Dream of Californication

Getting settled in San Jose

When the boys had their spring break the last week of March, Josh and I thought it'd be a great time for a little family R&R.  We hadn't seen the California Redmore clan in a while, and they happen to live in an area we hold near and dear to our hearts, and would love to share more with Van and Wes.... so off to sunny California it was!

Yeah, as you can see in the picture one of our first stops after the hotel was to Trader Joe's at the Pruneyard.  The boys found their local store mascot and scored free lollipops.   Mom and Dad scored a bottle of wine and cork screw... cause you can do that at grocery stores in California! 

We visited with Seth, Vassu and Ahir that weekend.  It was really fantastic to see everyone again.  Seth and Vassu were very sweet and even invited a couple old friends over for dinner one night!  We couldn't have asked for a better welcome.  Oh, and did I mention they both cooked for us?!  Nothing makes me happier than their home cooking - very different and distinct styles, but SO amazing (thanks guys!!).  As always the visit was over too quickly and they all had to go back to work / school, and it was time for us to move along in our journey. 

At first we headed north, to San Francisco!  It was unusually sunny that Monday, and I had persuaded everyone to pack for cold and cloudy.  Guess it's better to over pack than under pack, eh?  After finding and checking into our hotel, we walked to Pier 33 to catch our ferry out to The Rock... Alcatraz.  

Play time with family

Because the day was so lovely we sat on the open top deck of the boat taking us out.  We had a clear view of the Golden Gate Bridge as well as the Bay Bridge to our backs.  The city skyline took the cake for views though - such a great city! 

We all got the audio tour (which is the only option available anymore - no more person-lead tours).  Van was into the stories told by the ex-inmates and former guards on the audio tour, as were Josh and I.  Wes was with it for a while... but tapered off.  When we got to the part of the tour where they describe, with sound effects, the prison break and inmate revolt I looked nervously to Josh to see if he maybe thought Wes shouldn't hear this part as well.  He closed his eyes and shook his head, then pointed out that Wes hadn't been paying attention for some time.  No worries, Mom!  After the jail house tour we wandered around outside enjoying the breeze, watching the boats on the water and trying to name buildings in the San Francisco skyline.  Soon it was time to depart.  After our boat docked we walked up The Embarcadero to Pier 39.  Yeah, it's tourist trappy, I know, but the sea lions are fun, and mom and dad needed a coffee.  It was a hoot, and the kids liked it. 

Alacatraz

That evening we had a dinner reservation at The Stinking Rose.  Now... this is a restaurant that advertises they serve food with their garlic.  Love!  Wes got pasta (no surprise there), Van got a huge pizza and Josh got the house meatloaf (which, I swear, had to be 2# of meat for just his serving).  Mom opted for the crab.  The whole crab.  The whole dungeness crab.  It may have been the first time the boys have witnessed their mother taking apart an entire crustacean, but I'm sure it won't be their last.  No bib for this lady!  I'm a pro.  Even with that delectable garlic-butter concoction they slather the crab in, not a drop on me.  It was a perfect dinner out with my boys, and we all waddled out to catch our Uber back to the hotel with garlic breath and big smiles.

The following day (Tuesday) we thought we'd check out Chinatown, just the main drag down Grant Street.  I thought the boys would like all the Asian culture, the dragons everywhere, the writing, the tea and grocery shops... I was not prepared for the whining.  Every shop has cheap trinkets and toys out front, and our kids wanted... everything!  Yes, we knew this was there, I just didn't anticipate the problems it would cause.  Sigh.  After maneuvering a few blocks down we decided it would be best to eat lunch - maybe calm some nerves.  Josh did some quick searching and found a place that looked promising, so we snagged a table for some dim sum.  It was slow service but not terrible food (for being in such a touristy area).  The boys tried their new chop sticks (yes, we'd caved a couple times along the way) and really did a great job of being open to the new foods.  I was very proud of them, even if they didn't like much aside from the pork buns and chow mein noodles.  

San Francisco in a day

After a quick stop by the fortune cookie factory, we walked back down Grant and to our car.  The boys did get a few trinkets and a shirt each, and it wasn't such a bad time.  On our way out of the city we took a drive down Jones Street hill (#18 on the list of Steepest Streets in San Francisco at 29% grade).  That totally freaked the boys out - it was great.

Our next and last stop on this trip would be Santa Cruz!  Because it was such a gorgeous day Josh chose to drive down south along Hwy 1.  It was clear, sunny, breezy and beautiful!  And because it was a Tuesday in spring, everyone was at work, so there was no traffic getting over to the coast - bonus.  

About 20 minutes outside of Santa Cruz Josh and I remembered that one of our favorite vineyards was located in the area.  Mr Internet confirmed they were open so we made a little unscheduled stop at Bonny Doon vineyards.  We hadn't been to their tasting room in over a decade, and it was in a "new" location, but the vibe was the same.  There was one other pair of folks tasting, and they had a sweet 13 week old golden retriever puppy with them.   Our boys were delighted to have someone to play with, as was the puppy I think.  There was also a photo booth, complete with costumes for them to have a blast with.  Check out the wine label we made with the Redmore boys on it!  The wine was wonderful and Josh and I were just happy as clams... obviously because we walked out with half a case.  *wink*  

Bonny Doon

Rolling into Santa Cruz around 3:30, we got to the hotel and were given our room.  First thing's first:  beach!!  We were directly across the street from the Main Beach, so we unpacked and headed over.  

The boys were so excited to play in the ocean!  They didn't care it was freezing cold.  We hadn't packed suits (in hindsight I'm not sure why) so they just took off their shirts and waded in.  Van immediately made a friend in a boy there about his age.  The three of them splashed and played for a good hour!  While they were being goofy, a pair of seals were also playing in the surf, searching for mussels, about 30' away - neither group noticed the other.  After they'd built up a good appetite we walked down town to find some dinner.  What better for two mop-topped boys than a surf-themed pizza joint?!  Pizza My Heart it was.  Everyone got at least one slice and a t-shirt (cause that was the deal - slice & a shirt, one price).  It was gooey, yummy and just what we all wanted.  

The next day we had planned an excursion to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Before we left town we needed a little sustenance and The Harbor Cafe sounded perfect.  Van had a big plate of Blueberry Crumble French Toast, mom got the amazing Cali Bene (classic benedict but over an open croissant and with avocado), Wes went for a classic kids pancake, and dad the Whole Boat (big classic breakfast plus biscuits & gravy).  Everyone's meal was enormous, and absolutely delicious.

By the time we got down to Monterey we were all just buzzing to get to the aquarium!  It was another gorgeous, sunny day, and the vegetable fields on the way down were all green, sprouting strawberries, asparagus, garlic, and lots of leafy greens (I'm guessing at most of the produce because they don't have signs telling you what is being grown, although I've always thought they should).  A quick stop at In-N-Out Burger for lunch (a must-do in our book) then we found killer parking for the Aquarium.

Aquarium day!

The boys each had their favorites they wanted to see - sharks topping Wesley's list, and the Tentacles topping Van's.  We made it to each, seeing just about everything in between!  The octopus was my favorite - I could have watched this dude all day.  He was making a sea urchin nervous, so it was actually moving!  Outside on the decks we saw wild Harbor Seals and even an Otter floating on his back, just chillin'.  The jellies were a big hit for everyone, of course.  They are just amazing!  

We headed back up to Santa Cruz later that day, happy and worn out.  Another walk on the beach and out along the wharf to find dinner, and it was almost a perfect day!  Then the phone rang.  Our credit card had been hacked.  Josh had just placed his dinner order when we got a call saying there was "unusual activity" that had been blocked.  It was all dealt with, and the credit card people were very good to us... but still kind of a pain in the tuchus.  

On our last day in California we opted to just bum around town.  We went to check out Natural Bridges State Beach for the morning (after another amazing breakfast in Santa Cruz - wow!).  The boys played in the surf again, played frisbee and explored the tide pools.  Is there anything better than toes in the sand?  It was a perfect morning for all of us, and the only reason we left is that we were kinda peckish and starting to get crisp.  Down on Mission Street we found Kiantis Pizza and sat outside and enjoyed the people watching.  After lunch we shopped downtown a bit, found some of the BEST ice cream evar!  The boys came away each with a new pair of Vans slip-ons.  How Santa Cruz is that?!  Yes, classic check for each.  

Santa Cruz life

Of all the awesome and wonderful things we'd done this week most of it was for the boys.  It was time to give Dad a little time!  He'd heard of a fantastic brewery in Santa Cruz and wanted to check it out.  Turns out they had a really nice tasting room with amazing snack (home fried curry potato chips and rosemary & olive oil popcorn to name just what we had).  The boys munched and played a bit on our phones while we had a beer and just sat and relaxed.  I mean, just look at that smile on Josh's face!  

We'd eaten enough for two days, so we opted to skip dinner and go to... the arcade.  We never did make it to the Boardwalk with the rides 'n such, but the boys found such joy in the giant arcade at the end of the Boardwalk, just across from our hotel.  Classic games like PacMan and new games like Plants Vs Zombies... they were in heaven.  We only headed back because it was late, and we did have to be up early to get to the airport the next day.  

It was an absolutely wonderful spring break for our family - a little something for everyone, great food, sun, surf, no wake-up calls... perfection.  But I missed Molly, and my own bed.  It was time to say good bye.  I love traveling with these guys, we all make a great team.