Our Santa Cruz Trip

So with all 3 boys visiting gramma and grampa for a few days, i commented to Shane that it would be a shame to sit around the house like we usually do. however we are super broke until payday & even going for a drive takes gas (gas is up to $4 here). But, Shane says we are going to Santa Cruz. We go back and forth about it a few times the night before, me telling him we just can't afford it, and shouldn't do it. Shane insists again we're going out of town. finally i tell myself, okay... we can always charge it. while i'm getting ready i notice a suitcase on the bed and Shane's clothes inside. when i ask about it, he says he thought he'd bring some stuff just in case we are too tired to drive back. so i pack my stuff too and off we go. On the way out of town, we have to get gas, and Shane wants to get a car wash. as he pulls in and we start thru the car wash he turns to me and says "this trip is especially for you, to make you feel better. i'm taking care of everything and i don't want you to worry about any of it." I never not worry about things we do especially when it involves money. and Shane never does anything like this. so even though i feel the urge to ask how we'll pay for this, (and this urge comes up several times on the trip), i never ask, and he never tells.
The drive over was great. We talked and laughed and enjoyed the drive. there wasn't much traffic so the trip was pretty smooth. Now, there are many reason why Santa Cruz is my favorite place. I love the beach, i love the ocean, i love the boardwalk, we always eat great food there, we walk everywhere, the people are hilarious... But the thing that makes it so great overall is everyone is so laid back. the pace is slower, there aren't people flipping you off or rushing here and there... there isn't a single freeway or highway going anywhere through town. In fact, the end of Highway 17 is a stop light at the beginning of town. this is always my favorite sight because it means the stoplight is just beyond the signs:



we drive down to the wharf first thing, and walk around in all the shops. there are BILLIONS of seagulls, and where there are lots of seagulls, there is a lot of poop:



After the wharf, we walked down to Ideal to have dinner. We had both been salivating at the thought of some killer fried calamari, and i hadn't been this excited to eat in weeks. Shane had some kind of pasta with lots of little sea creatures floating in the sauce. i had steak and we shared the calamari. it was soooooooooo yum! after dinner we walked back to the car and decided to see about finding a room. he wanted to take me to the Dream Inn. it's the nicest hotel in the heart of town and it's right on the beach. every room has a balcony with an amazing view of the beach and ocean, the wharf and boardwalk. Well, it was shut down. they are completely renovating it. so we checked out a bunch of other places. we finally decided to stay at the Beach Inn a few blocks from the boardwalk. Shane mostly loved the fact that they had a 2 story suite, where we almost stayed, but it was so late, we'd only be sleeping and then checking out so i convinced him a standard room would be fine. After we checked in and got all our luggage upstairs, we went to Marianne's for some ice cream. i always want to do this when we go to Santa Cruz... it's just one of those things you do. Marianne's is practically a landmark and they have way more than 31 flavors. But usually, Shane doesn't want to go there. And usually, we don't. But this night, i asked him if he thought they were open and he said "i'm think they are. we should go." and we did. shane had mint chip and i had mud pie ice cream. it was awesome.



the next morning, we got up and got ready to check out. Aren't we cute?



we headed downtown to Santa Cruz Roasting Company for some white mocha's and a bagel.


their coffee is sooooooo good. So good that shane couldn't get enough:



after coffee we walked around downtown and looked in all the shops. i found this really interesting sculpture and we tried to figure out what it was.



i finally found a little plaque that said it was "untitled". i would leave it untitled too.
We also went into this shoe store and they had a whole display of SIZE 14 SHOES! Crazy big:



We also saw another cool coffee shop. i would have tried them out if i didn't already have a mocha:


Lastly, we stopped into O'Neill and Shane got some new shades:


we went back to the wharf and back to Ideal for lunch. There is no need to eat at any other restaurant in santa cruz. this time we sat out on the deck so we could see the ocean and we watched all these little kids having a volleyball class on the beach. i had a prime rib sandwich, and shane had clam chowder in a bread bowl. we shared another calamari appetizer. mmmmmmmm.
Afterwards we walked to the boardwalk and played in the arcade. i got shane to play this skateboarding game.



i played ski ball (my fave) and got enough tickets to get Tyler and Riley some prizes. it was getting late and we decided to get on the road to home. we walked along the wharf one more time going back to our car. we stopped for a while to watch the waves.



then we kissed:



and went home.
It was a short trip but meant so much to me in so many ways. my husband was doing this to make me feel better and it did! not just because it was santa cruz, but because he did it all for me and made me feel so so important to him. i loved having that time together and walking everywhere arm in arm or hand in hand. we needed to do that. and i am so glad he insisted we do it. so it did help me to clear my head and get a much needed deep breath. i love that he knew exactly what i needed. he's the best husband ever, and he's all mine.