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We visited Solvang, a fun one-of-a-kind Danish town in Santa Barbara County, California, this past weekend. It was bustling with tourists, visitors and dogs!

It is impossible to walk around downtown Solvang and not get tempted to buy a pastry at one of the many Danish bakeries. The combination of the smell of the freshly baked goods, the perfection of a macaron and the sizes of the pastries definitely hit you because you feel like you're in Europe. It is incredible. 

Free Parking Areas

I recommend parking in that free parking lot that is located next to Birkholm's Solvang Danish Bakery. You're right in the downtown area and there is a decent public restroom building right there.

With 2 little boys when we travel, we're mindful of nearby restrooms and also kid-friendly places. Solvang is definitely kid-friendly.

Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards

In the past, we would walk by wine tasting rooms and ponder whether we should go in or not. Our little ones are adorable but need to stay busy or they will act up. As we walked by Lucas & Lewellen Tasting Room, they had a chalkboard up right in the front that said "Kids & Pets welcome". That did not give me any hesitation to come in inside. I'm so glad they did that.

Towards the back was a kid's table with toys! While my husband and I would switch off and share samples of of their wine, my boys were busy playing with puzzles, books and blocks at the kid's table. It was a win, win situation.

The customer service was great and no one seemed bothered by my kids at all. Samples ranged by sets. We chose the cheapest set that was $15 for 4 or 5 different tastings. (Might cost more now.)

I shared with the lady who was helping us at out at the counter with the samples that if we had not seen the "kids & pets welcome" sign that they had in front, we would have probably not even considered trying to taste wine at a tasting room in Solvang. And because we saw that sign, we walked right on in right away. Address of Lucas & Lewellen Tasting Room: 1645 Copenhagen Dr, Solvang, CA 93463

Toccata Tasting Room

The lady at Lucas & Lewellen was grateful that I shared that info and also told me that Toccata, their sister wine tasting room, also has a kid's play area. Although they didn't have a sign that says "kids welcome" at Toccata (maybe they will someday), they did indeed have a kids' table with puzzles and books so go on there too if you are traveling with kids and want to sample some local Solvang wine.
Address of Toccata Tasting Room: 1650 Copenhagen Dr, Solvang, CA 93463

After visiting a couple of tasting rooms, we continued to stroll around downtown to look at all of the stores and restaurants. There is a lot of walking around in Solvang so I do recommend bringing a stroller along for those little tired legs.

Hans Christian Andersen Park

After being satisfied with our pastries, toy store visits (including the LEGO room at Copenhagen House), eating ice cream, wine tasting and seeing the famous windmill, we decided to take the kids at the nearby playground that's only half a mile away from the downtown area. The kids really enjoyed this large park.

This is Hans Christian Andersen Park located at: 633 Chalk Hill Rd, Solvang, CA 93463. It has a lot of shaded areas and benches.

Ostrichland USA

If you have time, off the main downtown Solvang area but very conveniently on the way is a really cool place to view ostriches and emus called Ostrichland! You can feed and see over a hundred of them here! Ostrichland USA Address: 610 E Hwy 246, Solvang, CA 93463


We had so much fun at Solvang.

I really can't wait to come back again and stock up on more sweet pastries.

Sideways Inn Stay (featured in Sideways Inn movie)

Since we had so much fun during our first visit to Solvang and since it's only an hour away, we returned a few months later and decided to stayed at the Sideways Inn, which is also the same hotel that the guys in the movie Sideways stayed at! It's surprisingly a very kid-friendly with a decent pool. They also have complimentary continental breakfast where you fill out the form the day before and put it in front of your room and they'll bring you a bag of breakfast by hanging it on your door! I loved this service!

Sideways Inn Address: 114 E Hwy 246, Buellton, CA 93427

The Hitching Post (also featured in Sideways Movie)

We also decided to relive another part of the movie and ate at The Hitching Post. In the movie, this place did not seem this packed! It was so busy in there. Then again, we came in mid-July on a Sunday so it's tourist season. Make a reservation if you can! We waited 45 minutes for a table of four.


Hitching Post 2 Address: 406 E Hwy 246, Buellton, CA 93427

Read about our stay in Solvang where we stayed at Hotel Corque in the middle of July.

See a list of kid-friendly wineries that we visited in Solvang.

See pictures from our visit at the famous Hearst Castle in San Simeon, part of San Luis Obispo County (county next to Santa Barbara County).

On the Central Coast of California, in the county of San Luis Obispo, is a small and relaxing beach called Grover Beach. It's part of the Pismo State Beach area and there is a direct beach entrance in through Grand Avenue to drive onto the beach. West Coast, at its finest, you can drive or ride your vehicle onto the beach here if you drive right on through the toll (for a small fee). The park rangers are in charge of the booth and can answer any questions that you may have.

You could always just walk to Grover Beach from Pismo Beach or Oceano by just simply walking on the sand towards Grover Beach as it's located right in between the two. (All Grover Beach photos below were taken by SanLuisObispoMom.com.)

Here is a video short of one of our rides from Grover Beach's Grand Ave Beach Entrance through Oceano below.



If you would like to go onto the beach by foot, you can do that too! In the parking lot of Fin's Restaurant, before you see the toll, off of Grand Avenue is a lot for free beach parking. The public restrooms are also right there as you park. Find nearby hotels in Grover Beach. 

Welcomed with a whale watching guide on the deck of Grover Beach, you instantly feel like you've uncovered a San Luis Obispo and Pismo State Beach secret. Quaint and clean, Grover Beach lets you see the majestic view of where the mountains meet the sea on this side of the coast. During the summer weekends, it gets really busy and sometimes the parking permit for the day to drive and park on the beach sell out. See a YouTube Video Short below of our drive on the beach from Grand Ave. in Grover Beach on a busy summer day lined with cars on the sand.


Learn more about a different famous beach in San Luis Obispo County called Cambria.

To see pictures of restaurants that I've visited in San Luis Obispo County, go to the Restaurants Page.

You can also enter the beach with your vehicle in Oceano off of Pier St. Learn more about Oceano.

See pictures of Pismo Beach, the famous connected beach of Pismo State Beach that is connected to Grover Beach.

Notable Grover Beach Events:

The local government of Grover Beach does a great job of planning free events to the community throughout the year. Notable ones are below:

• Summer Concert Series on Sundays from 3PM - 6PM. See the next one listed on the our chronological event list page for San Luis Obispo County (county where Grover Beach resides).


• Trunk or Treat at Ramona Park in Grover Beach. See this Halloween event details for Grover Beach on the Halloween page.


• Annual Grover Beach Holiday Parade and Free Holiday Activities in December. See my holiday page to see a list of holiday parades and free community events throughout San Luis Obispo County (which includes Grover Beach).

Go to my instagram to see the most recent beach pictures or videos that I've taken as a local.

@sanluisobispomom

Located in San Luis Obispo County, San Simeon is what I call a slice of heaven. It is not densely populated, located right at the California coast, and full of amazing scenery. Notably, this is where you can find the famous Hearst Castle!

HEARST CASTLE
After moving here, we decided to take our first tour of Hearst Castle. To start the tour, we had to climb on a bus to get a bus ride up. My boys, 2 and 5 years old, really loved this ride towards the castle. As we rode up higher and higher, the more exciting it gets! Once at the top, we got separated into different groups according to the particular tour that we booked for. We picked the kitchen and cottages tour but before we got to see those, we got to walk by Hearst Castle's magnificent outdoor pool.

When we were greeted by our tour guide, we were given a set of strict rules like: don't touch anything, stay within the gray carpet inside the area and no flash photography allowed inside. They spent a lot of effort preserving this wonderful estate for all visitors to enjoy for years to come but as visitors, we also play a big part in ensuring nothing gets destroyed.

The cottages that we saw were amazing and I loved hearing the history of how iconic people of America came here to celebrate and party at the Castle in the past, but what I enjoyed most were the views I saw from up high. Looking down, I felt like royalty.

When we visited, kids under 5 years old got to visit for free. They considered every child under 5 as a lap child on the seat of the bus. After we got off the bus, I quickly realized that chasing my little ones and making sure they didn't touch anything were huge tasks so I didn't really get to take in all the beauty as I had liked, so be forewarned! We purchased our tickets online, but if you know that a certain session is not going to be sold out, you could probably just show up at the visitors center and buy your tickets there 30 minutes before and skip the extra online fees. But of course, there's no guarantee. We booked the 12:20PM slot and our bus ride up was not even halfway full. Address of Hearst Castle: 750 Hearst Castle Rd, San Simeon, CA 93452

ELEPHANT SEALS
After our Hearst Castle tour, we decided to visit the elephant seals nearby. About 9 minutes drive away from Hearst Castle is the natural habitat of many elephant seals in San Simeon. You could utilize the designated boardwalk and viewing areas to see them better, if you'd like. There's no parking fee nor entry fee as you're watching them in their natural home so this is definitely a cool and unique thing to do in San Simeon. However, there were no public restrooms either.

(All photos of Hearst Castle and elephant seals were taken by SanLuisObispoMom.com.)

Address of Friends of the elephant seals: 250 San Simeon Ave, San Simeon, CA 93452.

More About Elephant Seals in San Simeon

During the month of May, you'll see hundreds and hundreds of female elephant seals with their pups but no males. The Pinterest image directly below (Photograph by SanLuisObispoMom.com) was taken during May. 


During mating season, you'll see the big male ones too. The males are significantly bigger than the female elephant seals.
Link to Video of Elephant Seals at San Simeon

Reading Suggestions:

• See upcoming family-friendly events and things to do in San Luis Obispo County.
• Read about my staycations at the famous Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo.
• I've visited over 50 wine tasting rooms in San Luis Obispo County, which includes the Edna Valley and Paso Robles wine countries. See my top 10 favorite wine tasting rooms as a local of San Luis Obispo (SLO) County.

Popular Things To Do with Kids in San Luis Obispo County:

• Central Coast Zoo (aka Charles Paddock Zoo) -- Read my blog review
• Hearst Castle -- Read my blog review
• The Ravine Waterpark -- Read my blog review (only open for Summer)
• Mustang Waterpark -- Read my blog review (only open for Summer)
• San Luis Obispo Children's Museum -- Read  my blog review
• Central Coast Aquarium -- Read my blog review
• San Luis Obispo Railroad Museum -- Learn more
• Paso Robles Children's Museum -- Read my blog review
• Exploration Discovery Center -- Read my blog review
• Museum of Natural History -- Learn more
• Avila Valley Barn -- Read my blog review

Copper Cafe, inside of Madonna Inn, is a very popular place to visit in San Luis Obispo for tourists and special occasions for locals. 

The decor of Copper Cafe is a reflection of the whole Madonna Inn property. There is a lot of pink; from the carpets to the napkins. Their food and bakery items are delicious. Service can be questionable with speed depending on who your server is, like anywhere else. However, the ambiance is perfect for special occasions like Valentine's Day! It's unique, warm and hearty. They also have another restaurant next to Copper Cafe that is a steakhouse called Goldrush Steak House with an upscale and amazing high ceiling room. As you walk to the gift shop at Madonna Inn, you'll be able to see the Goldrush Steak House on your way there. 

Check out pictures below of our food and the Valentine's Day decor of the Madonna Inn. For dessert, you must try the Pink Champagne Cake if you've never had their desserts before! They offer them as a selection under their dessert menu. You can also order whole cakes here. See pictures of other desserts we've tried from Madonna Inn.

See a video clip of my walk through the property when I came early for a private event there.

Check out other family-friendly restaurants in San Luis Obispo County area.

To see other pictures of restaurants that I've visited in San Luis Obispo County, go to the Restaurants Page.

Read about my staycations here at the famous Madonna Inn.

Read About All of Our Travel Adventures and Reviews:

• Birthday Weekend at LEGOLAND Castle Hotel Review and LEGOLAND California Amusement Park Review


• Birthday Celebration at Great Wolf Lodge in Southern California


• Universal Studios Hollywood Family Trip During Spring Break


• Ensenada Cruise on Carnival Cruise for 3 Days


• Ensenada and Catalina Island Cruise on Royal Caribbean for 4 Days


• Alaska Cruise on Princess Cruise for 11 Days


• Moon Palace The Grand Family Summer Vacation in Cancun for 5 Days


• Cabin Trip in Monterey


• Staycations at the Iconic Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo on the Central Coast of California: Madonna Inn’s San Francisco Room Review OR Madonna Inn’s Antique Room Review


• Staycation at the Granada Hotel & Bistro in Downtown San Luis Obispo


• Staycation at La Quinta Inn in Downtown San Luis Obispo


• Staycation in Atascadero at The Carlton Review