Roadtrip (During Covid-19) - Ventura Harbor and Copenhagen Sausage Garden (Solvang)

*** I figured that since my latest posts have been on our November 2020 roadtrip, why not just keep on going and do our latest roadtrip? Think of this as "Roadtrip Week".

I'm sure that I'm not the only one dealing with wanderlust withdrawals during these days of Covid-19. It had been over six months since I'd been out of town, a bit of a new record for me. I just needed a break. After talking to the Missus a bit, we decided to hit up SLO County again. We really wanted to return to a couple of places and I'd discovered some interesting things while doing a bit of research. Frankie's wonderful Auntie "Alle" said she'd be happy to watch him though I didn't want to burden her with too long a time away. So, we put together a plan for four nights. We left on a Sunday; I just didn't want to deal with the possibility of crowds and such.

After doing some research, I decided that we'd spend the first evening in Solvang, which even though it seems really touristy, I had a surprise up my sleeve. Plus we hadn't ever spent the night there.

I had also planned to take a break at Ventura Harbor to stretch our legs and to check out a few places. The Missus wasn't overly keen on this, but we needed a break. And then She saw the produce stands once we got off the 101 on Olivas Park Drive.

We first checked out Rodela's, then Santiago's right across the street.

And ended up buying a watermelon which we lugged with us the entire trip and some cherries which She really enjoyed.

Rodela Produce and Flowers
4550 Olivas Park Dr.
Ventura, CA 93003

Santiago's Fruit Stand
4551 Olivas Park Dr.
Ventura, CA 93001

From here it was basically a straight shot to Ventura Harbor, which houses a shopping center. It was nice to park the car and stroll around a bit on such a beautiful day.

We strolled along the waterfront....there were so many pooches!

 And ambled our way to the end of the walkway to a place I wanted to check out - The Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center at Channel Islands National Park. I've been fascinated by Channel Islands National Park, five islands, right off the coast of Ventura. The least visited National Park in the United States.......often called the "Galapagos of California". The islands has it's own endemic species of fox.

While the tower and some of the displays were closed off due to Covid, it was still an interesting visit.

The Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center at Channel Islands National Park
1901 Spinnaker Dr.
Ventura, CA 93001

After checking out the Visitor's Center, we took a stroll across the street and walked around Harbor Cove Beach for a bit.

While walking back to the shopping village we noticed this memorial.

I was curious and read the story of Officer Korber's ultimate sacrifice saving the lives of others.

The shopping village was getting a bit crowded so we knew it was time to go.

We made good time to Solvang. We staying at the Hotel Corque, which was right off Alisal Road. We parked, went in, and wouldn't you know it, our room was already ready! 

After freshening up for a bit, we decided to grab a light lunch. Heading out we noticed that Copenhagen Drive had been blocked off to traffic with outdoor dining areas set-up. I thought the Missus and I could share a sausage from the Copenhagen Sausage Garden, so we headed on over. Man, the place was doing some pretty good business.

But they had a really good system in place. You went ahead and placed your order at the host stand; paid and found an open table.

   The last time I'd had a Currywurst we were in Vienna....man was I missing travelling, so I ordered a currywurst and a "side" of potato salad. The young man manning the condiment station was amazing....we dispensed various sauces, got drinks for folks, and in our case got us sauerkraut. The Missus loves Her sauerkraut so I asked him for four small containers......he asked me to wait for a second, ran into the restaurant and brought out a cup and gave us basically half a cup! The Missus ate most of it straight away, even before our sausage arrived.

   Soon enough our sausage arrived. It was decent, with a nice "snap" the roll was slightly toasted and yeasty. Nit bad at all......I'm still not sold on the sweet-ketchuppy sauce that is the norm for currywurst though.

We were a bit shocked at the amount of potato salad ($3). Which was not overly dressed; you could actually taste the potato.....quite simple....which is sometimes for the best. The Missus enjoyed it more than me!

 We liked the friendly service and the food. A nice pleasant surprise for us.

Copenhagen Sausage Garden
1660 Copenhagen Dr.
Solvang, CA 93463

After lunch, we took a short walk, reacquainting ourselves with Solvang. It had been over three years since we last visited.

It wasn't quite as crowded as when we've visited before and we enjoyed that.

We then headed back to the hotel. Since we had checked in early, there was time for a short nap before dinner......things were starting off quite nicely.

Thanks for stopping by!

Comments

[kat]

what a nice start to your adventure.

[jason]

Nice, we were just at Solvang a couple months ago and ate at the Sausage Garden as well. I agree it's a great place to grab an easy meal or snack.

[Kirk]

This was another fun road trip Kat!

We enjoyed the sausage garden Jason....much more than we expected!

[Janfrederick]

Great post! I visited Santa Cruz Island a few years back and those foxes have no fear! It's worth packing up a picnic, hopping on that boat to Scorpion Harbor, and spending a few hours hiking around there and having lunch overlooking that amazing "Mediterranean" ocean. Just don't miss the boat back to Ventura later in the day. :)

[Kirk]

I think we're going to go to Anacopa Island Jan......it seems like a nice, easy day trip.