Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Last year marked the centennial anniversary of our very own, California's, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk; oceanfront amusement park. This trip was our last planned summer get-away... destination Pacific Coast, better know as the

B-E-A-C-H.

Saturday, August 2nd @ 7:30p.m.: We decided to break-up our driving hours on the road. Plan A... So our family car exodus to Southern, California began shortly before what would have normally been their bedtime; with hopes of all three kiddos falling asleep for most of the drive down. And what a nice, quiet, peaceful car ride it was. The flip-side to Plan A was... once we got to our hotel at the Doubltree in San Jose, the kids got their second wind. Plan B... okay, lets make them more tired. Are there rules for jumping on hotel beds? (My justification: Hey, we're on vacation. There are no rules.) Perfect... about an hour later, they were

O-U-T!

Sunday, August 3rd: Time in SANTA CRUZ. (My brother, Tim, and sister-in-law, Lisa, plus four joined us on this trip too.) Off to the beach we all went. Standing ankle-deep in the Pacific Ocean took some getting use too. It was rather numbing and ICE COLD! Brrrr... But that did not stop any of the kids (or their cousins) from swimming in the salty ocean. We spent HOURS on the beach... Caitlyn, Tiegan, Riley, and Kennedy had a blast playing, digging, and molding in the sand. Tiegan and Kennedy eventually figured out how to fight against the incoming tides. Although they were actually standing still, Tiegan was fascinated by the notion that she was "moving" as the tide was going back out. Mind fakes are great. Austin and Bryce spent a good portion of the time looking for sand crabs and other sea life. They did, however, find what I call a sucker fish or cleaner fish. (See photo below.) Pretty exciting! Good job, boys! Boys can be so adventurous. And it wasn't long before Bryce caught sight of some seaweed and brought it ashore. (See photo below.) Braden even dug his little chubby toes in the wet sand and got his first shocking feel of "pacific" water. Loved it! Had a blast on the B-E-A-C-H!

Eventually, the Boardwalk lights and sounds caught the kids' attention. "Mommy, can we get some vanilla ice cream?" "Daddy, can we buy some tickets?" "Auntie, I want to go on this boat ride." "Uncle, will you go on the "Tsunami" with me?" With pockets full of tickets... let the carnival/arcade fun begin! Seeing the smiles on the kids' faces was sure indication that they were happy. We spent the second half of our day jumping from one kiddie ride to the next. The Boardwalk was packed with hundreds of "carni" diehards.

It wasn't long before the kids and the B-I-G kids worked up a healthy appetite. Ahh, a sit down dinner near the Pier; half racks of baby-back ribs, coconut prawns, seafood, clam chowder soup, mac 'n cheese, fries, fresh fruit. After stuffing ourselves, we slowly ventured on down the Pier to walk off our dinner. Barks of sea lions could be heard. (Some were napping. See photo below.) Standing on the Pier, you could see the most amazing view of the Pacific Ocean, right against the horizon. There were a few surfers and sail boats soaking in the last bit of sunlight.

A very fun-filled day! Great memories... Can't wait to do it again. (Still recovering from vacation rebound.) Enjoy our pictures...

Overnight stay in our hotel... I want to jump on the bed too.

Contemplating... should we get in the freezing cold water?

Auntie Lisa on lifeguard duty! Sweet sisters! My girl! Boys will be boys! Bryce found seaweed. Look closely... there is a sucker fish in there.

Our tired girl, Kennedy... too much fun?

Daddy (Uncle Tim) and his beautiful girls.

Not too sure about the texture of the wet sand. Aren't those the cutest little toes?

Kiddie rides.

Austin: "Look, no hands!"

Barking (napping) sea lions on the Pier.

Mommy's sun-kissed Brae...

View of Santa Cruz' Beach Boardwalk from the Pier.

Miles of Pacific Ocean.The B-I-G kids.