The ride from LA to Santa Cruz is roughly 5 hours. We took the more scenic route of "the" 5 to the 46 to the 101, as Californians refer to their highways.
Along the way, we were able to see some pretty amazing sites: the ruins of old missions, sprawling cattle ranches and long-stretching vineyards.
Upon our arrival in Santa Cruz, we located Will's sister's (my sister-in-law's!) house. She, her husband Drew and their adorable twin boys, Henry and William, live in a great 1921 craftsman.
Edith, to celebrate our arrival, prepared not one, not two, but three delicious pies: blueberry, butterscotch and -my favorite- key lime!
And, to celebrate our nuptials, she made this awesome banner (which we are bringing home with us).
The key lime pie on the left boasts my grandparents' wedding cake topper from 1942. The blueberry pie on the right boasts Will and Edith's grandparents' wedding cake topper from 1939.
That evening, Drew was awesome enough to keep the twins while Edith showed us around town.
She shared with us the beautiful Victorian homes, the Santa Cruz boardwalk (which hosts the 1924 Giant Dipper and the 1911 Looff Carousel), extraordinary sculptures, and great water views.
Santa Cruz sits on the Monterey Bay and is home to some pretty famous surfing spots as well as the founder of the O'Neill brand: Jack O'Neill.
The following morning, we awoke to this view:
The garden of Edith and Drew.
We, later, loaded the car with the twins and headed to Carmel for some Pacific Ocean fun and a delicious brown bag lunch from the local market.
William prefers just sand to a sandwich.
Carmel is gorgeous.
The famous Pebble Beach may be seen from the public beach, where we ate lunch.
The town is full of super cute cottages, tudor in style.
It also plays home to Mission Ranch which is owned by actor Clint Eastwood who was actually the mayor of Carmel for a couple of years in the '80s.
On the way out of town, we passed this old mission:
Henry fell asleep in the car thanks to a great head-rubber named Uncle Will.
Before settling back in at the house, we picked up some Fernet (which I'd been dying to try) with the expert advice of Edith's friend, Tom.
We spent the evening hanging out, taking the dog for one last walk on the beach in Santa Cruz, and sipping Fernet.
This morning, after saying our goodbyes, Will and I headed to the Santa Cruz wharf to catch a glimpse of the ever-present California sea lions.
And we found one!
Before getting too far out of Santa Cruz, we stopped in Half Moon Bay to try, per Edith's recommendation, the absolute best Chai I've ever enjoyed.
The master behind this phenomenal Chai has achieved many accolades.
The San Francisco Chronicle named his Chai "the best this side of Bombay."
They might just be right in saying such.
That said, however, we were definitely forewarned that, although he prepares the bomb.com Chai, he's not exactly a people-person:
He wasn't immediately at the counter when we arrived, so I had time to snap these photos before putting my c-phone away.
As of now, we're crossing the California border heading into Oregon.
But we didn't get this far without passing through this great town with its famous bridge:
And its famous former federal prison:
Alcatraz
Alas, California, it's been a blast.
We hope to visit you again soon!
Thanks for everything; love to you!
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