Our Mini Respite, 08/27/14

If you have not figured out by now with the many Twitter and Facebook posts, myself and Trish decided to take a few days (3) to be exact and take a mini respite to one of our favorite spots, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.  This came about with Robert due home this Wednesday from being in a Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) for a combination of issues, our 17^th anniversary is coming up as well as my birthday, so it’s really a “mass mini holiday respite.”

We left on Thursday morning just after nine but with needing gas, of course Starbucks and then finally, Panera Bread, remember breakfast is your best meal of the day. Which meant we really didn’t head out until almost ten.  The drive to Santa Cruz is only a 2-1/2 hour drive if you don’t have someone in the car with a back issue and needs to get out and move around every hour or so.  The 2-1/2 hour drive for us is more like a 3-1/2 to 4 hour drive and then there’s my recovery period once we arrive and get our bags into the hotel room. This can be another hour or two, sometimes it take a full day for me to recover.  This is the first time we have made this trip with out 5-6 kids in tow, usually this is our annual end of summer family trip where the kids each bring a friend and we normally stay for a week to ten days.  You can imagine the noise level between 7-8 people in two hotel rooms and only two bathrooms and four beds.

That’s our history of the place except for all our wonderful stories that go along with Santa Cruz and the not so wonderful.  Yes we’re like most families, we have the good times and we have the bad times.  Needless to say that me and my pain, medication changes, medication side effects, depression, internal pumps battery goes out a week or so earlier so I’m not getting any relief and don’t know it until I start to change and mid vacation have to go back to Sacramento and find this out and one time we found the pump was put in upside down so they can’t even refill it.  Then we have the strong-willed, hard-headed, driven, strong women who had a tiny bit to do with it.  This trip I am happy to say, No medication changes, No medication side effects, depression under control and boy do I miss all the kids and the noise, the laughing, screaming, mimicking, joking and the love that we have for each other.  But I am so glad we were able to take a few day just me and Trish before starting back into things with Robert.  Back when Robert first moved in with us, just the weekend before Rachel had just fully moved out, then Robert came over on Friday night and that’s when we moved him into the house.  Since we’ve been together there has always been someone who we’re taking care of, but that’s caregiving.  We have had other weekends away for anniversaries, work related trips and of course there was Europe and then the Bahamas both with either family or remote extended family members.

 

The Mini Respite Begins

Day I:

Of course after the 3-4 hour drive down and arriving a bit early for check in.  We walked the Santa Cruz Pier, celebrating their 100^th anniversary.  This trip allowed us time to walk and sight see, sit when needed and do some more sightseeing.  We listened to the sea lions, seals and sea gulls, walked through the gift shops we have been in 100 times before and after a few hours realized the hotel room was ready and we proceeded to check in and unpack, only after ogling our once in a life time ocean view room.  After a casual romantic dinner at the, Aquarius restaurant which by the way has the best Mac & Cheese ever, the other three dishes were not too bad either and the Virgin Extra Spicy Bloody Mary was simply amazing.

 

Day II:

Our second day involved a trip through Capitola, Ca. a wonderful little ocean front city with some of the best shops around.  Lunch at Pizza My Heart while people and ocean watching.  We then ended the day with an exciting, eighteen holes on the famous to us at least, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Mini Golf Course, where I lost by two.  After the once in a life time golf fiasco and on our way to the redemption ride, Ghost Blasters a level coaster ride when you compete with family to see who can take out the most ghost I had a pretty major back spasm which even kept me from making it to a bench only twenty feet away for quite some time.  After sitting, icing and stretching as much as I could Trish noticed another bench in the shade only feet away and we decided to move to there, big mistake.  We made the move and just as I was sitting down a second spasm hit even worse than the first.  I hate to admit this cut our night short and Trish forced us to cancel my revenge on Ghost Blaster and we headed back to the hotel for a night of room service, yes!! Mac & Cheese again with watching and listening to the waves crashing on the beach.

Day III:

Today we were able to get a very nice morning walk on the beach, after which we got ready for our last day and then checked out of the hotel.  It was then breakfast at Ideal’s, a beach front bar & grill.  We then worked our way to downtown Santa Cruz and took our time walking through one of my favorite stores, Chef Works a, “If you need it they have it” kitchen supply store.  A quick stop at Starbucks in preparation for the long trip home.  This is done in reverse of our drive down, I start the drive home which is usually long enough to get us over the Hwy17 mountain’s and into Pleasantview, Ca. where Trish takes over and drives the rest of the way home which is when I normally fall asleep, something to do with long drives anymore.  We arrived home to three very happy dogs greeting us at the door and Taffy at the top of the stairs barking her head off.  What else can I say, we are home.

 

P.S. Hotel – Amazing, Food – Fabulous, Company – My One and Only, Being greeted by all four dogs – PRICELESS.

 

Thanks Trish for a very much need time away with you.