solvang with a bang

if it were up to our i-phone guided directions we would have ended up at a very different cold spring tavern...somewhere in malibu rather than santa barbara, but thanks to a timing perfect text from lea, we made it to the right tavern just a little late [an hour behind schedule].

after a delightful breakfast we headed to solvang to start our weekend wine tasting in celebration of lea's birthday.  the wineries were plenty, and the group was prepared to take in as many of the sites & tastes as we could fit into our day.
we enjoyed the beauty at sunstone, as well as some delightful organic wines.

we loved kalyra for it's easy going "australian" inspired atmosphere paired with delicous wines.
foxen topped gary's list as the "hot spot", although calle & i were more impressed by the temporary rub on anchor tattoos...

the rest of the wineries that day are a blur...
teni finally made up with the big guy at saarloos & sons, against her better judgement and our overall resentment towards his unfriendly attitude...
and calle disliked this man so much that he preferred to sit outside eating chocolate cupcakes rather than stand at the bar to enjoy the wine...
at blackjack calle noticed a sign that offered espresso & a puppy to all unattended children...and we all had a good laugh.

trevor & calle, although on opposing bocce teams, demonstrated their individual "spider pig" toss.

on sunday we had a picnic at rusack & enjoyed every minute of it!

happy birthday, lea!

and to our very dear mama lisa & papa toots, along with anna & christian - we look forward to spending a weekend with you in santa barbara during your next visit here; to share a very south african style celebration in a town just a few hours from our home.

lots of love,

nicole & calle

sea world is not just for kids

tack for en helt underbar fodelsedag snull pull! champagnefrukost, jordgubbar, jell-o shots, seaworld, picnic - med dig ar det banne mig alltid full rull och jag ar sa tacksam att fa ha dig har hos mig. 

jag tycker vi gor seaworld/soledad mountain till en fodelsedagstradition!  deal?

elin's generous birthday gift for her big brother included a trip to sea world, followed by a picnic atop mt. soledad.  

upon our arrival to brighton court we were welcomed with champagne and strawberries, along with the opportunity to sample the previous evenings jello shot remnants.

calle bravely sampled the green goo while i observed lovingly in disgust.

we started the day off right, with the world famous Shamu show. elin opted out of wearing the swedish viking hat Calle had brought for her in celebration of soderling's win over nadal in the french open. Aleksander served as our photographer and exhibited great skill as he captured some magnificient photos...

we made our way around the grounds, stopping by most every exhibit.

our finale was the only rollercoaster at sea world, called Atlantis, the lost city...

we then headed back to brighton court to pick up elin's skillfully crafted picnic ensemble, complete with baked chicken and beautiful "mini pies", and then headed up to mt. soledad to enjoy our evening under the stars.  the views from this little peak are exceptional; the ocean illuminated by city lights as far as the eye can see.  armed with blankets & chairs, candles & music, we ended the evening on a perfect note.

thank you so much elin for preparing such a wonderful day for your brother, and for sharing this time with me.  

lots of love,

nicole

at the shooting range

one of the things elin, a.k.a. "snull pull med full rull" has on her list of things to experience before heading back to sweden, is to shoot a gun.

christian and i had been to a shooting range a few years back, and i remembered that they let any crazy dude shoot a gun there, so i figured they may even give elin a gun!

said and done, cotie, elin and i drove to the shooting line in huntington beach , signed some papers, bought some ammo and a started off with a semi automatic. after 50 rounds, we moved on to a bigger revolver.

elin turned out to be a really good shooter which led her to get a little carried away. she wanted to try the flame thrower and asked the typical gun crazy republican redneck behind the counter if they had a tank she could drive home.