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| Cannery Row |
Parents with small children, I have a shocking announcement: Your little babies are going to grow up so fast it will make your head spin and
when they do, you will no longer get to spend as much time with them as you want. They
will be too busy with their own lives to come on your family vacations, and it
will probably take you a long time to adjust to all of it. With Jackson in
college and Ali working full time, the only people going on this vacation are Chad, Ashley, and I. We are gonna miss those two like crazy.
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| Santa Cruz Diner |
This morning, we arrived in San Francisco at 8:00, picked up our Ford
Escape started down the coast. We drove to Santa Cruz and stopped for breakfast at
Santa Cruz Diner. We ate a delicious meal which was totally enhanced by the Disney music blaring from the juke box. The sun shone bright in a cloudless blue sky, a giant palm
tree sat right outside our window, and as soon as we finished eating, we headed
to the beach.
The Santa Cruz Boardwalk was closed, and we were happy to
stroll the deserted boardwalk in peace and quiet. We spent some time on the beach
where I cautioned Chad and Ashley about tsunamis, stepping on hypodermic
needles hidden in the sand, and many other dangers that might befall them if I weren’t
there to be a beacon of worry and fear.
Chad takes an alternate approach to parenting. Ashley found a nut
on on the beach and asked, “Dad, is this a walnut?”
Chad said, “Eat it. If you die, then it wasn’t a walnut.”
Somehow the two of us managed to successfully raise three
kids.
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| The empty boardwalk behind us |
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| Sunny California looks good on Ashley |
Our next stop was Monterey. The drive down the coast was stunning,
but we were distracted by all the Teslas on the road. I can’t even tell you how many we saw. Actually, I can because after the first three, I kept a tally for the rest of the day. We saw 35
Teslas, people. 35. I decided to keep track for the rest of our trip, so stayed tuned. Teslas here are like Ed Hardy shirts circa 2008.
We made it to Monterey and drove around Cannery Row so we could
get situated. Ashley has always wanted to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium, so
this was a must-see. Cannery Row was packed and as we looked for parking I prayed,
“God, would you please help us find a parking spot?” and as Chad pulled into a full
lot directly adjacent to the aquarium, a car pulled up next to us and the
driver handed Chad a parking receipt and told us, “Spot 98, it’s good ‘til
midnight.” Parking cost $15 in that lot, so I told the man that I loved him—sometimes
I don’t really reign in my emotions like most people do—and we thanked him
profusely. We thanked God, too.
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| The Open Sea Exhibit |
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| "Amigo" spent a lot of time with Ashley |
The aquarium visit was lovely. Being from the Seattle area, we have seen most of the exhibits back home, so we
weren’t as amazed as I’d expected to be for the cost, but Ashley got to see
African penguins, and Chad got to see sea otters, and that alone was worth the
trip. Ashley has loved penguins for as long as she can remember, and spending
time at the penguin exhibit today filled her with so much joy, it was like
watching 4-year-old Ashley see them for the first time. We explored the
aquarium for hours and on the way out, I noticed the puffin exhibit.
“Ashley! Come look at the puffins!” I said.
“Ew. Puffins are K-Mart penguins,” she said as she marched out of
the aquarium.
We perused the shops at Cannery Row while Chad slid down every stair
handrail he could find. I recently learned that a Texas man died doing the
same thing (thanks, News), so I lectured Chad with every slide, and he ignored
me completely. We stopped at Hula’s Island Grill for dinner and enjoyed an
absolutely phenomenal meal before heading to our hotel. We’ve been up since
3:00 am, and we all need a good night’s sleep because I have lots of fun surprises
planned for tomorrow.
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| The Cannery Row Monument I wonder how John Steinbeck would feel if he knew his statue doubled as a seagull toilet |
-Rachel
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