America’s Danish Town and Scarecrows

Destination Solvang – America’s Danish Town

In planning our road trip to Pinnacles National Park, I didn’t originally plan on a stop in Solvang. The town actually became a stop on the trip for very practical reasons—lodging price, driving distance, and location for the next day’s travel. The truth is, neither Kathy nor I had done anything more than the typical tourist visit (drive into town, take a few novel photos, sample the food, and leave). As we discovered, that’s a huge mistake because America’s Danish Town is rich with history. So much so that we returned on our way back home.

Solvang even has a scarecrow contest

Yes, America’s Danish Town has a scarecrow contest (apparently, there are entries from all over the Santa Ynez Valley). We didn’t know about the contest until we were having dinner at Fitzpatrick’s Tavern and they were setting up their entry right in front of us. Don’t even get me started on the food at Fitzpatrick’s. It’s ridiculously good! Anyway, back to the scarecrows. Once we learned about the contest, we started seeing indications of what was to come. Hay bales here and there, fake people in funky clothes set up on the street, and more. When we returned to Solvang about a week later, the contest was in full swing. 

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the community spirit in action as homeowners and businesses alike all got into the swing of things. Are you a movie buff? Check out The Joker from the Batman movie. How about a Tour de France winner? Or even a mariachi band! Yes, there was something for everyone.

We still don’t know who won…apparently the votes are still being cast, but just seeing the variety of entries was so much fun. In fact, maybe we can plan a future road trip to take in next year’s entries.

Did you see last week’s entry? You can find it at The High Peaks and the Great Reveal. Click here to view more Friday Morning Post entries, or you can follow me on Twitter.