Boardwalk!

After spending a long weekend in Santa Cruz, it seems absurd that we haven't brought the kids here sooner!  The ocean, the beach AND a great, old fashioned amusement park all within a 90-minute drive?  Doesn't seem fair how awesome Northern California is!

We arrived in Santa Cruz on Friday afternoon.  After lunch downtown, we strolled down the Boardwalk, hit a few rides and checked out the boardwalk.   

Paige on the beach, watching her sisters on the pirate ship
ride

  

Saturday, Adam had to visit a client down in Monterey, so the girls and I spent the early morning at the beach.  The girls jumped in the waves and collected shells before the sight of the rides lured them back to the Boardwalk.  Whitney is getting much braver with rides, but little Paige surprised me most going on some scary grown-up rides and the kiddie coaster.

After spending mid-day on rides, we hit the beach again, finding a big tide pool for the girls to run around in.

The beach was crowded, but it gave the girls a chance to make some new friends...

And then it was back to the rides!

There is little Whitney, the smallest little rider on the
Cyclone.  Right after this, a man on the ride ran out
and puked right in front of Paige and me.

Paige and me on the kiddie coaster

Finally, we spent the Sunday morning at the Boardwalk again - we hit a ton of rides and then we were officially rided-out.  We came back to our rental house for a rest before headed back and the girls were wiped out.  Little Paige could hardly sit up.

We didn't even explore the other beaches in the area, let alone the great hikes, the UC campus, Monterey and the other nearby cute beach towns.  We'll need to do another trip very soon!