Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Taking advantage of the Labor day weekend, Sonia, Melany and I went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and visited other places in Santa Cruz. It was a fun way to spend our day off. The boardwalk is a small theme park located right along the beach and includes games, arcades, carnival thrill rides and a few roller coasters. It includes a long history with the same operating carousel which opened in 1911 and the Giant Dipper roller coaster which opened in 1924. 

Sonia and I enjoyed a friendly match of motorcycle racing in the arcade, which of course I let her win. Then, within the arcades was a mini virtual roller coaster in the "Kids Korner" that Melany could ride. After the arcade we enjoyed our ride on the Ferris Wheel because Melany was able to go with us. We were able to see the whole park, the beach, the ocean and the clear blue sky from the top of the Ferris Wheel. 

After our trip to the Boardwalk, we stopped by a local Japanese restaurant and checked out some local stores in the downtown area. After that we had some dessert  at a local ice cream shop called Marianne's. It was recommended to us by a friend and has really good ice cream made on location. It is a small little store definitely overdue for an upgrade, remodel and expansion, but that doesn't stop it from being packed with customers due its its delicious ice cream. 

After our long day out we enjoyed the rest of labor day with a nap!

   

Kiddie Coaster

Ferris Wheel view

Pirates Miniature Golf

Beautiful Point Lobos Hike

We want to take advantage of all this area has to offer since we have very few months to live here. 

Thus, we headed to Point Lobos on Saturday for one of the most breathtaking hikes we've ever been on.

The Point Lobos website describes it perfectly when they said “in addition to the spectacular beauty, nearly every aspect of its resources is of scientific interests because it possesses rare plant communities, endangered archeological sites, unique geological formations, and incredibly rich flora and fauna of both land and sea.”

The trails were amazing! We even had a little picnic before we began the 2.5 mile hike. We would stop often to look out over the cliffs for the beautiful view and sea lions. Melany was so good, never fussy and quite the little explorer.

Excited for our hike

At our picnic table

Gorgeous view!

One of the trails we walked on

Sea lions camouflaging 

Very Berry Monterey County Fair

Where's the place we can we combine our favorite things like: horses, rides, great food, laughs and fun? At the fair! We couldn't miss the opportunity this weekend to stop by the Monterey County Fair. It was a plus that military families got in for free:) We got the chance to sit in and watch the Rodeo,which was loads of fun. We also tried some yummy BBQ, lemonade, and walked around the fairgrounds. We had a blast!

Melany's first Pony Ride

Yahoo!