Santa Cruz Getaway

Last week, Curtis surprised me with a weekend getaway for just the 2 of us.  We had talked about going for weeks, but his work schedule has been crazy and with Taylor now in school full time it was hard to just pick a time and go.  He took full control and arranged for the kids to stay with my parents and got the time off work! We left Thursday after Taylor got out of school and after an impromptu visit to the pediatricians office for Maddox who had the early stages of an ear infection.  After we got his meds, we hit the road for the 8 hour trip to my parents' house.  Lucky for us, the kids slept over half the way which made the drive peaceful although Curtis had a hard time staying away and went through lots of caffeine and sunflower seeds.  Friday morning we got the kids situated and headed for the coast, Santa Cruz to be exact.  I could hardly believe we were on a trip by ourselves. We don't get out much by ourselves, so to have 2 full days away was amazing!!! Our first stop, was of course, the beach! We spent the afternoon and evening walking along the wharf and Boardwalk and admiring the locals laid back lifestyle.  The much cooler weather was a welcomed bonus to our trip.

We honestly spent a majority of our time just enjoying the peaceful the ocean brings.  We watched numerous surfers suit up their wetsuits and brave the frigid water.  Curtis and I joked that a Saturday at the beach was like a Saturday in Utah during soccer season.  Families loaded up coolers and toys and spent time on the beach while their husbands/wives were surfing or their children were having a weekly surfing lesson.  We could not get over how low key life seems there. I loved every minute!

We made a decision to only eat local while we were there. Which wasn't too hard since the normal restaurants and shopping we are used come few and far between there.  Our first night, we ate amazing fajitas at a Mexican restaurant. The food we had was a major highlight for us....the kind of food that makes you say, MMMMM! after each bite:) We also tried a local burger joint called Betty Burgers, and as you can tell from our pictures, we really enjoyed ourselves! We hit up a local deli and cafe that had some super yummy soup and sandwiches which went along perfectly with the chilly, sometimes cloudy weather.

On our last day, we went to one of the many nearby state parks.  Curtis could not get over the massive amount of beautiful trees so thick and just minutes from the ocean. It was 2 of my favorite things all in one spot! We hiked around and enjoyed the calming effect the forest brought and Curtis got a tad bit envious upon seeing several mountain bikers cruising around.  He's convinced we will go back and rent bikes, both mountain and beach cruisers, because no one drives around there!

This was one of my favorite pictures from our trip. It just sums up how light hearted and easy going our trip was, which is just what we both needed.

Our view of the trees from the ground, looking up!

I was sad to see our time there come to an end but so grateful we had the opportunity to go. My mom said the kids were perfect for her and that even Maddox did great for his first time away from us.  I definitely want to go back again and visit often.  It was amazing to be able to spend alone time with Curtis and laugh and joke around like we did when we were dating!!

Goodbye, Santa Cruz.  Until next time....