Lompoc part 2

Just out side Lompoc is La Purisima Mission. The mission was founded in 1787, destroyed by an earthquake in 1812 and rebuilt on the present site. The state began restoring the mission in 1934 and today it is considered one of the best examples of what missions were like in early California.
The structures have all been faithfully restored using the same building techniques as the original. This place is so quiet and serene. While touring the barracks Allie Kay told me a ghost had been seen in one of the rooms, but he was a no show that day.

The mission had a herb garden seen here. See the larger rounded plant in the right background?
That's a geranium growing 4 feet tall. Flowers don't die here, they flourish.

Thirty miles from Lompoc is the town of Solvang, a Danish settlement. I wish I'd taken a photo of the European buildings with a palm tree showing in the background. It was a little unsettling.

We take our clogs seriously in Solvang.

Shopping...........shopping.............shopping

There is a biergarten to the left serving wurst and Warsteiner Dunkle. I have personal knowledge of this.

Allie Kay told us that no visit to Lompoc was complete without a trip to The Hitching Post Restaurant in Casmalia, California. Casmalia is so small I doubt it's on a map. The town is so far off the beaten path you wouldn't find it without a guide. When we arrived at the place I was amazed at the numbers of diners. There were probably as many people eating as there were occupants of the town. (O K- that might be a exaggeration but not by much.) The food was fabulous, just as good as Allie claimed, explaining the crowd. As we finished our meal the hostess came by the table to warn us that wild pigs (!?) had been sighted on the road and to drive carefully. I've never heard that in a K C steak house