Today is kind of bittersweet. I'm happy to say that we made it home safe and sound, and being in my own bed was nice, but reality hits hard when you've been gone for a week having fun! Coming home to a depleted bank account, and a scale that went up (five pounds!) are not the best things in the world! 

It was all worth it though (except for the five pounds), and we had a lot of fun while we were gone. So, here's a bit more about how our trip went!

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Sorry Seaside, but I think I have a new favorite coast destination!

Last Sunday we spent the afternoon in Santa Cruz, and it was everything I hoped it would be! Sunny, sandy, and warm! My only regret is not spending both days of the weekend there.

We got into town, and headed to their downtown area. Parking was reasonable, and there were so many neat shops and restaurants, plus some great chains like Forever 21 and H&M. Definitely a great place for shopping, even though we didn't do much of that. We did find a bookstore though, so of course we didn't get out of there empty handed!

I loved the feel of the area, because it's a college town and a tourist town, so the vibe was definitely a good one. Classy, but not so upscale that you couldn't afford anything, and also very fun and "young." It's the kind of place that I imagine would make for a fantastic girls trip, because, come on, we all know our husbands/boyfriends don't like to shop as much as we do!

From downtown, the city has a trolly (bus?) system that runs the mile long route to the boardwalk and back. It's only 25 cents, and the information booth will give you tickets to ride it for free (which of course we took, ha!)

The boardwalk was very busy, but I don't see how it wouldn't have been. The weather was great, and where else could you want to be on a Sunday afternoon than at the beach? We walked around, and took in the sights, then went over to the rides. 

We bought just enough tickets to ride on the Giant Dipper! It's one of the oldest wooden roller coasters in the country, and it was built in 1924. So, besides the fact that we were hoping we wouldn't be the ride it decided to break on (and Dane hoping he wouldn't lose his lunch), we were excited for it! 

Obviously it didn't break while were were on it, and if Dane had puked, you bet I would have told you before now! 

Downtown Santa Cruz/Boardwalk

Roller coaster fun

After we had our fill of beach fun (and our parking time ran out) we headed on up to Milpitas. This was the part of the trip where Dane's vacation ended, ha! While he was working, I entertained myself for a few days. It wasn't too hard though, because we were staying in probably the nicest hotels we had ever been in! 

I'll share more about that later, and some more pictures from the day that I decided to go to the beach on my own (which I'm very proud of myself for doing. I'm kind of a chicken at times!).

But, here's a little of what our room view looked like in Milpitas!

Room with a view

Now, I'm off to spend the day with my sisters before they go home tomorrow!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Oh, and happy first official day of summer :) Go and do something fun!