Last summer we took our 4th family trip before Chloe's first birthday and went to Santa Cruz, CA. Aaron, Luke and I went once before when I was newly pregnant with Chloe and loved it, so we went back to have more fun. We took full advantage of our few days there. First, we went to the Mystery Spot. You MUST check out this place if you are in the area. It is a gravitational anomaly located in the redwoods. You can walk through a house and will barely be able to stay upright, it is the strangest thing. The scenery alone is worth the trip!
I am standing up straight in the picture!
It is such a strange feeling to walk through a little house that is so crooked.
Then we went to one of our favorite beaches, Natural Bridges State Beach. With Aaron being a photographer, you would think that we would have A TON of family photos, nope. We do have a lot of great photos of the kids- which I am so thankful for. A nice stranger offered to take our photo and this is what happens....ohh little Chloe.
Love these shots of Luke
Me and my girl
Of course, the next day we made our way to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Chloe was ready for the beach....those glasses though
The beach was super crowded, so we started going on some rides. This was actually Luke's very first ride, EVER! The Boardwalk has a lot of different promotions, we happen to be visiting during Retro Nights. They have this Monday and Tuesday nights during the summer. Every ride is only $1 (normally anywhere between $3 and $6 per person) and all hotdogs, sodas and cotton candy are also only $1!
Then he stepped up his game and we went a roller coaster. He loved it!
Taking a break to eat our $1 hotdogs
The cave/mine tour ride was amazing!
We also went on a ghost hunter ride. Luke didn't really get what was happening but it was still fun!
Then Luke, Chloe and I hung out for a bit while Aaron took some night photos, I think these pictures are amazing. Quite a talented husband I have!
We tried to sneak in one more shot of all of us- it is NOT easy to get kids to look a camera on a tripod :)
The next day we went to Gilroy Gardens. It was our first time there and we have gone 5 times since then and we even have season passes. I can't say enough good things about this place. It is perfect for little ones. Most rides allow parents to bring their itty bitty ones- provided they can sit-up. Several of the rides have a food theme; artichokes, strawberries, garlic, etc. The whole place is shaded and there are 2 water oasis parks as well. My guess is that we will have moved on to Disneyland or somewhere else in a few years, but for now, this is our Jam. I love that there are educational opportunities throughout the whole park too.
They have a fully shaded epic playground as well!
These cars are my favorite ride. We didn't realize it then, but even Chloe- who was less than a year- could have gone on this one too.
They have 6 smaller rides that little ones can go on alone- this was his first ride by himself!
Chloe's first ride!
This is the best picture we could get of both of them. Probably shouldn't have waited until the end of the day to get their picture.
Gilroy Gardens has beautiful scenery and waterfalls all over as well. We captured a few. This one, you can walk through. You might get a little wet, but it's fun!
Last year they did a special event where you could go at night and everything was lit up with Christmas Lights. This year, they are doing Illumination instead. We haven't had the chance to see it yet, but I am sure it is amazing.
