Sunday, July 24, 2011

California: Monterey Bay Aquarium and Santa Cruz

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Skirt: Forever 21, Blouse, Belt: Delia's, Shoes, Urban Outfitters

One of my favorite days spent in California was the Sunday we visited the Monteray Bay Aquarium. It's probably one of the best aquariums I've ever been to. They had a ton of cute otters (my most favorite) and a really cool exhibit on sea horses and sea dragons. After spending a few hours there, we drove up to Santa Cruz and spent a bit of time at the beach and boardwalk. The Santa Cruz boardwalk is really so much fun. We visited last summer and I was so happy when we decided to return this year. Zak and I went on a few rides, including the Sea Swings which gave such a wonderful view of the ocean, and we all had a nice time strolling up and down the boardwalk. We made a brief stop at the beach to dip our feet in the freezing water (though I did end up going in on our later trip there, more to come about that sillyness) and of course take fun beach pictures. Oh! And before I forget, I found the absolute best sweatshirt in a Monteray gift shop, so scroll down to see that ;)

Otter! (my favorite)

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Some swell jellyfish

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One of the coolest sea dragons I saw

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Penguin!

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With the stuffed otter Zak got for me

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BEST SWEATSHIRT, combining my two greatest loves

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Then, we headed to Santa Cruz where I didn't take enough photos

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Then, we went to the beach, where I took too many photos

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The water was freezing!

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But it was okay!

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The lighting was also quite lovely

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Until tomorrow,
Nicole

20 comments:

  1. cute outfit! glad you had a good time in cali. i was there in march (but in LA), and i liked it. but i'm definitely more of an east coast girl!

    xo, jill
    http://jillybeanstalk.blogspot.com

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  2. That beach lighting is awesome! Looks like a fun time!

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  3. Harry Otter?!?! AHHH OMG that's so cute :) I love otters too. I would love to have one but I guess they'd rather live in rivers than in my bathtub. They sure are sweet though! Great photos! It looks like you had a great time!

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  4. The beach photos came out perfect. Harry Otter is amazing and those are definitely my favorite animals to see too! Looks like a great time.

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  5. SUNFISH SUNFISH also you should have taken a picture of your otter sticker ALSO YOUR BLOG IS REALLY GOOD i love all of your and your guest posters fashion a lot

    DOESNT MEAN MUCH SINCE I DRESS LIKE A RAINBOW TOAD

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  6. hairy otter- what a crafty name and even better on a sweatshirt! glad you had a good trip the beaches look impeccable and you are dressed to perfection.

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  7. aww fun! Monterey has the best aquarium in California by far. The sea otters are just so dang cute :)

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  8. omg omg please tell me you bought that Harry Otter sweatshirt and one for me too =p That is the cutest thing haha. Such gorgeous pics! Super jealous of your trip. Everything looks so fun and picturesque and I adore your skirt! =)

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  9. a) lovely outfit!
    b) gorgeous light and beach photos!!
    c) OMG I want that Sweatshirt!!! Do they sell them online???? ; D

    Oh, and the shoes are definitely more comfortable with socks, but I actually find mine to be fine now. You just need to wear them until your feet get used to them!

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  10. All of those pics, especially the ones you took at the beach, are absolutely wonderful. I'm glad to hear you had such a wonderful time during your trip! And... Hairy Otter, oh my! So incredibily cute!! ^^
    I also love your outfit, that skirt is so darling!

    http://lifeisaromanticpoem.blogspot.com/

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  11. What an amazing looking outing! <3 I love your outfit too - especially the skirt! The colour is oh-so divine!

    x
    Lost in the Haze

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  12. These pictures are beautiful! Looks like you had a super fun time in CA! I'm just loving that Hairy Otter sweater, lol!!

    Lidi @ Eclectic Flair

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  13. Aww, you look so pretty :) A great beach backdrop for a simple, nautical outfit. Perfect!

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  14. That skirt looks great with stripes. The Hairy Otter sweatshirt is really clever!

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  15. Eeek. I'm so behind in blogging, so I've missed so many lovely posts. This one basically made me smile all the way through. Especially the Jellyfish photo. I'm scared to death of those things, but I think they're just gorgeous in photos and in the aquarium.

    The photos of you and Zak are just adorable. And I want your little otter. I feel like it could be good friends with my little stuffed seal, Pip.

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  16. okay cutest girl in the world! santa cruz is one of my favorite places. you should come back ;) all the time.

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  17. i love this post! it's fun to hear about adventures. and i totally adore what you're wearing as well. i added it to my pinterest.

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  18. All of these looks like it was a splendid adventure!!! Cute new layout!! Beautiful outfit! I laughed at the hairy otter!

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  19. Eek!! Cutest t-shirt! I love seeing all your trip photos Nicole. It truly looked like such a marvelous time...and those beach photos are adorable:)

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  20. All these photographs are beyond beautiful. I love aquariums! They have the loveliest animals in the whole world :) Oh, ok about the pictures, I love the ones with you and Zak and also the last ones are beyond awesome. So incredible :)

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Thank you so, so much for taking some time to comment on my blog!