Alisal is for Authors

I may not live in Solvang anymore, but this past weekend I got to experience one of the coolest things this little town has to offer: the Alisal Guest Ranch. Imagine my surprise when I found myself seated on a hay bale across from another children’s book author – one who’s book I own! But let me not get ahead of myself…

The Alisal Guest Ranch is ten thousand acres of wide-open spaces that has been in use for more than a hundred years. A working cattle ranch and luxury retreat, the Alisal started welcoming guests in 1946. If you time it right, you can live out your City Slicker fantasies during the spring cattle drive. That is if you aren’t already exhausted from all of the golf, tennis, archery, fishing, boating, hiking, spa treatments and other activities the ranch has to offer.

Most of us that live here never get to see much beyond the resort entrance since you need to stay overnight at the ranch to participate in the activities. And with rooms starting at $500/night in the off season, you can understand why we locals tend to sleep in our own beds.

But this past Saturday we got to join some friends on an all day adventure that started at 7:30 a.m. As soon as we arrived, we climbed on horses for a one-hour ride out to the Historic Old Adobe. My daughter loves to ride horses and has been actively riding for more than a year. My son, well…when the wranglers asked about each of our riding abilities, my son wanted to know if there was something lower than beginner. He even asked if he could ride one of the miniature ponies. “Less distance to fall,” he reasoned.

Fortunately, the lure of an amazing Cowboy Breakfast at the end of the ride convinced him that mounting the horse was worth it. After eating all the eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, biscuits, gravy, fruit, cereal, coffee, hot cocoa, oj and quesadillas we could fit in our stomachs, we rode back to the stables and got on a shuttle that took us out to the Alisal’s private lake. While the men jumped in a bass boat to go fishing, my friend and I got into paddle boats with our kids. We spent the afternoon cruising the lake and learning how to shoot air rifles as well as bows and arrows. What a blast! My middle finger is still numb and the bruises haven’t quite faded, but I think a compound bow and a target range might be on my Christmas list :)

As the sun set behind the mountains, we loaded into the hay truck to go back to our cars. Another family got in with us and the mother started talking about books with my daughter and her friend. They talked about The Wish Giver and the woman mentioned that she had written a book called The Wish Stealers.

My ears perked up. “Wait, did you say you wrote that book? It’s actually in the basket by my bed, in my to-read pile!”

Yep, I was sitting across from Tracy Trivas, her husband and two adorable daughters. We chatted for the rest of the ride about children’s literature, SCBWI and the writing retreat I had just attended. And I was reminded once again of just how small the world really is.

As we drove home, my son said, “It feels like we were on vacation for a day.” So true. A vacation practically in our own back yard.

Awesome.

Racing Through Solvang

I sat down to write this post and realized I had written something similar two years ago. The only difference today is that Lance Armstrong won't be here, and neither will I. Rather than being trapped with all the road closures, we're heading down to the beach for the day :)

If you want to win one of the ARCs I'm giving away, be sure to leave a comment on this other post. You have until Sunday night. Have a great weekend!

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Sometimes big things happen in small places.

Today the Amgen Tour of California makes its way through Solvang. It's astounding to me that part of this major world class event is staged in our little Valley. The riders fly by, about a block from my house. I watched from the bottom of the hill, where they rounded the corner, so close I could have reached out and touched them! I didn't want to get arrested so I kept my hands to myself :^)


The amount of people thronging our streets was pretty amazing. The booths, the groupies, the traveling masses that accompany this race -- it's overwhelming. It's not every day that you see a jumbo tv screen on Copenhagen Drive, towering over thousands of people, each hoping to catch a glimpse of the riders speeding by. Our population quadruples for the day when this event rolls through town.

One of my neighbors, a semi-pro biker, paid the thousand dollars to ride in the amateur pre-race. Other friends volunteered on the route or helped cook and serve food to the riders. For this one day each year, the town shuts down to accommodate the time trial. We don't get mail, many roads are closed, schools are out and we all throng downtown to see the spectacle.

This is the fourth year that Solvang has hosted Stage 6 of the race, and the first time I've been up close and personal with it. Soon the EZ ups will come down, the gates will be loaded and the bikers will move on to the next place.

And Solvang will go back to being a small town.

The Ballard Jamboree

My kids go to a school that has been in continuous operation since 1883. This historic little red school house was actually yellow when they first built it. These days, it serves as the kindergarten classroom. Over the years it has seen countless children pass through it's doors, and more than its share of mothers crying as they leave their children on the first day of school. Some cry out of nostalgia, a few from separation anxiety, and others for joy and anticipation of a few hours of peace at last :-)

The little red school house is the backdrop for everything we do at Ballard School. Every morning students in K-6th grade gather around the flag to say the Pledge of Allegiance while two students raise the flag and another two ring the bell in the tower. Some days, this simple ceremony can bring tears to my eyes. Especially now, as my son nears the end of his time on this campus.

This past weekend we gathered together for a fundraiser, a day of old-fashioned fun that included sack races, tug o' war, pie throwing and the largest game of musical chairs you'll ever see. It took weeks of work for parents to coordinate, plan, decorate, advertise, sell tickets and procure auction items. But in the end, we raised more than $50,000 to help the PTA pay for field trips, special assemblies, computer maintenance and a music program for our students. Keep in mind this is a school with only 118 students. Maybe since we only do this big fundraiser every three years or so, people are more willing to spend money to benefit their kids.

As for the kids, the Jamboree is just a day of fun. A happy memory of cotton candy and barbecue, games and friends, music and celebration. Hopefully, as they grow older and move away from our small community, they can look back fondly on days like this and appreciate how lucky they were to grow up in the little town of Solvang.

Bee Proud

My son has always been a good speller. Since he started taking spelling tests in Kindergarten, he has only missed two words. And one of those was in First Grade when he mixed up a "b" and a "d" spelling dlack instead of black. Maybe it's all those hours spent reading...who'd have thought!

Last year he went to the Santa Barbara County spelling bee and spelled out in the second round. Disappointed, he determined to do better next time. This year, he finished third.

It took 74 words to get him out, and let me tell you, by the time it got down to the last ten kids, I was having trouble breathing. Every time he spelled a word right, he'd look across the room and smile at me. I fought to keep the tears in because no 6th grader wants to see his mother bawling in the audience. But I was so overcome with emotion, SO incredibly proud of him.

The top two finishers get to go to the state level spelling bee. If one of them can't make it, my son can take their place. For him, the best part was finding out that he got not only the trophy (with his name soon to be engraved on it), but $25 cash. In addition, a representative from the Mason's will be going to his school in a few weeks to present him with the engraved trophy and another check in front of the whole school. All for being a good speller.

In a world where basketball stars and strung out actresses make more money than a whole staff of teachers and librarians, it's incredibly cool to see someone rewarded for hard work and using their brain. Especially when that someone is my child :D

Danish Days

When the Vikings start pitching tents and cleaning their spears in Solvang Park, it can only mean one thing: it's Danish Days!

Every September Solvang lures gullible tourists into town celebrates its Danish heritage with a weekend of parades, Æbleskiver, Danish dancers and entertainment of all kinds. (My kids were entranced by the woman on an 8-foot unicycle juggling lit torches. Okay, so was I.)

Usually we stay away from town when big events like this are happening. We love the peace and tranquility of Solvang and it's insane on Danish Days weekend. This year, my son's class had a booth in the park to raise money for Science Camp so for the first time ever, we spent two days hanging out downtown for the event. And I have to admit, it was kind of fun.

The guy carving bears with a chainsaw was pretty amazing to watch. Flying cedar chips were a bit of a hazard and it was LOUD. But it was pretty incredible to watch him create something out of a log. With a chainsaw. I'm pretty sure I'd have mutilated myself if I tried to do something like that.

 The Æbleskiver breakfast is probably one of the most popular events. Æbleskiver are a Danish treat, kind of like a pancake ball topped with powdered sugar and raspberry jelly. Yum!

Then there are the amazing papirklips created by Rick Marzullo. This Danish art form, using tiny scissors to cut paper into intricate designs, is simply amazing. The detail doesn't show up well in this photo but if you can imagine, creating this mermaid with nothing but a pair of scissors...I was always the kid who ended up with a holey diamond instead of a snowflake, so Rick's talent leaves me in awe.

And while this has nothing to do with Danish Days, it does have to do with Solvang and my friends Ted and Peggy Lane who own the fabulous Apple Lane Orchard. Jennie Garth (who has a home in this area) filmed a couple of promos for Pillsbury at the orchard last week. Jennie never says where she is, but in the background of one segment, you can see Ted's antique car with the Apple Lane logo on the door.

Trust me, I'm NOT schilling for Pillsbury, but Peggy was so excited that they filmed at her place and I think it's pretty cool, too. Perfect Apple Pie with Jennie Garth is the promo that shows Ted's car.

As for my son's booth at Danish Days, his class earned $309 which is more than enough to send one kid to Science Camp for four days. Not bad. Now we just have to raise money for the other 17 kids in his class :-)