We left San Francisco early this morning, but before hitting the open highway we made a quick stop at Fort Point just below the Golden Gate Bridge for a photo opportunity. We were once again blessed with blue skies and sunshine, so we have a good feeling about the pictures. I wish I would have brought my USB cable for the camera -- that way I could have been posting pictures all along. Oh well, I guess if you're going to forget something, that's the thing to forget.
Our final destination for the day was the seaside town of Santa Cruz, but we actually spent most of the day just north of the city at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. More specifically, we visited Roaring Camp Railroads of Felton, CA -- I think it was a Grandpa Jon recommendation. Here's an excerpt from Roaring Camp's website on what we did today:
Travel over trestles, through towering redwood groves and up a winding narrow-gauge grade to the summit of Bear Mountain as conductors narrate the history of Roaring Camp, the railroad and the forest! One hour roundtrip.While some may think it sounds a bit cheesy, it was actually really cool. Well, I guess Ashlee and I are a little biased because we love trains! Just as the website described, we sat in an open-air car and got tugged up a mountain by a giant steam engine. Our particular engine (#7) was originally built in 1907 and it's the biggest engine in Roaring Camp's fleet. The scenery was just breath-taking. It was our first time ever seeing the famed California redwoods. We just couldn't get over how huge those things are! Again it helped that it was a beautiful day. Also, Ashlee was happy that there weren't any bugs. We also had a delicious lunch of hot dogs, baked beans, corn-on-the-cob, and salad. To top it all off, we even got to roast marshmellows!
I guess the only catch to visiting Roaring Camp today was that it was Easter Sunday and the camp was hosting its annual Easter Egg Hunt for kids 9 and under. As a result, Ashlee and I were pretty much the only couple at the camp without little ones tugging us in every direction. Actually, I guess that's not totally true. On the train ride up the mountain, I did make a little friend. This little boy next to me must have been tuckered out enough to not care about personal space issues -- he felt comfortable enough to use my knee as a pillow. I think his parents were initially embarassed, but the poor kid wasn't hurting me any -- until I saw the maternal twinkle in Ashlee's eye and thought "Uh-oh, I hope she's not hearing the pitter-patter of little feet in her head..." Just kidding, we've already made it clear to each other that while we can't wait to have a family one day, we're a bit too selfish at the moment. After all, I don't think a toddler would like spending the day walking all over San Francisco visiting museums and taking tours.
After lunch, we explored a little bit of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, which sits just adjacent to Roaring Camp. As nature novices, we stuck to the self-guided .8 mile introductory loop. Again, we were completely astounded at how beautiful the scenery was. Unfortunately, none of the pictures will do the park justice -- the sheer size of the trees was impossible to capture with our little camera. After all, the tallest tree we saw was close to 270 feet tall and nearly 17 feet in diameter. We do, however, have a picture of me standing at its base. What an excellent way to spend an Easter Sunday!
Our next, and last, stop of the day was here in Santa Cruz. Ashlee booked us a room at the snug little Harbor Inn just outside of Downtown. After checking in and getting settled, we pumped the kind lady at the front desk for information, armed ourselves with a couple of maps, and headed into town. Really the only things we knew about Santa Cruz were: (1) it's a quirky town; (2) it's well-known for its Board Walk, which served as the setting of the classic 80s vampire flick Lost Boys; and (3) our good friend Garrett went to school here at the local UC and he seems to have really enjoyed it.
After spending the evening here, Ashlee and I can say that while Santa Cruz is definitely a little funky, it does have a certain charm. Perhaps the oddest thing we noticed about the city is that people walking by themselves along the street sure do like to talk to themselves. That, and after living in Orange County for so long, it's odd to feel like the conservative ones on the street.
We parked our car downtown, grabbed some caffeine, and headed by foot in the direction of the Boardwalk. When we reached it, we had a blast. We road the famed Big Dipper (the 85-year-old wooden roller coaster), the sky buckets, and the merry-go-round. The merry-go-round, perhaps Ashlee's favorite amusement park ride, had an interesting twist: if you sat on the outside of the ride, you could reach out at a certain point of the ride and grab these little metal rings from a dispenser which you then attempt to throw through the mouth of a clown against the wall. We must have made 7 revolutions, but I failed miserably each time in getting the ring through the hole...although I did get close a couple of times. Shawn would have been great at this. The guy in front of me actually made it twice -- I think he got a couple of stuffed animals.
The highlight of my experience at the Boardwalk, however, were the "Gilroy Garlic Fries" that we wolfed down as an appetizer before dinner. As the name implies, they were crisp golden brown fries absolutely covered in garlic. Delicious!
After finishing up at the Boardwalk, we headed back downtown and grabbed dinner at a little Mexican joint. We then took the scenic route back our hotel, scoping out the local scene. We found ourselves on a little bluff overlooking the Boardwalk. We tried to take a picture, but the sun was just setting behind the park, so I don't think the picture will turn out well. I did, however, get a good picture of the train overpass that was featured in Lost Boys -- I don't know if you can tell, but that was one of my favorite movies growing up.
We also passed a number of cute little houses -- I wonder how much they cost? Probably a bajillion dollars. Anyways, now we are back in our little hotel room just relaxing. Ashlee's watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. She loves that show.
Tomorrow we are planning to spend most of the day in nearby Moss Landing. We will be kayaking in the morning and catching lunch at Phil's Fishmarket & Eatery. I can't believe that the trip is half-over.
PS - Janet, I've just started reading Three Cups of Tea!
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