Hello all!

(I’ve toyed with calling the few, proud readers out there the “jugglers.” Too facetious?)

Many of us had the opportunity to enjoy our a long weekend this past Memorial Day. I initially planned on lying around my apartment in a semi-comatose state, but the opportunity for a quick getaway down the coast presented itself, and I couldn’t say no. So, my girlfriends and I packed our bags and headed to Santa Cruz for a little beach vacation.

Don’t get me wrong, I was still lying around an apartment, but this time it was beach/pool adjacent with either a glass of wine or a fantastic latte from the local Verve coffee in my hand. I had zero complaints.

Turns out the Santa Cruz Surfing Club was even hosting a surf competition that lasted the weekend. I suddenly felt like a true Californian wandering around the shoreline surrounded by people in wet suits. Even though every morning was overcast, the sun did eventually come out long enough to enjoy it poolside.

I have a special fondness for Santa Cruz since one of my college roommates and her husband relocated there for a few post-college years. Every time I found myself with a free weekend, or a little extra time on my hands, I could drive down and visit them with little or no advanced planning.  I’ve come to know the town fairly well, and there are always a few places that I have to visit whenever I’m in the area. There are the beautiful beaches, of course, but also the hip coffee shops, quirky boutiques and restaurants.

There’s Verve Coffee that, besides serving up one incredible latte, has a monkey bread in their pastry case that is so caramelized it borders on candy. Coming from someone who considers a good doughnut appropriate for breakfast, that’s saying something.

My friends also introduced me to their local wine bar, Vino Prima, in their years here. Not only does this wine bar on the pier have a fantastic ocean view, but they do a mean mimosa bar on the weekends.

And of course there’s the famous Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Despite usually being littered with tourists, it still has a certain old world charm to it. You know, the kind of charm that tells adults it’s okay to purchase things like potato chips on a stick or deep-fried oreos.

Of course, there’s always time to hop in a photo booth after too much sun and food to take a few snapshots:

I’m not sure where or what I’m pointing at in that last one. Things always seem to start normal in photo booths for me and then unravel quickly.

There’s nothing quite like a beach vacation to hit the ‘reset’ button on life.

EVA♥