Santa Cruz weekend, part two

A few more shots from our lovely weekend in Santa Cruz and with family last month. Some sunset shots - not a bad place to be! I love California.



My goofball husband:



Lemon tree at dusk:



My mother in law's kitty is adorable, and seems to think she's a tiny queen of her tiny jungle. She was honestly trying to climb this tree.



We had lunch with the cousins both days. We were so spoiled by their fresh, delicious produce and wonderful company!













This little rat was one of two they were pet sitting for a friend. I believe this one was named Licorice - Marshmallow must've surely been all white, n'est-ce pas?



Love this sculptural light fixture:



And love, even more, this table. This is the Allen Family Table (well, that's what I call it), which was acquired by my grandfather in maybe the 60s or 70s. It was a Navy table, and it has matching benches. I think what's Navy about it is that they can all be bolted down and also folded up somehow. Also, the sides of the table are curved upwards just a bit, so the food doesn't slide off if the ship is rocking.



But, mostly I just love and adore it SO much because it reminds me of countless hours spent eating with family (or making gingerbread houses with my grandma in the winter!) at the beach house where my grandparents lived in my childhood. I can wax poetic about this house for hours but I'll just say, I really, really loved that place, and I miss it all of the time. I remember eating the same meals again and again at this exact table. For breakfast, homemade waffles with real butter, real maple syrup, bacon, and fresh squeezed orange juice. For lunch, pb&js for the kids, while the adults ate a salad with little pink shrimp, avocado, and creamy dressing. For dinner, it would be lamb with mint jelly (I didn't eat the lamb, but I DID eat the mint jelly - kinda gross when I think about it now), peas, potatoes. I'm sure that there were many other dinners, but I think I was so little that I would often fall asleep before the real meal happened. I feel like a lot of my childhood memories are fuzzy, but I remember SO much about the beach house, even though I was probably only 9 or 10 when it was sold. What a wonderful place to be a kid.

I'm so glad that Lisa and Rafi and the girls continue to use this funny old table!

Our after lunch walk was about as gorgeous as a walk can be - down to the lighthouse park and cliffy beaches to watch the surfers.









A found note drawn by the girls:



And little Truth in a moment of quiet:



I love Santa Cruz, and can't wait to go back and visit some more!