about 30 miles east of the Los Angeles City Hall.

Although there is a healthy list of outstanding burgers (all start at 1/3 pound but you can double that), there are two here that I really love.  The cowboy burger comes on a slightly toasted bun with housemade spicy beer barbecue sauce topped with two huge thick slices of applewood smoked bacon, cheddar, and a pile of crispy onion straws. You can tell that care was taken when you realize just how savory and juicy that patty of meat is. The onions and barbecue sauce bring to mind the smoky flavors of sitting around a bonfire at a summer beach party and you suddenly think "damn, that's one hell of a burger." Each burger is served with their very good shoestring fries but you can also upgrade to sweet potato fries, salad, soup, or mac 'n cheese balls for an extra two bucks.

The other burger, and to be fair this is really my favorite and Tim's favorite on the menu, is the sublime bone marrow burger. This is actually a very simple meal consisting of the patty, a roasted roma tomato, a slice of onion, and a kind of bone marrow butter spread across the top of the patty, served on a poppy seed bun. If you've enjoyed sucking the marrow out of the bones on a plate of osso buco, just imagine that fatty, buttery, beefy flavor spread across the top of the burger.  There's no need for cheese or other condiments, the marrow packs in so much flavor it renders everything else moot.

There's much more to enjoy here too on the burger menu along...the fig burger, the bison burger, the jalapeno egg burger...oh yeah, you can add a fried egg to any burger for an extra buck and a half...and a fine bleu cheese burger.

Along with that, there's another extensive menu of sandwiches, salads, steak, and ribs. There's a full bar..only craft beer is served (most of it from local breweries) and everything behind the bar (with the exception of their tequila) is all-American made.

Did I also mention it's fairly cheap? A cheeseburger with fries starts at $10.50. The cowboy burger is $12.50, the marrow burger is the most expensive burger on the menu at $16.50.  A daily 'hoppy hour' from 3-6 gives you a discount on the booze and appetizers, too. You can also take comfort in the fact that you didn't pay all that much for the best burgers you can get in Southern California at any price.

Moving along, I know just about everybody in the world has heard the legend of this burger but I'd truly be remiss if I did not include this definite eastside classic...the double-double from In 'n Out.

The massive family-owned chain, started by the Snyder family over 60 years ago in Baldwin Park...about 20 miles due east along the San Bernardino Freeway from downtown L.A...keeps things very simple. Two burgers, fries, sodas, and shakes. That makes up the entire menu. This allows them to streamline operations so that everything is as fresh as it can be. Famously, there are no freezers in any of the restaurants.

The signature burger, the double-double, comes with two patties (total makes up about a quarter pound), two slices of cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and thousand island sauce. Onions are optional and can be grilled diced, raw diced, or a whole raw slice. The other burger on the menu is the same with only one patty and one slice of cheese. It's all served on a toasted sponge-bread bun.  Very basic but very good at only $3.90.

A lot of people tell me "what about Shake Shack? what about the habit? what about Five Guys?" When any of those can make a decent burger for $3.90, I'll reconsider.

Famously, you can mix and match or change your burger to your heart's content. There is a very well known 'secret' menu. It's secret because it is not displayed on their menu boards but you can go online at the company's website to see it, it's at this link: In 'n Out Secret Menu.

While my wife likes hers just the way they come...with onions...Tim likes his animal style, minus the lettuce and tomato. I like mine with tomato, grilled onions, mustard and ketchup. If I'm extra hungry, I might also make mine a 3x3 (three patties and cheese). In 'n Out will make up to a 4x4, if you're hungry enough.

The French fries here are the subject of many debates. Some people love 'em and some don't. I'm on the 'don't' side of the ledger, so I skip them...and before you purists comment...yes, I have tried them 'well done.' Still not my cup of tea.

The shakes are very good. In fact, my perfect meal at In 'n Out is a double-double (or 3x3), made to the specifications outlined above, alongside their fabulous chocolate shake. That's my meal pictured above.

There are hundreds of locations in the western states but a lot of people make the pilgrimage to store #1 in Baldwin Park at the Francisquito exit of the San Bernardino Freeway. This is the location next to the company headquarters and is across the parking lot from IOU...In 'n Out University, a training center for managers...where there is also a well-stocked gift shop.

Some might be disappointed that it is a modern, dining room equipped location and not the original they were hoping to see. The original location is actually on the other side of the freeway. Unfortunately, the company demolished it in 2011. Fortunately, they built a replica on the same site and you can stop by for a selfie to post.  The closest original style In 'n Out to the Baldwin Park location is about a mile away at 15259 Amar Road in La Puente.

Well, I was going to do a couple of more restaurants in this chapter but I've rambled on enough about these delicious burgers. We'll continue this list next time.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2017 - All Rights Reserved

Hitting the Wall at the End of the Road on the Central Coast - Atascadero, California

My wife has given me one request for her birthday this year, that we not be at home.  Sure, we've been on trips on her birthday before but that day has always landed on a travel day so she got to spend it in airports, on trains, in a car...you get the picture.  This time, she wanted to be gone and able to relax.

After mulling over several destinations, it was decided that we'd go up to the Central Coast to the wine country of Paso Robles and the Edna Valley.

It's not a cheap place for hotels, especially in the peak summer travel time.  A very basic room at a Motel 6 would be edging up towards a hundred dollars a night, rooms in Pismo Beach were in the $300 - $500 range, Morro Bay around $200 - $300, Atascadero and Paso Robles were $150 - $400.

I settled on the Holiday Inn Express in Atascadero (just ten miles south of Paso Robles) for $190 a night because it seemed like they had a very nice, wheelchair accessible suite with a king bed and sofabed in the living room, hot breakfast, and a decent pool to swim in on those hot, wine country afternoons.

The drive up was pleasant enough with just a stop for breakfast at the Main Street Restaurant and Steakhouse in Ventura.  It's a very good diner with great food but this morning was hosting a party of clueless parents who let their kids climb on the table, run around the restaurant, and bang on windows. We couldn't wait to get back on the road...

Being summer in Southern California, the great ocean views to the left of us on the 101 were balanced out by the many wildfires burning to the right of us.

A bathroom and gas stop in Buellton lands us next to an old used car lot filled with some great, classic and antique cars.

About four hours later, we pull into the Holiday Inn Express in Atascadero for checkin.  After the paperwork is done and room keys issued, I send Letty and Tim ahead to the room while I collect some luggage from the car.

When I get to the room, Letty greets me at the door with "you'll never believe this. Come inside and look."

I go inside to a nice, rather large room (no way this is a two-room suite, like I booked, maybe a studio, at most) where my wife has pulled back the curtains to reveal the view of the rolling hills of the Paso Robles wine country going off into the distance.  At least that's what we expected. Instead, we get a view of a stucco wall, 3 feet away, completely blocking any view at all (it's part of the facade of the portico over the hotel's entrance).

"OK, lets go back down and see if they have another room," I tell her.

Marching back to the desk, we explain the dilemma. "That's the only wheelchair accessible suite we have," the clerk tells me. We have a regular room with one bed that is accessible."

I let her know that we will not be able to fit in that room and, since this room is not what I thought it would be and is obviously inferior to a non-accessible room, that they should have no problem if I go ahead and cancel, right?

"You need to cancel 24 hours in advance, you'll forfeit a night's room rate."

This is not good.  I know I could probably fight this and win later but I just want to give my wife a nice getaway for her birthday so, when they won't budge, we go ahead and stay in the room.

It's not a great room for sleeping, either, as we'd find out listening to the people upstairs walking around all night and the air conditioner cycling on and off repeatedly.

The next morning, we go to the breakfast buffet. It's not great. It's pretty bland and we decide after today, we'd rather spend extra and go eat out.

The manager spots me as we're getting ready to go out for the day.  "Mr. Musick, I see that you wanted to cancel yesterday but you needed 24 hours notice. If you'd like to cancel today at no charge, that would be fine."

I tell her that today is my wife's birthday. All she wanted was to be away from home and not dealing with the actual hassles of traveling and that the last thing I want to do on her birthday is to have to try to find another hotel on short notice in this expensive town and to move.

The manager says she'll knock off ten dollars a day for our troubles.

Well, at least I know where not to stay next time I come up here (you can see my review of the hotel at Tripadvisor).

At least that's the height of our displeasure on this trip. The rest of it will be pretty fun and relaxing...I promise.  See you next time.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2017 - All Rights Reserved

Photos by Letty Musick
Copyright 2017 - All Rights Reserved

CAREGIVER CHRONICLES: Bathing While On The Road

Last week, Tim recounted what's in store for him at shower time. I'd like to expand on that on what it's like to give him a bath when we travel.

At home, Tim likes to refer to his bath setup at "the Rolls Royce of baths" because it's customized for him and his needs...he gets the closest to the perfect bath there.  On the road, it can be a real mish-mash, depending on how well the hotel we're staying at has anticipated the needs of a special needs customer like him.

That access can range from pretty much none to some very well thought out solutions (still, not as good as home because just off the top, you know nothing away from home is customized to our situation). We've even had some, non-adapted rooms that come very close to being universally accessible just by coincidence, such as the Lindemann's Hotel we stayed at in Berlin.

Even with good bathtubs or showers and roomy bathrooms, other considerations can sometimes make this part tricky for example, marble bathroom floors. Think about lifting a 160 pound person into and out of the bath on a wet, slick marble floor. Yeah, that can be very dangerous.

Sharp corners on vanities and counters, not enough towels (we need three for Tim, one to dry, one to put on his wheelchair for transferring out of the bathroom, and one to put on the bed where I lay him down to get dressed), and tight spaces can all contribute to a lack of access or difficulties where none need to be.

Once I get a bathroom where I can get him in, the type of bathing facility and seating can also be varied and important.  There are two basic styles of adapted bathrooms...those with bathtubs and those with roll-in (or, more technically correct, walk-in) showers.

The bathtubs are usually more problematic depending on how much I have to lift Tim to get over the lip of the tub. Many have transfer benches built into them where I can sit Tim on the edge, swing his legs over the side without lifting him, then slide him over into bathing position where he can steady himself with the grab bar. Not all accessible tub bathrooms have this, some hotels give you a shower chair instead.

A roll-in shower has no barrier to block access. Theoretically, you can roll in a wheelchair for bathing but in practice, no one wants to get their chair wet. What that means is that there is usually a fold-down bench or some other type of seating that you can transfer to from your wheelchair for bathing.

All type of adapted baths or showers come with a shower head on a hose, which makes it easy to wash and rinse those parts of the body that aren't facing the shower head base.

Here are some of the bath seating arrangements we've come across and how well they work for us:

Plastic Patio Chair, like we got at the previously mentioned Lindemann's in Berlin and the apartment we rented in Cannes - Just like you'd get a Home Depot for $12.99 or so. Actually it can work pretty well in a walk-in or roll-in shower like we got in Berlin, but not as well in a standard bathtub like we got in Cannes.  It all depends on how high I need to lift Tim.

Plastic Shower Bench - a backless bench to stick in a bathtub or shower. No transfer bench attached and no back support.  It'll do but it'd be nice to have a backrest.

Plastic Shower Chair - the above bench with a backrest. We keep one in the van for emergencies. It works well enough but not perfect, though.

Transfer Bench - These work very well for bathtubs because you can seat the person outside of the tub without lifting them over the tub wall, then swing the legs over and slide the bather into place. Works almost as good as a roll-in shower for us.

...there are also portable transfer benches that work just as well.

Bathtub Swivel Chair - This is the best solution, even better than a roll-in shower, that we've found for us. The Hilton Hotel in Prague provided us with this seat. It's just about perfect. The only thing that you have to do is to place the four legs of the chair on the sides of the bathtub, swivel the seat out and seat the bather into the very supportive chair, then swivel it back in and you're ready to go.

Roll-in Shower with Bench - The easiest transfer. Just wheel the wheelchair into the shower stall, transfer the bather onto the bench and transfer them back into the wheelchair when done. The bench can be mounted on the wall, like this one...

...or portable, like the one at the top of the post, or even one that hangs on the grab bar like the PVC chair we had at the Novotel in Munich (which was a pretty awful chair but we made it work).

As you can see, there's quite a variety of solutions offered for accessible bathing in the various hotel rooms around the world. Sometimes, though, even that can't be found.  If nothing else, putting a bunch of towels on the bed and doing a sponge bath can get you through until you land at and arrive at your next destination that has the proper or adequate bathing facilities for a person with disabilities.

There's even this solution...made for travelers and sometimes derisively called a 'whore's bath'...that will work in a pinch.

Probably the biggest hurdle for most handicapped travelers is the bath situation but, as you see, that really doesn't need to be a problem. Just be flexible with your bath habits, plan ahead, call your hotel before arriving, and you should be fine.

-Written By: Darryl Musick
-Edited By: Tim Musick
Copyright 2017 - All Rights Reserved

CEREBRAL PALSY STORIES: Keeping Up Squeaky Clean Appearances-Taking A Shower

Showering! It's a dirty job but everybody has to do it!...Even those individuals who are disabled like me. Since I am disabled from having had Cerebral Palsy all my life, I do have to have my dad help me in getting my weekly showering needs taken care of.

For us, there are two important things that help make all of our lives a little easier when it comes to giving someone like me a shower. The first is that the shower in my bathroom is a roll in shower instead of a bath tub. For people with disabilities of any kind, having a roll in shower in the bathroom is much easier to work with in the long run as compared to a regular bath tub.  The second thing that makes it easier for me and my family is that we also have a shower chair for me to sit on that we can more or less easily maneuver into the shower without too much difficulty.

Another thing that I should point out about the roll in shower and the bathroom that I use in my house is that when we first into the house where my family and I live at now, the bathroom that I use for all of my bath rooming and showering needs was not fully accessible enough at that time to meet my specific bath rooming needs. Just to give you an idea as to when my family and I moved into the house we currently live at -we moved there in December of 1995 when I was 8 years old.

As I mentioned above, the bathroom that would eventually become mine to use was not fully accessible for me to use at the time when we first moved in. To overcome this obstacle of what would be an obvious remodeling job to the bathroom in order to meet my specific needs, we enlisted the help of the San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center who provided us with a grant to help pay for the bathroom remodeling job. For the record, our house has a total of 2 bathrooms. The one that I use for my needs and another one that my parents use.

To make a long bathroom remodeling short, it was successfully remodeled pretty soon after we first moved in to meet my needs for the most part and it's pretty good to me in the 20+ years that I have been using it.

Getting back to what this post is really about though and that would be how I take a shower, when it comes to my weekly showering needs and routine.

During the  week, my routine usually begins with an initial shave, a full body scrubbing, and cleansing with help from my dad, Darryl. On Saturdays, I have what is without a doubt the most relaxing one of the week that get to have. That is because on Saturdays, my dad will give me the opportunity to have a nice relaxing spa day in the shower to start the weekend in which I do the best I can to my capabilities and or abilities to give myself a shower. The main reason why I don't get to have a spa day during the week is because there is simply just not enough time to take advantage of the benefits of having a spa day.

When I have my Saturday spa days, I am usually able to wash my body with a wash rag consisting of the upper portions of my body including my face, arms, chest and stomach. I can also wash and scrub the upper parts of my legs right up to about to where both of my knees are. My disability with Cerebral Palsy does present some physical challenges for me in that I am pretty much unable to thoroughly wash the part of my body that my dad and I like to call the nether regions which includes the private parts on the front end of my body and the buttocks on the back end. 

Another thing that is sometimes physically challenging for me during some of my showers is that either one or both of my legs or feet will go numb from having to sit on the shower chair over a prolonged period of time. When this happens, it will usually take a while for my legs and feet to wake up and for the numbness and tingling sensations to disappear. By the time that I am transferred back into my wheelchair, the numbness and tingling sensations in my legs and feet will usually dissipate and go away once I am back in my wheelchair safe and secure.

Once the soap scrubbing with a wash rag is complete, the next of my spa day Saturdays is for me to grab the shower head that is connected to a water hose so that I can be able to rinse off the soap that is still on my body at this point. During this time that I use the shower head to rinse off my body I should also point out that just like mostly everybody else, I sometimes do sing in the shower while I rinse off just for fun and to help relax me even more than I already am at that point during my spa days.

After I finish the washing and rinsing off portions of the shower, my dad will then come back and help me with shampooing my hair and brushing my teeth with an electric tooth brush. Once that is complete my showering usually comes to an end and all that's left to do dry off and get dressed with my dad's help once again.

To help dry me off and get dressed, my dad will help me do so while I'm still in the shower. 

Once the drying off phase in the shower is finished, my 
dad will then roll me back over to my room to help me get dressed and ready for the rest of my day or night. What I wear usually depends on what time it is during the day. If I have my shower during the morning or if we have to go somewhere afterwards during the afternoons or at night, then I will usually wear my regular articles of clothing just like everybody else such as a T-Shirt, shoes, pants, shorts, leg braces and so on. If I don't have to be fully dressed to go out somewhere, then I will usually wear just my T-Shirt, some socks and a pair of boxers or briefs so that I can relax and be more comfortable during the night at home.

After I'm finished getting dressed, my dad will then transfer me back into my power wheelchair so that I can be free to roam around the house again on my own and get on with the rest of our day or night in our life until the next time my showering schedule returns. With that in mind, it's time to wrap things up and for me to get ready for the next wash, rinse and repeat cycle of my weekly showering routine.

Tim Musick
Copyright 2017
All Rights Reserved

Los Angeles's Best Eats...Eastside Edition - Part 2

See Part One here...

The Best of L.A. food lists seem to stop at downtown. We're trying to rectify that by building a "best of list" for the east side of things...

Southern California is teeming with food variety. It helps that we're such an assortment of the world's ethnicities. In fact, we documented all the ethnic food varieties we could find in the San Gabriel Valley a few years ago.

A lot of it is a vast collection of mediocre establishments but a few rise above the fray. In the eastern portion of the area, it helps to have a guide...and that's what we're here for.

In downtown Los Angeles, the Little Tokyo neighborhood is a warren of great, Japanese cuisine. To the east, it can be just as good...just a little more separated by distance.

Right now, our favorite Japanese establishment also has the confusing name of Little Tokyo. No, it's nowhere near downtown but in the for-now Western themed downtown of San Dimas. You remember San Dimas, don't you? Home of Bill and Ted, where the Circle K was actually a time portal and they had the excellent adventure with Rufus (George Carlin) and became the legendary Wyld Stalyns?

Yes, it really does exist. At least the town, not so sure about that time portal.

In a strip mall next to an Alberstons and a Dollar Tree...on the corner of San Dimas Avenue and Bonita...is where you'll find Little Tokyo, sitting in the shadow of a cell phone tower disguised as an old west water tower.

We've always been partial to the excellent and fresh sushi here. The list is daunting, lengthy, and creative. Fatty tuna, roe, eel, squid, yellowtail....it's all here and very fresh and tasty made by a Japanese sushi master.

My wife now raves about the poke bowl they've added, which is the best she's found in the entire L.A. area. Salmon and spicy tuna sit atop sushi rice and a bed of vegetables which is like a whole sushi entree.

Not being much of a fish eater, I'll go with their excellent beef teriyaki which, even in the a la carte mode, comes with a fresh salad with their exquisite sesame dressing and the best miso soup I've had.

The savoriness of that miso, the chewy and slightly gelatinous tofu, and seaweed combine for such a shot of comfort food flavor that I could easily sit here on a cold winter night eating nothing but that soup.

In El Monte, which is beginning to feel the Asian pressure on it's west side from the fine Vietnamese restaurants of neighboring Rosemead, Daikokuya feels a bit out of place between the Pho and Bahn Mi places marching ever eastward on Garvey and the long established Mexican restaurants that have forever been a fixture in this town.

This outpost of the original in Little Tokyo is new to this avenue of gangbangers, trailer parks, and hourly-rate motels but is a little oasis of great cuisine among the lovable riff-raff of my hometown.

While you can come here for sushi and such nuggets as shrimp lollypops and tofu nuggets, the real reason is ramen...that brothy, noodle soup perfected by the Japanese.

This is not the cheap, sustenance, instant ramen of your college dorm days. Here, exquisitely brewed soy-infused miso broth cradles medium boiled eggs (with the jellied yolks), floating pieces of kurobuta pork belly, bamboo shoots, and green onions all sitting on the perfectly textured ramen noodles. A large bowl is $11.00.

For an extra dollar we'll go with the spicy option, which adds very little spiciness actually, that uses three different kinds of miso that adds a deep, savory taste to the broth.

It is a very delicious, satisfying, and filling way to part with just a little over ten dollars.

We'll continue on this list another time, I've already made myself hungry enough today.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2017 - All Rights Reserved

Solvang...the Bonus Reel

Here are some parts of our Solvang trip that didn’t make the final cut but are still worthy…

Taking a little break to see the view from our second floor window, I look down into the side street and see a little shop. Out of the way, off the main tourist trail, it’s Valley Brewers.

I run downstairs, cross over, and check out this little shop of homebrew, home wine, and home cheesemaking supplies. One of the owners is inside. Chris shows us around, takes us downstairs where the real treasures are, and asks if we’ve ever brewed.

“Three batches,” I tell him. I also tell him about my latest attempt at a Belgian Dubbel which, although tasty, came out a bit flat.

Chris explains how to get the priming sugars just right, the importance of splashing oxygen in during the pour into the fermentation tank, and slowly letting the temperature rise a bit after bottling to get that all-important carbonation.

He also tells me that he has a killer Belgian ale recipe that he makes up for me for around $40. I should be able to get 48 bottles out of it once it’s brewed.

Now, I’ve got my favorite souvenir and found a great new place away from the overpriced wine tastings and mediocre pastries of downtown Solvang. I get to go home happy.

When we first got to Solvang, we made our way to NojoquiFalls for a hike. On the way over to the falls, we passed an idyllic looking farm. On our way home, I made our way back before hitting the freeway.

It’s Classic Organic farm, a green, grass-covered hillside with frolicking goats and mouse-hunting cats.

In the old wooden barn, baskets of apples, lettuce, onions, citrus and more await. A lazy cat sits atop the barrel where an honor-system slot and a tray of change sit for customers to deposit their money and make their own change.

We get some fruit and vegetables, eat some apples, and make friends with the goats.

It’s a great place for a quick and impromptu picnic before heading home.

Darryl

Copyright 2013 – All Rights Reserved

Darryl Musick

Mission: Accomplished! Solvang, California - Part 3

Morning dawns in our basic, little room at the top of the dark stairs. We're hungry and we're in a town know for it's great breakfasts.

Two or three bakeries line each block. Abelskivers, little round pancake balls, are a popular specialty here but we're going traditional at Paula's Pancake House, just a couple of doors down from the hotel.

Finally, great good with matching service, Letty and I feast on the giant-but-thin Dutch pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausage. It's a filling and delicious meal accompanied by orange juice squeezed right before our eyes.

Tummies full, we take a drive over to nearby Santa Ynez and check out the old inn in the cute downtown. Lovely hotel and maybe a contender if we ever have another romantic getaway up here...but those are as rare as Halley's Comet at this point in our lives.

We do notice that the inn is accessible, however, so maybe a family trip might be in order?  Who knows.

Back in Solvang, we see the troops of greyhounds, and their owners, from Greyhound Fest parading east to the edge of town. We drive over and meet them on the ground of Mision Santa Ines.

In addition to being the Dutch capitol of California, Solvang is also an historic mission town with the two-and-a-half century old mission. Mass has just ended and Father Gerald Barron introduces himself to us and invites us inside to have a look around in his Irish brogue.

We get to see the basic wooden altar and the old painted walls. Back in the old days, Native Americans would stand for the entire service. Modern parishioners can use the pews.

Outside, we see the old mission reservoir next to our parking space.

At the edge is one of the prettiest views of the Santa Ynez Valley stretching out from the mission's grounds (the picture at the top).  

Letty and I pause for one last picture before packing it in and driving back home on the 101 along the central coastline.

Warby Parker's Free Home-Try-On Program

Darryl
Copyright 2013 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved