Atascadero & Solvang

The car rides/hotel time with the kids were awful on this trip. They fought and whined SO MUCH. 

Saturday

• Fed the Ostriches in Buellton. The kids loved this and giggled so much. We saw a gopher that had the fattest cheeks, eating up the stray pellets people were feeding the emus/ostriches.
• Copenhagen Sausage Garden. It looks like such a tourist trap and I hate that you order at the checkin point, but dang that was a good soft pretzel.
• Justin's. Met Freya!! Eeee! I swear she smiled at me.
• Ordered La Parrilla mexican food for dinner; reeeally good barbacoa tacos and even the cheese enchilada you could tell the sauce wasn't just from a can
• Hotel

Sunday

• Breakfast at hotel
• Starbs
• Justin's
• Wild Fields Brewhouse for lunch--Freya's first real outing! Great place for kids cuz arcade games etc.
• Wine tasting at Seven Angels Cellars in Templeton with Dad and Justin. Everything was pretty good, especially the GSM.
• The kids, Cliff, and Mom went to the Atascadero Zoo while we wine tasted.
• Justin grilled tri-tip and we had traditional pinquito beans + garlic bread. 
• Ryan was really stuffy/miserable at night and was grinding his teeth! We've never heard him do that before.

Monday

• Breakfast at hotel again
• Dropped kids at Grammy/Pop-Pop's hotel room!
• Four Brothers--Grenache was delicious. Only for locals, wine club members.
• Lunch at Nella. SUCH a good bolognese sauce. I liked Cliff's sausage/potato pizza too.
• Saarloos--Such good wine but pricey. Every winery we went to today charges $20 for a tasting and only comps it if you buy *THREE* bottles. I guess that's the norm around here. Sigh.
• XV 15 the tenth anniv. sauv blanc. Love.
• Grenache Blanc. Fine. Good.
• Pinot. Major leather nose, smoke. Light bodied
• GSM. Mmmm. Just a good all around wine, dark berries leather plus floral
• Syrah. Maybe one of the best we had on this trip; wish it weren't so pricey.
• Relaxed at hotel--The Landsby. Suuuper cute, nicely updated, hipster. Would've liked to have spent time in the chic/adorable front room area and tried the restaurant there (Mads & Vin).
• Industrial Eats. Crowded so took back to room. Banh mi sandwich over of best sandwiches I've ever had. Pork chop for meat.

Tuesday

• Brekkies. Fine. Would try again.
• Coffee at Good Seed. Very hipster and delicious.
• Abelskivers from the Solvang Restaurant. Just fine.
• Checked out, took a pic at Andersen's pea soup.
• Monkish Brewery in Torrance. Got a couple pours cuz no tasters.
• Auntie Maile's. Delicious Hawaiian food; well katsu was a bit bland but poke was really fresh and good. Hawaiian/lady version of soup Nazi working there

Next time: I want to try Peasant's Feast and also go to Jule Hus (year-round Christmas store) in Solvang. I would def stay at the Landsby again. Walking distance to everything downtown.

I really like the SpringHill suites hotel in Atascadero as far as cleanliness/updatedness, but being in one room with the kids is really hard. The "divider" isn't enough, especially when the TV is between our area and the kids' area--and the bathroom is also right in the middle, with a frosted glass door that you can see all the light through. I wonder how pricey adjoining rooms would be, or whether there's a different room layout.

I'd like to do more wine tasting in the Paso area, since I never really have.