Out on the boardwalk

I used to think as an Angeleno that the Santa Monica Pier was pretty legit. After all, it served as a faithful attraction on summer afternoons as I was growing up. Then it became a welcome, off-campus refuge during the undergrad days. After that, a neighborhood joint to frequent during the postgrad/pre-marriage era, partly because the adjacent thoroughfares hosted a laudable farmers market every weekend. And a dependable hotspot to take out-of-state family when they came to visit throughout the years.

Until we visited the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk during our road trip up north last month. As Alex kept proclaiming while we were there, "The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk puts the Santa Monica Pier to shame!" Though I love Los Angeles, I had to admit he was right. We seriously felt like we stepped back into time to an age where the Boardwalk was the quintessential place to be, particularly during summertime. Apparently, the seaside amusement park hasn't lost its charm since its 1907 opening day. As California's oldest surviving amusement park, it was as bustling and vibrant as ever, with its vintage roller coaster and carousel, old-fashioned carnival fare, and fun game booths. We didn't go on any of the rides, but we strolled the entire park. Serene was fascinated by the colorful sights and sounds. Alex got a hand-dipped ice cream bar and played some games at the arcade. I snapped tons of pictures. It was a lovely evening.

We were only in Santa Cruz for a couple of days, but we liked the mellow, laid back, beach town. Especially because we had some of the best poke I've ever tasted here. Sushi is my favorite food so anything similar is a winner to my palette! It was so tasty we had it two days in a row, and when we got back to SoCal, we went to the OC's version because my poke craving was at an all-time high. Alex loves ice cream as much as I adore sushi, so we tried yummy ice cream here while we were moseying about downtown Santa Cruz, but he is still convinced this place we visited during our babymoon last summer makes the best ice cream we've ever had!

Catch up on posts from our NorCal trip last month: marine life up close, the lovely 17 mile drive, and a picnic baby-q shower.