University Inn Santa Cruz

... back in the 1700's. All and all an awesome day of sightseeing.

For our Bay Area friends, all of these sights are located within an easy days drive. I would plan on visiting in the summer months when you could include a stop at one of the many state beaches along the way...And, there are a number of wineries located along Hecker Pass - we plan on getting to those later in the week!!

Our bags are packed. We've practice-zipped (and to our amazement, they do close!)
We are soooo ready to go.
But there is only one way to begin this blog - with a huge thank you to our Dad for this incredible gift!
Thank you! We love you! We are looking forward to boring the hell out of you with our pictures at New Years!

... strap
MP3 player
USB micro-mini adapter
Palm Pre
Palm pre charger
Headphones
2x headlamps
Extra batteries (4xAAA)
Travel alarm clock
2x plug adapters
Small bag for electronics

Toiletries
Toilet ry bag
Tooth brush
Tooth paste
Floss
Deodorant
Contact case (2)
Extra contacts (3 pairs)
Contact solution
Razor
Face lotion
Sunscreen
Insect repellent
Travel face towel ...

Oh day of days. We had cotton candy, played Laser Tag (Daddy and Dom only), played the arcade machines and went on the funfair. Anna won lots of tickets and converted them to some lovely prizes (cough!!). A bracelet, a plastic flute and a princess drawing slate. She loved the dragon ride and went on it twice. Dom went on the cave ride with Mummy.

It was sad to leave the Veser family vineyard but exiting to continue down the beautiful California coast. It was short drive from sanfran to santa cruz about 2hrs. When we first drove into the town of santa cruz however, a cyclist turned into the van and fell to the ...

Day 38 Lisa and I have an early morning (9am) since the plan is to meet with a woman, Doreen, who is learning how to chant. We get some coffee at the shop around the corner and walk to her place. Doreen is a sweet old lady from Connecticut that told us that she has a cousin that's been encouraging her to chant for 20 years and she finally felt like it was time to try it on her own. Amazing! We did the slow version of the morning recitation of the ...

... there with their banners up, same thing yesterday at the Civic Center. Had a walk from the town hall to Plaza De Cesar Chavez. They had a huge Christmas display set up with all little buildings and novelties and heaps of Christmas trees, at first I thought it was a place where they go to buy their trees. All the trees were decorated by different community groups so all different and interesting. Nicole did well here, she hasn't been able to find a ...

... there and sharing with them my experience as a Peace Corps volunteeer, just how unhappy I really was. I mean, if I just went back and re-read most of my blogs they haven't been the most enthusiastic postings. Then my parents came to visit, and after spending a week on this island as a tourist I just new it was time for me to go home. Therefore, since July 19, I have been back on US soil. The transition definitely hasn't been easy. First of all it was ...

... will rest for a couple of hours. Then we will get something to eat and head on to take a tour of SF on a go-car. The rest of the day will be free. Day 2: We will use our 3-day card to go where ever and when ever you please Day 3: We will be doing more activities from the list all day. Day 4: We will enjoy more activities from the list. Day 5: We will check out of our hotel and fly to Venezuela for Angel Falls.

... head of the 'Narrows' which was also spectacular. The sky was looking dark and there had been warnings of flash floods so we made a hasty retreat. On the shuttle bus on the way back to the car we had to endure incredibly bad B.O. of a couple French blokes who had been out walking for the day, and to make matters worse, one of them was acting like a complete pillock. There were yet more thunderstorms as we drove south on the Interstate 15 - Vegas was calling us again! Death ...