Do we really have to go home?

The last morning of our trip began in Aptos, California and after a leisurely breakfast, we headed to Seacliff State Beach to see the Cement ship. Bird and Yaya couldn't stop themselves from racing to the end of the long pier only to end in "a tie."  Standing there looking at the wreckage it is difficult to understand why anyone would think building a cement boat of any kind would be a good idea but what do we know?  We toured the little shop that held a small museum and a baby shark too.  Yaya enjoyed the hand's on portion of the museum. Bird and I enjoyed looking at the art and reading about the ship and area history.  

 

Our next stop along Hwy 101 was Capitola beach.  My parents had told us about the colorful little cottages along the water's edge and we were excited to check them out.  Yaya couldn't wait to play in the sand with all the kids.  Bird and I couldn't wait to wander along the cute little shops and restaurants and snap pictures.  After taking some pictures, I attempted to join Yaya and Bird across a small inlet of water.  Bird assured me it wasn't too deep so imagine my shocked when two waves caught me from behind at the same time soaking me and my pants.  Bird had a chuckle at my expense as I shrieked and tried to escape.  I'm sure several others did too.  In case you didn't already know this about me, I'm a huge klutz and if something is going to go awry it will inevitably happen to me. Don't believe me?  On our return back to the main beach Bird and Yaya made it across without any problems.  I was only 2 steps behind them but once again got soaked.  Picture me taking my final "graceful" leap to safety up a 3 foot sand bar.  I felt my left foot reach the dry sand at the edge of the small cliff when suddenly the sand beneath my feet gave way.  Just as my right foot reached high dry land my left foot hit the bottom and I found myself doing the most awkward standing splits imaginable. That's when the water washed over my backside for the second time.  Bird tried to rescue me but it was too late.  Walking back to the car I found myself feeling more than a little embarrassed and I imagined the laughter I heard coming from across the beach was aimed at me. It couldn't have been at anything else. Could it?  LOL 

 

While I attempted to dry myself in the sun, Bird walked down the street and bought 3 slices of pizza for us at Pizza My Heart.  It had the crunchiest thin wood fired crust we've had since living in Italy.  It was so good I almost forgot about my embarrassing moment in the waves.  ALMOST! 

After lunch, we decided it was time to continue up the coast.  We pulled off at Lighthouse State Beach to see what else? The lighthouse.  When we stepped out of the car we were immediately welcomed by Monarch butterflies flying through the air.  I decided I wanted to try and take a picture of Yaya in the tall flowers with the butterflies.  Never in a million years could I have imagined what we would soon come across.  As we were snapping a family shot a man came and told Bird we should go look in the tall trees to see hundreds of butterflies.  We quickly found this was a tremendous understatement.  The trees were THICK with them!  Yaya swears there were millions of Monarch butterflies and I might have to agree with her.  Here are just a few of our favorite shots we captured.  I couldn't help but feel fortunate to witness what must be one of God's tiny miracles.  We spent over an hour watching them flit through the air and light up the trees with color.

We finally tore ourselves away from the butterflies and walked back to the lighthouse.  Once again we found ourselves distracted from the main attraction.  Bird began talking to a local surfer while Yaya and I stood watching the surfers from the point.   These men and women were amazing!  Their grace while surfing made my embarrasing romp in the shallow waves even more comical.  All three of us found ourselves hypnotized.  We silently cheered or groaned amongst ourselves for each surfer as they attempted to catch the next perfect wave. 

One brave surfer even managed to do flips on his board while riding the top of a wave.  I'm sure there is a technical name for this move but I have no idea what it is.   Anyway, this was my best shot of it because unfortunately for me it was his last ride of the day.  I really wish I could've kept trying to catch him.

Around 4:00 we continued down the coast and happened upon Kelly's French Bakery and decided to grab dinner and take it with us to the next beach.  Oh my heavens, their food and coffee is delicious! It hit the spot and was a perfect place to stop in route to our final destination of the day.  Be sure to check it out if you're in the area!

Our last stop of the day ended up being Natural Bridges State Beach.  We had hoped to get further up the coast but couldn't complain about all the happy little distractions we'd found along the way.  It turns out this was the perfect place to end the day and our trip together.  We played in the sand again and enjoyed seeing her relax and simply be a kid.  We also had fun taking turns snapping photos of the amazing scenery and activities happening around us.  

Surprise surprise, we were the last people to leave the beach.  We just couldn't tear ourselves away from the beauty before us.  We watched until only a streak of dark red could be seen across the horizon and reflected in the water below.  It was the perfect way to end our mini family vacation.

The only question left was DO WE REALLY HAVE TO GO HOME?