Skip to main content

Cali Fun, Part 3 - Santa Cruz

We decided to take a day trip to Santa Cruz, so we could fulfill one of Heidi's childhood dreams... to visit the Mystery Spot.  The Mystery Spot is supposedly this area in the redwood forests near Santa Cruz that, for whatever reason, gravity laws are different there.  Perhaps it is just an optical illusion, no one knows.  That is why it is called a mystery!  Anyway, we went on a tour there which was full of all kinds of science experiments.  Honestly, the whole place made me really dizzy and left me feeling rather sick.  So I say they can just take their crazy, weird gravity and keep it to themselves!  Ok, just kidding.  But honestly, it was kind of bizarre to see compasses on people's phones (for people who are cool and have compass apps on their phones) go out of control and not point north when entering the Mystery Spot.  How mysterious.  The tour was fun and we can now check this off of our bucket list.
Gorgeous Redwoods
Our tour guide showing gravity defying experiments,
oooooo.
Heidi in the Mystery Spot house.
Heidi and Julia enjoying optical illusion fun.
The Mystery Spot and all of its glory.
Our next stop was lunch, because we were starving!  We found this fun Italian restaurant called Kianti's Pizza and Pasta in the middle of Santa Cruz.  The pizza was delicious and we found out that their pizza makers had won multiple medals in the pizza Olympics.  I didn't even know such an event existed! How exciting.
Julia!
Heidi!
Me!  I didn't take any pictures once our food arrived, because
 we were too hungry to worry about such things.
Santa Cruz is the cutest beach town.  This mural was across the street
from the restaurant.  There were murals all over town.
Our next stop was the beach and boardwalk!  It felt so great to get our feet in the sand and ocean water.  We also found more treats while visiting the boardwalk.  (Let's be honest, about 2/3 of this trip revolved around food.)  We avoided the rides though, since our heads and stomachs were still feeling the after effects from the dizzying Mystery Spot.

We are a happy family!
Julia and Heidi frolicking in the waves.
We love the beach.
Appeasing my request for a cousin foot shot.
The boardwalk!
Heidi and Julia eating fried Twinkies and Oreos.  I just
couldn't stomach that food adventure.
Pineapple ice cream.  Yum!  It was very pineappley.
Back on the beach, we came across this very cool sandcastle.
Heidi and Julia on the pier.
 I just love these girls.

Comments

  1. That looks like a great trip! I have never even heard of they mystery spot!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It all looks fun, except the fried Twinkies. I've never heard of the Mystery spot either, but then I've never been to Northern California.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Oh Crafty Trees, Oh Crafty Trees...

I've become a finals widow, if you will, meaning Danny is crazy busy trying to finish up the semester.  This has given me extra time to use my crafty skills to get our place Christmas ready.  My first creations were these little paper/foam trees.  I've seen a few variations online of this craft. I put my own little twist on it.  They are really easy to make, just takes some time. Here is what you need: Scrap paper Hot glue gun 1" Circle punch Foam cone (at most craft stores) Toothpicks Note:  You are going to go to the craft store to buy the little foam cone and you will see styrofoam glue and you will think to yourself that would be a good thing to buy for this project.  Don't!  I got the styrofoam glue and it didn't work at all.  Just go with your trusty glue gun, it won't let you down. I think it's pretty self-explanatory by looking at the picture.  You just punch circles out from the scrap paper.  Then hot glue th...

Birthday Week!

This week is my birthday week, or should I say birth week.  However that sounds too much like birthing is occurring and that is not the case.  (Don't get any ideas, Danny and I have only been married for 5.5 months.)  Anyway, I firmly believe in celebrating birthdays for the whole week, because why not? Talena and I have a tradition each year that is the kick off for my birthday celebration.  You see, Talena and I were born 12 days apart.  On the midpoint day between our birthdays we go out to dinner to celebrate.  We always try to go some where we have never been before.  This year we went to the Citrus Grill, which was very delicious.  (Special thanks to Eliza for recommending the place.)  We had fun dining, laughing and sharing secrets, because that is what girls do. My dinner...doesn't it just make your mouth water. Talena Balena and Me. PS  We did have a funny little mishap with the dessert.  We got strawbe...

Blogging is still cool, right?

I woke up this morning missing my blog. My very early 2000's blog. I had one called The Life of Jannifer during my 20's/single years. Then I had this one from 2010 - 2015 during my early married years. Then I have a website janniferwood.com where I tried to show I'm a serious writer. I still have that website and I'm still trying to show that I'm a serious writer. However, I missed my place of silliness, this little blog. Or I miss being younger, one of the two. Why not post after 7 years?  Also, I find the title of this blog funny because there are a select few people in my life who call me Jan. Most of them are family members or old friends. The even rarer is Janni, which is reserved for some of my nephews and a few other loved ones. My given name, Jannifer, is usually what I go by, but this also tends to be the most confusing for some reason. That whole A and not E throws people. So, I'll stick with Jan on this one.