Monterey Bay/ Santa Cruz

While James did a great job detailing our awesome trip to Yosemite, we did skip over Santa Cruz & Monterey. I do have to say I was so glad he like Yosemite (of course who wouldn't) because I had talked it up so much. He was so great about letting me play tour guide and indulged was a regaled him with stories of past family reunions and he also tackled the cables of Half Dome like a pro while I was having an anxiety attack realizing we were 4,000 ft. about the valley floor on a rock ledge.

However, before we went to Yosemite we had a great week in the Monterey Bay area. So please indulge me as I backtrack................... I hadn't been to Santa Cruz since I briefly resided there about 15 years ago when I was 19 (am I really this old?) so it was fun to go back and wander around. I forgot what a neat town it was and how much fun it was to live in an ocean front town. I managed to find my old house and also took James down to the boardwalk. Unfortunately the roller coaster wasn't running so it was pretty dead and seemed nothing like the scenes from Lostboys.

My cousin Tracy lives in Santa Cruz with her husband Forrest and their adorable little girl. It was fun to hang out with them and my Aunt Cyndie and Uncle Mike were even visiting from Bella Vista so we got to see them as a bonus. Tracy & Forrest have a nice house right by hiking in the canyons and with plenty of room for a greenhouse for their orchids and of course most important a place to park the RV. We have quickly gotten over any manners we once had and will happily leech anywhere we can.

We went to the Monterey Bay aquarium one day which is by far the best aquarium in the country, well at least of all the ones I have gone to. We also took Uncle Tom's advice and rode our bikes from Monterey to Carmel along the 17 Mile drive, some of you golfers may know about this route for those of you who are unfamiliar it is the home of the Pebble Beach golf course along with many multi-million dollar homes. James and I found a fixer-upper in Carmel, 800 sq. ft. only 1.6 million. We thought about it, but you know who would really want to live that close to the ocean? ME!!! Oh well maybe we could get about 50 people to all go in on a vacation home, any takers? The ride was beautiful and fairly flat so the 34 miles didn't seem so painful.

We have had a good week in Palm Springs and will tell you more about that later. We are leaving tomorrow while we can still see and the lung damage is minimal.

We hope all is well with everyone back home and are looking forward to coming home for Christmas.

I almost forgot to wish Max & Tuna Happy Birthdays!!!

Love, James & Kim