An Ostrich Once Bit My Sister

Seriously, he bit her. Tore the button off of her blazer even.

Due to limited finances and time, we took a little sister trip to Montecito and Solvang. We started the day with Jamba Juice (mmmmmm, http://www.jambajuice.com/) and mani/pedis. Relaxed, primped and adequately hydrated, we set out for Solvang, with a stop in Oxnard for some of the best strawberries I've ever had and a stop for lunch in Montecito.

We stopped for lunch at Pierre Lafond (516 San Ysidro Road, http://www.pierrelafond.com/montecito.html), a gourmet lunch spot Pookie discovered in her research. At Pierre Lafond, we bought a delicious grilled veggie quesadilla, a cup of wild mushroom soup, baked "air fries" and two tiny sandwiches: one with tomato, basil and mozzarella and another with roasted red peppers, grilled eggplant and goat cheese, all for just over $20. It was all so good.

After lunch, we decided to drive around and look at Montecito houses. Along the way, we learned that the schools in Montecito are much prettier than any we’d seen before and promptly became green with envy. We also stopped at a few shops in the main town, partly out of curiosity and partly because we’re a bunch of nosy looky-loos. Eventually, we made it to Solvang (Buellton, really) and checked in to our hotel, the Pea Soup Anderson (http://www.peasoupandersens.com/amenities.htm). After hanging out for a little while watching tourist television, we headed to Ellen’s Danish Pancake House (272 Ave. of Flags, Buellton), just a short walk from our hotel. We had hot chocolate, pancakes and eggs for just over $20.

We went to Epicurean Picnic (1582 Mission Dr., Solvang, http://www.epicureanpicnic.com/) for water, petit basque and truffled cheese. Fantastic!

On the way back to our hotel, though, we drove past a large sign that said “Ostrich Land” (http://www.ostrichland.com/index.html). Of course we had to stop. We actually u-turned to go back. You can't just pass a sign like that. We took pictures with ostriches, and while Pookie was posing near the ostrich above, he bit her. It was so funny! We waited, poised with camera in hand, for him to do it again so I could catch it on film, but alas, she didn't taste good. What did taste good, though, were the apricots, peaches and plums we bought from Ostrich Land.