Monday, August 18, 2014

California Adventures: Santa Cruz Day 1

After 7 1/2 hours of traveling, my parents, Evan, and I arrived in Santa Cruz! After stopping by UCSC campus to say "hi" to Ed and introduce Evan to his coworkers, we headed to our rental. We rented a very sweet home near East Cliff, a few blocks from the ocean. Besides some very unfortunate issues (messed up electricity, no hot water for almost 3 days, no internet for 2, and ants), it was a very cute place to stay. Without the issues, it would have been perfect :). 

We immediately settled on what would be our main hang out spot in the home - the couch with the lagoon and ocean views. 




Evan was happy to be finished with his longest day of traveling so far, and very glad to be out of the carseat and in his Papa's arms. 


After getting settled, my parents headed out to the store, while Evan and I played around out back. 


The views from the deck were lovely, and it was so nice to be spending time out in the cool air. While we were out there, I had fun playing around with the camera, and Evan thankfully played along. 


It was nice just to sit and enjoy our little slice of ocean view. 


Soon, both my parents and Ed returned to the home. So, funny story. We ordered takeout for dinner and had Ed pick it up. Of course, in my travel tired brain, I really didn't think things through and didn't remember to order Ed any dinner. Oops. Luckily, the burgers were huge, so between my mom and I, Ed still got a full meal. Evan enjoyed being part of the group, and we enjoyed a delicious dinner. 


Afterwards, we went for a walk down to the beach that was oh so close. 



The pathway went through a beautiful grove of eucalyptus trees on its way to the ocean.


Plus, it gave some lovely lagoon views.


The beach was beautiful, especially basking in the early evening light. 


It was, though, perhaps a little past Evan's bedtime...


Our little home also looked beautiful as day turned to night.


When we got back, we started Evan's bedtime routine, which included a bath in his new tub, purchased just for this trip. While it was a bit trickier than his regular tub, its portability couldn't be beat, making it perfect for our trip. 


After bath, it was time for bed. We all needed lots of rest to be ready for our first full vacation day!

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