We went to Santa Cruz, California for our summer vacation this month! Here are a some pictures from our time there... Sorry there are so many! This is for you, Grandmom! :)
These are also super out of order for some reason, but oh well. Here goes! :)
We flew into San Francisco and spent the day there before heading to the house we rented in Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz is a super charming "surf town-" we loved it! Our house was just a short walk from the beach, and there is a path that runs 6 miles up and down the coast- you can stop off at little beaches, a state park, and the pier/boardwalk. It's a great little town!
This is from our first evening in Santa Cruz, right along the coast super close to our house.
Different day... This is at a beach up the coast a little ways from Santa Cruz. It was gorgeous, windy, and very chilly!
Different day again (I'm just going to stop saying that! These are so out of order!)... This is Monastery Beach in Carmel. Carmel is GORGEOUS, and this beach was insane! The waves were huge, and we had a great time playing there.
Santa Cruz at sunset...
A beach in Big Sur... We drove to Big Sur and did a 9-mile loop hike. The first 4 miles were straight UP... I don't think we've ever done such a steep hike! The weather was chilly and breezy, and the scenery was breathtaking. We have always wanted to see Big Sur- the views from the rocky cliffs overlooking the blue ocean are spectacular!
We spent a lot of time along the coast in Santa Cruz crab-hunting. When the tide was down, there were lots of rocky areas where there were all kinds of sea animals in the tide pools. We found a giant star fish, sea urchins, and tons of crabs. This is Eli's idea of paradise. :)
More crab hunting...
Santa Cruz is a surf town. We enjoyed watching the surfers as we walked along the coast.
At the beach in Carmel...
On another day we did some hiking in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Seeing the huge redwoods is something we will never forget.
In San Francisco we ate lunch on Fisherman's Wharf and then walked UP into the neighborhoods. It was fun to see the classic San Francisco architecture and huge hills!
Natural Bridges State Park was a 3-mile walk from our house in Santa Cruz. We walked down the coast and spent some time hiking in the park and playing on the beach there.
On a beach near Santa Cruz...
Rare family shot!
Natural Bridges State Park...
We always said we'd just get our feet wet, and then we always ended up getting SOAKED in our clothes! :)
A hi-light of the trip for Eli was was watching the Warriors win the NBA Championship!
Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco...
This is the view from the highest point in the Big Sur hike. From this point we wound our way back down the coast all the way to the beach below. This was my favorite part of the trip.
While we were in San Francisco, we drove to Oakland so Eli could see Oracle Arena (where the Warriors play). We didn't see Steph Curry, but Eli did get to buy a t-shirt in the fan shop. :)
Live catch!
Carmel...
Carmel...
We had the BEST seafood!
More crab-hunting...
Redwoods hiking at another state park (Henry Cowell)...
Big Sur...
Crab hunting...
The surf in Carmel was HUGE!
Hiking back down to the beach in Big Sur... (The views were UNREAL!)
More redwoods...
A couple from San Francisco...
At few more from the redwoods hikes...
He'd search on the rocks for crabs until a huge wave hit, at which point he'd run at top speed away from it to avoid getting soaked! :)
And if you are still reading by this point, congratulations for making it this far! :) Thanks for wanting to see pictures from our vacation! We are so thankful for the memories we made and the beautiful places we got to see during our week in California.
