Click the title for pictures of the entire trip. At the end of July, my sister Rikki and I drove the kids to the Sacramento area to visit family. If you click on the title, it will take you to a slideshow of the whole trip. Thanks to Kyra, I was able to add some addl photos to mine, which captured more of the trip. We spent time with my Aunt Ruth & Ted, visiting with my cousin Deana, her son Christian & my other cousin Cavin and his girl Kelly. We did a little school shopping in the unique stores they have here, then one afternoon we went bowling and played laser tag. On Sunday, we attended church with my Dad & Earletta, and in the afternoon met my step-sister Jenny & cousin Greg Morton after not seeing them for many, many years. They brought their children and the kids got along famously playing card games and Press Conference. It was great to see Savannah again :)
Adam needed to leave early so he wouldn't miss a summer class he was taking, so Wednesday morning he flew back to SLC while the rest of us headed to San Francisco and Santa Cruz. While it was a little breezy in the City, it wasn't unbearable. We stopped first at Pier 39 and immediately went to the aquarium there. We then visited the sea lions behind the pier then drifted in and out of shops. Finding the crazy hat shop was fun, and the fudge shop was heavenly. While the kids had their chocolate, Rikki and I shared a funnel cake. We ran into Boudin to get some sourdough bread, and Rikki got her clam chowder bowl. The kids enjoyed the street entertainers while we walked back to our parking garage. We then drove up the streets to experience Fillmore Street and the curves of Lombard. After finishing the curves, Kyra says, "Is that it?"
We drove over to Fort Point, saw as much as the Golden Gate Bridge as the fog would allow, then wound around the streets to get to Highway 1, where we scooted down the coast to Santa Cruz, getting in around 5 pm. The girls dared Jake to be quiet for 15 minutes for a large ice cream cone, and that episode escalated to 2 hours of silence for a half gallon of ice cream! Incredible feat!! He was so proud of himself. After having dinner at Denny's (and Jake his ice cream) we crashed.
The next morning we went to Santa Cruz's Mystery Spot. It's one of 3 places in the world where there's a weird phenomenon with gravity. My pictures didn't quite capture what happened, but it was fun all the same. We then saw the new Harry Potter 6 movie, then spent the rest of the day on the boardwalk and beach.
I love the beach. I love standing there in the surf feeling the sand and ocean rush past my toes, sinking deeper. I love to hear the sounds of seagulls and brave sea lions playing offshore. I love watching the kids jump in the waves. I loved seeing the girls timidly tiptoe in the cold surf, wading in inch by inch until they finally shed their clothes and cameras and jumped into the waves in their swimsuits. I loved hearing Jacob squeal and laugh as a wave surprised him with its power. I love Santa Cruz's sand color with bits of black flecks. I love watching the waves roll over and the foam race to the shore. I love it all, and always reluctantly leave. I missed Adam experiencing these things this time. I thought of him often.
I thought the kids would think nothing of the boardwalk since we live so close to Lagoon, but I could tell they had a good time. I love amusement park rides, and the boardwalk had my all-time favorite one. You ride standing up on it while it spins you around in a circle, then a machine lifts the circle on it's side while you're still spinning. I hadn't seen one like that in years, and it was fun to experience that motion again.
The next morning we left to head back to Sacramento, and it took forever. The traffic was constantly slowing and stopping in some areas. We couldn't really tell why -- it just was. It was kind of frustrating because we'd planned on being to Dad's by around 2, but it took us until 4 pm to get there. We found out later that there was a huge car show in Reno, and that was probably where the traffic came from. We spent the evening with them and Savannah, then headed back home in the morning after a yummy breakfast that Earletta made for us. We had a little adventure on the way back :( I got a flat tire in between Auburn & Truckee. The tire was blown out so we had to get another one in Reno. No one in Truckee had my size. We were lucky to make it to Reno, because the tire guy pointed out that my other back tire was just about ready to blow as well. So instead of rolling into town at 10pm, we finally got to bed that night at 1:00am in the morning. Yucky ending, but a very enjoyable visit with family.
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