And that, my friend, was the end...

Sadly, our wonderful American holiday was coming to an end.

After leaving San Francisco, we headed towards Solvang.

Worldmark didn't have any accommodation available for us in Solvang so we ended up checking in to a Days Inn at a nearby town. 

I can't remember what it was called but it was in a movie called Sideways (which I haven't seen) and opposite the Anderson Pea Soup place.

We didn't eat there but we will next time.

We checked in late to the motel and was up bright and early the next morning to check out the surrounds.

They did not disappoint whatsover!

This feed store was near to where we were staying so we wandered over to have a look.

There were so many things I wanted to take home but couldn't.

Like saddles.

Dog kennels.

Puppies.

Lots of puppies were up for sale through a local animal rescue centre.

We couldn't take a puppy home with us so we had to make the kids settle for passing on a donation to their group.

Solvang was everything I imagined it to be.

It was kitschy, cute and fun.

The Princess loves olives so we bought garlic olive oil, balsamic pomegranate vinegar and she taste tested almost all of the olive oils on offer at the Olive place!

We bought Christmas stuff at the Christmas shop and she got another china doll for her collection.

I bought a great bread knife from the Nordic Knives shop plus some other things here and there.  

There were so many great things to buy that it was hard to walk away.

The Groom has an uncle who lives in Denmark with his Danish wife and they said we should try ebelskievers - I don't know how to spell it so forgive me, I tried.

We wandered about looking for somewhere to eat and settled on the Solvang Restaurant.

The staff were great, the service was great and the food was great.

We just didn't really like the ebelskievers, I'm afraid.  

They were just too sweet for our liking.

We later returned back to our motel with full bellies and ready for our final day once we woke up in the morning.

We had a pizza from a nearby pizza shop, which was so delicious and bigger than anything we get at home.

We couldn't eat it all and it had to go in the bin the next morning.  

We packed up the car in the morning and headed for the bright lights of LA.

After seeing this sign I told the kids that Father Christmas WAS real and they wouldn't name a road after him if he was pretend!

Somehow, the song stuck in my head for the rest of the drive...

We wound our way along the coast and admired the scenery, sad to be getting closer to our final destination - LAX.

Before stopping at the car rental place to drop off the car we decided to hit a Walmart and another Outlet store for last minute shopping (and a couple of duffel bags to check it all in at the airport).

Our car hire return was uneventful and quick with Enterprise and we had a lovely shuttle driver who took us all back to the airport in a timely manner.

I must say, though, the VA departure area leaves a lot to be desired. 

There was very little in the way of shopping or dining.

We managed to eat at Burger King and then take our seats at the gate with what seemed like hundreds of other travellers.

Unfortunately, The Princess lost her Nerd Minnie stuffed doll and it was never to be seen again.

The flight home was great and it was lovely to be home.

But our feet soon became itchy...