Christmas Lights in Solvang

My parents wanted to take a small trip with Amaya, so we decided to go just beyond Santa Barbara and visit Solvang.  The drive up was around 4 hours because of the heavy traffic and at times it was quite difficult for Amaya.  It was the longest car ride she has been on. We arrived to the hotel hungry so we just dropped our stuff into the rooms and went for food.  After Amaya went to sleep, my mom and I drove to Solvang and checked out the Christmas lights.  The town was so cute and the lights were great, but almost all the shops were closed because it was Sunday night.  After we had our fill of Christmas lights we headed back to the hotel and called it a night. 

                                                    snow on Saddleback

                                                        the founders of Solvang

                                                                Hans Christian Andersen

After Christmas Shopping

The day after Christmas is my favorite time to shop.  The discounts are usually really good.  However, this year the discounts weren't as good as they have been in the past.  We went to the mall to check out the deals, but didn't get much.  I was able to get a nice pair of waterproof boots, which turned out to be handy with all the unexpected rain we got.  It was raining a lot, so it was good to be in the mall and other shops. 

                                                                fun purse to color

                                                                holiday Starbucks cup

Sunny Christmas Day!

The weather around Christmas day was terrible.  There was so much rain and it should've rained on Christmas day as well.  However, when we woke up on Christmas day, there was sun.  It was a Christmas miracle!  I was so happy.  The rain the previous days didn't allow us to do much besides shopping.  Normally, we open presents on Christmas eve after dinner because of Czech tradition, but Amaya was already asleep by then, so we decided to do it for the first time in my life: USA style and open presents on Christmas morning.  After we opened presents, we took advantage of the good weather and went to the beach and harbor.  It was a great way to spend a sunny California Christmas day!

                                        

                                        

                                        

Doheny Beach

No trip back home is complete without eating from In n Out.  It's just too good!!!  We took our lunch and went to Creekside Park to eat.  After lunch we walked on the path that goes all the way to Doheny Beach.  Its a great walk with the stroller because its nice and flat. It was very low tide when we arrived to the beach.  I was able to walk around the tidepools and see some hermit crabs. 

                                                            
                                                                   real scale of a Blue Whale
                                        
                                                        my dad and his fishermen friends