Santa Cruz and San Francisco Double Post

Dress: Thrift, Sweater, Shoes: Urban Outfitters

I was orginally going to make two separate posts about these days on my California trip, but since I've been doing so many California posts, I really didn't want them to carry on into next week, and as much I've had fun sharing my west coast adventures, I think it's time to move on to business as usual. So, I guess I'll go chronologically here and start with Friday's trip to Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz has to be one of my all time favorite places now. It's really just so beautiful there (which is why we made not one, but two trips during the week). Even though it was only about seventy five degrees, we made our way to the beach and did a bit of swimming! Though, by swimming I mean timidly standing in the water, letting freezing waves crash over me, and making high pitched squeaking noises from the cold. As un-fun as that sounds, it was actually a lot of fun! My family really doesn't go to the beach, ever, but I really wanted a relaxing day by the shore, and that's what I got. We also brought some fun games (lacrosse!) and a kite, and it was a lot of fun acting like a kid and just playing around. Also, you'll notice the jumping shots again. I guess it's just that I figured out how to capture them on my camera AND that California made me so happy I just wanted to jump all the time. Santa Cruz also has the best candy store on their boardwalk, so we bought a ton of chocolate and gummies from there to eat, too.

Always jumping!



Now, I'm jumping in a bathing suit!



And now, I'm messing up a jumping shot with Zak and Daphny!









I'm either gazing longingly at a sailboat or a trashcan. The choice is yours



Sea lions! We were able to get super close to them since they were all just lazing on a platform by the dock



So, the second part of this post deals with my last night in California. For dinner, we all headed to the Castro in San Francisco to eat at this wonderful restaurant called 2223. It was seriously one of the best meals I've had, ever (partly because afterwards we went to Fenton's Creamery for dessert. SIDENOTE! Oh my gracious, they have the best ice cream in the world there. I hear they even invented rocky road? We went there THREE TIMES in one week it was so good, and I miss it terribly. End sidenote). As we were getting back in the car, my mom asked if there was anywhere anyone wanted to go before heading back to Oakland (for ice cream). Luckily, I thought to ask if we could go to Sutro Baths once before leaving, and that's just what we did. I had an amazing time at Sutro Baths last summer, and was certain we wouldn't make it there during this trip. It's basically just ruins of an old bath house, but it's beautiful and fun to explore, and frankly I think these photos are some of my absolute favorite from the trip (part of the reason I wanted to end on this excursion).

Possibly my favorite photo from the trip



Dress: Pretty Penny in Oakland, Tights: We Love Colors, Jacket: Thrift















And, thus concludes my California posts. I hope you've enjoyed following along the adventures I had while exploring the Bay. I'm kind of sad to be done with these posts, since looking through all of these pictures was just a bit like reliving it, but hopefully I'll be able to return to the west coast soon enough to make even more memories.

Until tomorrow,
Nicole