California - Day 12 - Anaheim (Disneyland)

Saturday 25^th September

Anaheim, California

Solvang was founded in 1911 on 11,000 acres (4,500 ha) of the Rancho San Carlos de Jonata a Mexican land grant, by a group of Danish educators, who travelled west to escape mid western winters. The city is home to some bakeries, restaurants, and merchants offering a taste of Denmark in California. The architecture of many of the buildings follows traditional Danish style. There is a copy of the famous Little Mermaid statue from Copenhagen, as well as one featuring the bust of famed Danish fable writer Hans Christian Andersen. A replica of the Copenhagen observatory Rundetårn in the scale 1:3 was finished in 1991 and can be seen in the city centre. Mission Santa Ines, one of the California missions, is located near the center of the town.

Santa Barbara is a city in Santa Barbara County situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the sea. Santa Barbara is a year-round tourist destination renowned for its fair weather, down town beaches, and Spanish architecture. Tourism brings more than one billion dollars per year into the local economy, including $80 million in tax revenue.

Anaheim was founded in 1857 by grape farmers from Franconia in Bavaria. The first such settler was Daniel Kraemer. The colony was situated on 1,165 acres. Settlers voted to call the community Annaheim, meaning "home by the Santa Anna River" in German. The name later was changed slightly, to Anaheim. To the Spanish-speaking neighbours, the settlement was known as Campo Alemán (Spanish for German Camp). The grape industry was destroyed in the 1880s by an insect pest. Other crops - walnuts, lemons and, of course oranges - soon filled the void, fruits and vegetables having become viable cash crops when the Los Angeles - Orange County region was connected to the continental rail road network in 1886. Anaheim's largest and most important industry is tourism. Its Anaheim Convention Centre is home to many national conferences, and the Walt Disney Company is by far the city's largest employer. Many hotels, especially in the city's Resort district, serve theme park tourists and convention goers.

The Journey

Direct this morning to Solvang (10.15), the old Danish town for a short stop here for sightseeing and maybe a Danish Pastry !! onwards to lunch stop a short drive over the mountain and into Santa Barbara (12.15) , parking near Stearns Wharf, beside some restaurants and the beach. The final part of the day will take us towards Los Angeles travelling inland and south of the city towards Anaheim and our Hotel the Holiday Inn situated at the heart of all things Disney, there is a restaurant (06.30-11.00 and 17.00-22.00 and small bar(Happy Hour Daily 16.00 – 21.00), on the ground floor as well as an outside swimming pool and a gift shop. The hotel is in a quiet residential area away from all the hustle and bustle of Disney which I think will be nice for a relaxing few days, having said that, it is only a short 15-20 minute walk to Downtown Disney where there are a selection of Bars and Restaurants. There may also be an Hotel Shuttle available, please check with reception.