We are having our Indian Summer in Santa Cruz. The next few days are forecast to be in the 80's and clear.
Yesterday, Travis and Carrie left for Illinois after a delightful 8 day visit. The weather was gorgeous when they arrived, but cooled off some, so they missed this warm front. Still, we had a wonderful time being together.
As it was their first visit to Santa Cruz, we did lots of local stuff, along with a weekend in San Francisco. We were especially lucky that Travis' sister, Whitney, who is in medical school in Portland, OR, was able to join us for 5 days of the visit. So, I had a week off with 4 of my favorite people and my 2 favorite kittens! Junebug and Bagheera loved all the attention they got from their new family members! Carrie was amazed that "even Travis" so enjoyed them! Poor Travis had not gotten a very friendly introduction to cats with our previous feline, Frances, who specialized in terrorizing unsuspecting visitors.
I would have to say that food played a central role in our time together. I consider Carrie a full blown "foodie," and she enjoyed seeing and eating all the beautiful local produce and fish. We had lots of fun comparing grocery stores and farmers markets and restaurants. After a long summer of feeding guests at the lodge, it was nice for her to enjoy good food prepared by others. Whitney made us some delicious "pancake sandwiches" one evening, and there were several ice cream samplings during the week. YUM! Yet, Rich and I are feeling good about paring down the frig contents this weekend...we can't keep up with those young 'uns for very long without paying significant consequences!
So, we visited several beach front parks, took the ferry to Sausalito with cousins Jill and Sarah, walked MILES in San Francisco, walked in the redwoods, UCSC, downtown, Seabright and Capitola. Carrie and Whitney had their first surfing lesson on a day which had the biggest waves in weeks...and I sent them all to see my new massage guru. I hated to see them go, but I needed some rest by the end of the week!
Even before their visit, I had more social events than usual in September. I had visitors from San Francisco on a couple of Saturdays this month, and had lunch with a dear old friend in Los Gatos. All of which reminded me how much I have designed this "new" life to be relaxing for me. Even having fun adds a level of stress!
So, I was happy to have a quiet Saturday today of errands, yoga class, and reading. And snuggling with Rich and these adorable kittens...
