Among Friends

[Moonchilde]

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@DiAnne wrote:

@Moonchilde

Are you talking about the HMO Family Health Plan?  Fountain Valley Regional was privately owned until approximately 1992 or 1993 when Tenet Healthcare bought it (after I left).  The hardest part about moving up north was leaving - I loved that job and the people I worked with.  

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Yes, @DiAnne it was FHP - I just couldn’t remember the name. They were going to be “the next Kaiser.” Oops... I did work at a Tenet Hospital - Los Alamitos.

I just realized that it was FHP and is now Orange Coast, which is now affiliated with Long Beach Memorial and includes Saddleback - not FV Regional, sorry.

[Noel7]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

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@BirdieGal wrote:

@Moonchilde

Every time we drive down south we always always stop at Pea Soup Anderson’s. DD and I were there last when we drove down when my mom passed.

I love to get the soup with all the toppings on the side. The little rolls are so,good too! DD usually orders something else and ends up eating most of my food. LOL! Always been that way.

The gift shop is great too. 

When we would go to Solvang we always went to the one in Buelton. Solvang and Disneyland were the first date my husband (then boyfriend) took me on, He flew us there. I love Solvang. Used to go there as a kid every year with my parents. 

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@BirdieGal, when I still lived in LA, a couple times a year I would drive up to visit/vacation with family in the Monterey area (where I’ve moved to now) and I always stopped for breakfast in Buellton. Many times I’d go to Andersen’s, but then I found a local place across the street - I think it’s called Mother Hubbard’s. All home cooked recipes and full of nothing but locals. Their biscuits & gravy is to.die.for. I love pea soup from anywhere, it’s my very favorite soup.

The last time I stopped in Solvang I was disappointed (and it was 100 degrees as well) compared to the way it used to be in the 70s. Lots of empty stores and junky tchotchkes compared to all the beautiful quality gift shops that used to pack every street, and less restaurants & bakeries. It made me sad. The economy will never be again like it was in the 70s. I love aeblskiver!

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@Moonchilde

We always stoped at Anderson's Pea Soup and took the obligatory photo of the kid with her head sticking through the pea soup guy's figure.

I loved Solvang, sorry to hear it got so run down.  I wonder why, that was always a busy tourist town.

[Noel7]

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@BirdieGal wrote:

@Noel7

Okay that one I don’t know...

I do know The Elephant Bar. Very nice restaurant. One in Santa Barbara. DH flew me there too. And there’s on in Sacramento too.

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@BirdieGal

We had an Elephant Bar in the Serramonte shopping center, just outside of SF.  They closed down recently, I don't know why.  I liked them, too.  Upbeat, fun food and drinks.  A good place to meet friends for something to eat.

[september]

Wow...lots of responses on this thread since last night!  I knew that some of you lived in CA...nice to see there are so many others!

Did anyone have rain last night?  I heard what sounded like hail at first, but didn't get up to check.   Then it seemed to just rain hard for about an hour.  Everything outside was nice and clean when I went out to get the paper this morning.  And it all smelled so good!

[BirdieGal]

okay....remember this place? I love it! I lived in West Covina until I was 13 and we went there often. I make their red cabbage salad all the time as well as their famous cheese spread. Soooo good.

peanuts served in a bowl, crack the shells and toss them on the floor covered in wood shavings.

[Moonchilde]

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@Noel7 wrote:

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@Moonchilde wrote:

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@BirdieGal wrote:

@Moonchilde

Every time we drive down south we always always stop at Pea Soup Anderson’s. DD and I were there last when we drove down when my mom passed.

I love to get the soup with all the toppings on the side. The little rolls are so,good too! DD usually orders something else and ends up eating most of my food. LOL! Always been that way.

The gift shop is great too. 

When we would go to Solvang we always went to the one in Buelton. Solvang and Disneyland were the first date my husband (then boyfriend) took me on, He flew us there. I love Solvang. Used to go there as a kid every year with my parents. 

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@BirdieGal, when I still lived in LA, a couple times a year I would drive up to visit/vacation with family in the Monterey area (where I’ve moved to now) and I always stopped for breakfast in Buellton. Many times I’d go to Andersen’s, but then I found a local place across the street - I think it’s called Mother Hubbard’s. All home cooked recipes and full of nothing but locals. Their biscuits & gravy is to.die.for. I love pea soup from anywhere, it’s my very favorite soup.

The last time I stopped in Solvang I was disappointed (and it was 100 degrees as well) compared to the way it used to be in the 70s. Lots of empty stores and junky tchotchkes compared to all the beautiful quality gift shops that used to pack every street, and less restaurants & bakeries. It made me sad. The economy will never be again like it was in the 70s. I love aeblskiver!

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@Moonchilde

We always stoped at Anderson's Pea Soup and took the obligatory photo of the kid with her head sticking through the pea soup guy's figure.

I loved Solvang, sorry to hear it got so run down.  I wonder why, that was always a busy tourist town.

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It still is, @Noel7, but to a lesser degree. The economy just couldn’t support block after block of quality imported goods. Store owners just sat with their inventories until they couldn’t pay the rent. People have less spending money for what are not necessities. Nice stores are still there, and restaurants are still there, but fewer and farther between and slightly shabbier. People go more for the wineries, the horse country and the luxurious guest ranch spas than for Solvang itself any more. The Horse Whisperer has a place outside Solvang; gorgeous horse country.

[BirdieGal]

We got a bit of rain last night, it was more than welcome. Today it has been a bit cold and cloudy.

I love the change of seasons up here. Well...not summer so much but the rest of the seasons.

@september

[DiAnne]

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@Moonchilde wrote:

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@DiAnne wrote:

@Moonchilde

Are you talking about the HMO Family Health Plan?  Fountain Valley Regional was privately owned until approximately 1992 or 1993 when Tenet Healthcare bought it (after I left).  The hardest part about moving up north was leaving - I loved that job and the people I worked with.  

Yes, @DiAnne it was FHP - I just couldn’t remember the name. They were going to be “the next Kaiser.” Oops... I did work at a Tenet Hospital - Los Alamitos.

I just realized that it was FHP and is now Orange Coast, which is now affiliated with Long Beach Memorial and includes Saddleback - not FV Regional, sorry.

@Moonchilde

You have kept up with this much better than I have.

[Moonchilde]

I think that when I go to San Jose to the Spaghetti Factory (and my mouth has been watering all afternoon) I’ll revisit one of my favorite places (so I won’t make the hour drive just to eat, lol).

For those in the Central Coast/Bay Area (i.e. within driving distance) who may not know - San Jose is home to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, “Architecturally inspired by the Temple of Amon at Karnak, it houses the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts on exhibit in western North America -- including objects from pre dynastic times through Egypt's early Islamic era.” Many major American museums that have Egyptian collections don’t have what this one does, and the buildings are works of art.

[september]

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@BirdieGal wrote:

We got a bit of rain last night, it was more than welcome. Today it has been a bit cold and cloudy.

I love the change of seasons up here. Well...not summer so much but the rest of the seasons.

@september

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It was a bit cooler today, and I liked that!  Just watched the evening news, and it might be unusually warm sat-mon