Bird brain

Didn't have the best stay at my hotel in Carmel last night.  First, my refrigerator was tiny and barely did the job keeping my stuff cool.  Then, my room was cold and the heater was noisy and inadequate.  Needless to stay, I won't be staying at that hotel in the future.  Oh, one other thing.  I don't particularly care for beds with hardly anything on it.  So far, two hotels I've stayed at on this trip had beds with just a thin blanket under the sheets and nothing else.  At least I left town on a high note.  The bear claw I bought from Carmel Bakery was excellent!

I spent the day in and around Solvang, CA.  I started things out by a visit to Ostrichland.  Yes, they have ostriches...emu, too.  It's kind of like an ostrich ranch, but they don't raise them for meat...just eggs and for tourists to see.  I paid the nominal fee to see the birds, and feed them, too.  It was pretty cool.

Afterward, I was ready for lunch, and I had a restaurant already picked out.  The Red Viking has a lunch buffet...called smorgasbord in Scandinavian countries.  I had a tasty meal of pickled herring, red cabbage, meatballs and mashed potatoes.  I needed to work off the food sitting in my stomach, so I set off for the nearby Nojoqui Falls Park.  Or, at least I thought I was on my way.  I accidentally typed in the right street but the wrong town into my GPS.  After reaching a dead end, I asked a utility worker stopped on the side of the road.  He pointed me in the right direction...back the way I came.

The new road seemed to go forever, but I recalled the nice man said I would have to drive about six to seven miles to reach the park.  I was slightly reassured when a few cars came from the opposite direction...at least I wasn't in the middle of nowhere again.  I was relieved when I finally reached my destination.  It was about a 20-minute walk to reach the falls...what falls?  It seems there hadn't been much rain lately, thus the "falls" was only a trickle.  Oh, well.  It was a pleasant hike anyway. 

So, I'm in Los Angeles now.  At least I won't have to drive long distances for the rest of the week.  Tomorrow, I'm going to try to see a live taping of the TV sitcom, Big Bang Theory.  I say try because I only have a standby ticket.  Which means, I'll have to get to the studio early and prepare to wait a long time.  Tickets for this show are VERY hard to come by, they get snatched up so quick.  It was hard to even get into the ticket site, and by the time I did, only standby was left.  Anyway, wish me luck...hope I get in!