Sentimental Journey: Santa Cruz

A month ago Matt and I went out to California to go to a wedding, and then the next weekend we went to Boston to go to another wedding, and then there were some lovely mountain sojourns, with the result that I am seriously behind in dealing with my photos of all this gallivanting. A month is enough time for me to feel nostalgic for an experience, so I thought I'd put up some pictures from our days in California. David and Michael's wedding deserves its own post--that'll be next--but these are some snaps from a day we spent in Santa Cruz before all the festivities. (For those who are new to this blog, we lived in Santa Cruz for several years before we moved to Atlanta.)  I blogged about this town briefly, but here it is in living color.

In my tradition of photographing motel bedscapes, I offer you the Coastview Inn.

This was no Borg's Motel (God I love that Borg's!), but it was a great little place with a straight up actual coast view--right smack across from the boardwalk--and it was fifty-something dollars a night. And not in a scary way.



It was really clean (I mean, except for the highly-suspect bedspread) and just what we needed for a ten-hour stay. We got in late, made drinks in those little plastic cups, and fell asleep laughing and watching The Jerk on their free HBO. What more do you want, picky?  I recommend a trip where you stay in one dive and one nice place. Each makes you appreciate the other. We seem to have made this a pattern.

Then we spent most of the day doing nothing in particular, stopping by some of our favorite Santa Cruz places.

That rocking horse has been in Bookshop Santa Cruz for I don't know how long. It looks well-used, doesn't it? Laura spent a lot of time as a baby playing on that thing while we browsed, and that was 8 years ago. I got a little sentimental seeing it still there, and thinking of her as a toddler. 

Updated to add: Ooh, I just remembered that in another post, I told you how I once walked in on a homeless man washing his ass at the sink in the women's bathroom in a bookstore.  This was that place.  So, you know, it's got public bathrooms.



We always use to compare Santa Cruz to a town in one of those Richard Scarry books for children, like Busy Town. It's so small that there are really only a few places to be. If you want to find someone, and you have only the vaguest information about their whereabouts, like that they're "downtown," you can go find them. I miss that. I don't need many choices.

Some of my other favorite stores downtown. This first one is the Shoe and Sock Shop:











Back there, over Matt's shoulder, through those double doors, is the Palomar's late night taco and margarita bar, site of many a glad hour. If you can get a stool to perch on. I've seen this whole place be standing-room only.

That night took us away from the Coastview Inn to stay with friends in Los Gatos. They have grapes on their property, and like any good Silicon Valley techie types would do, they're learning to make wine in their garage. I got to help punch down the skins of the Cabernet Sauvignon. It was warm and it smelled delicious.



Then we headed on up the peninsula to take residence in our wedding base of operations, the SFO Marriot. Bedscape for you, before:



And after.



There, I think you've got the full picture. The wedding was one of the most fabulous I've ever been to. More pictures to come, unless you're sick of me or you sprained your scrolling finger. Ice and rest, my friends, ice and rest. xoxoxox--B