Santa Cruz

(This was written in installments, as there's no WiFi in the room in Santa Cruz.)

Babymoon day 3!

Last night we just hung around the Jabberwock talking to folks. The owners just bought it in August, and they were very pleasant people. The woman had even recently relocated her mother from Colorado to Monterey, a few blocks from the inn, and her mother was there in the evening, enjoying hors d’oeuvres with us. Neither of us were very hungry after the Persian Grill, but I had to eat something, so we asked about places to eat, and they recommended Tillie Gort’s, a local vegetarian place. It was only about 8 blocks away, but we drove, as it was cold and my back has been very cooperative thus far, so I thought I’d reward it (or at least not challenge it further).

Tillie Gort’s looked like the hippie cafe in Anytown, USA. I briefly thought it looked like we were on the set of Northern Exposure. All I really wanted was a bowl of soup, and they had vegetable rice soup, so there you have it. Sweetie and I both had a bowl of soup, and it was perfectly pleasant. If I were to go back there (and I would), I’d sample further from the menu, which was actually extensive, and quite a bit of it looked good. They also had a big dessert case with several kinds of vegan treats.

After dinner, we retreated to the room again (well, it’s so comfy!) and read for a bit, then took a bath. I'll post pictures later, and you'll see why -- there's an enormous jacuzzi tub in the room!

This morning we ate breakfast at the Jabberwock (a fruit-filled croissant and a cheese souffle -- can you say rich?) and spoke at length with the older hippie couple across from us. There were five couples at the table, and all of them were pleasant, but the ones right across from us, well, the woman was from Eugene, Oregon. They knew the owner of Saturn Cafe (which we’re looking forward to tonight). We were able to chat about Hawaii and jellyfish and sharks and tigers... it was fun.

We then checked out and drove down Ocean View Drive past Lover’s Point and towards Asilomar. There, we got out, poked at tidepools, saw seals (we think), and just generally enjoyed the waves and the slightly misty air. Finally, we turned around and headed up Highway 1 towards Santa Cruz. I thought it would be more... oceany, but a lot of it is straight through agricultural fields. When we got here, we went immediately to Natural Bridges State Beach. We stopped briefly inside the visitor’s center, then walked down the trail to the butterfly trees. At first, we didn’t see any. Apparently, when it’s this cold, it’s hard for them to fly. But then we saw one (well, because another crowd of people was pointing at it!), and then another, and another. It wasn’t ever quite a swarm, but we did see quite a few, and got some good close-ups.

We thought about going downtown, but parking was really jacked-up, so we came and checked into the motel instead. We’ve been here a bit, Sweetie napping and I reading, and I suspect we’ll try downtown again in a little while. There’s no wireless here, so I don’t know when I’ll be posting this, but I’m writing it on Saturday afternoon.



Robbed! I was robbed, I tell you! (7:15 Saturday)

After resting a bit, we did go downtown, where I primarily spent time in the bookstore. I didn’t even go into Sock Shop Santa Cruz or the couple of stationery stores I like. A lot of the stores I used to like have closed down. The toy store is a huge loss. I didn’t go into Camoflauge, my favorite lingerie store, because, well, it’s a little pointless at the moment (although when I said that to Sweetie, he got bonus points by telling me I’m still sexy). I bought several new books, although I resisted buying ones I thought people might buy me for my birthday, like the new Bill Bryson that I want very desperately, not that I’m hinting (the one on Shakespeare, but I want the Africa one, too). Anyway, after a bit of walking around, we headed back to the car and to Saturn Cafe (we could have just walked, but we were in a metered spot). I got the Western Fakin’ Cheeseburger (which has apparently been renamed the Space Cowboy, which caused me a moment of panic) and Sweetie had taquitos, which answered a question we’ve had for a while: is their other food as good as their fake burgers? Apparently, yes. Anyway, this is where the robbing came in -- Saturn Cafe serves one of my favorite desserts ever, that cardinal sin of gluttony known as Chocolate Madness. Don’t fuck with Chocolate Madness; it’s a brownie topped with chocolate ice cream, chocolate mousse, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and tiny chocolate chips. But I didn’t order one. You know why? ‘Cause I was full! I couldn’t eat another bite. I couldn’t eat the half order. I couldn’t even finish my dinner! There was no debate, even. The guy brought the check, and that was that. D’oh! My only hope now is that maybe later this evening I’ll get hungry again and we can go down the street to Marianne’s Ice Cream and get a cone of Mexican chocolate. Or bittersweet chocolate.

After dinner we drove to the wharf, played a video game in the arcade, watched two dorks play Dance Dance Revolution, then walked to the end of the pier. This is when I start to feel less like a cute alterna-chick with a “bump” and more like a big giant whale of a pregnant lady. I had to stop and rest on the way to the end, and stop and rest on the way back. I sat on a bench that was wet, because I had to sit down. I have that distinctive side to side waddle. I go “oof” when I sit down in the car.

Sunday morning

I did go out for ice cream last night. Sweetie didn’t want any, and the ice cream shop is about two blocks away, so I just ran out and got it and came back. It was good, too, although they didn’t have the Mexican chocolate I was hoping for (I got chocolate and peanut butter).

Last night I finished one of my new books, I’m Too Sexy for my Volvo. It’s a pregnancy/mothering book with an emphasis on “how to stay fabulous.” It was a fun read, although I won’t take all the advice (stay in the hospital as long as possible? Please! I’ve tried to sleep in hospitals, and it couldn’t possibly be any better than having a colicky newborn nearby.)

Today I’m afraid I’m going to have to take it extra-easy. I hurt something yesterday that I wasn’t sure could be hurt. I actually slept pretty well last night until about 6:30am. I had to get up for a potty break, and Zadie started her morning calisthenics. (And I’m as maternal as anyone, probably more so, but seriously it’s hard not to think of that scene in “Alien” when the flesh of my stomach starts moving, apparently of its own volition.) But when she calmed down, I still couldn’t go back to sleep, because every a-hole in the building started stomping around in cuban heels, rolling their roller bags down the stairs, slamming doors, honking horns, talking in the halls, and playing the percussion line from “Inna-gadda-da-vida” on the wall adjoining our room.

Sunday evening

So much for taking it easy! We had breakfast at the Walnut Street Cafe, which is one of our regular spots, then walked down Pacific, the main street downtown, a bit more. I went into all the stores I missed yesterday, like Paper Visions (where Sweetie bought me a bracelet I coveted), Graphfix, Sock Shop Santa Cruz, Urban Outfitters (remind me to look for the Alice in Wonderland plates I saw there)... We also went to a store (I'll post pictures later) where Sweetie browsed soccer jerseys, and next door had the HOTTEST vintage-y naughty secretary clothes. We went back to the hotel briefly, then decided to go to the beach.

First the good news: It was a BEAUTIFUL, perfect Santa Cruz day. It was almost 60 degrees, sunny, and you could see Monterey across the bay. We walked along West Cliff drive and saw surfers. Natural Bridges is a great beach, with expanses of sand and gentle surf. People were flying kites and running in the surf. It was perfect. On the way back to the car, we even (no kidding) saw dolphins! Like, not "Is that driftwood or is that a dolphin?" but "Hey, look, dolphins!" They were jumping around and showing off their dorsal fins. It was awesome.

The bad news is that OH MY GOD, my whole pelvic region has never hurt this badly in my entire life. Things are sore that I didn't realize were capable of being sore. Things are... weird. Oh my gosh, bless Tylenol. This baby is going to be born with a wad of cotton in her ears and a plastic seal around her forehead from all the Tylenol I've been taking. And it's sneaky -- likt, right now? I'm sitting down, and feel fine. But when I move or try to stand up, I have been quite literally whimpering. I am sure I am the most fabulous traveling companion right now. An eighty year old woman totally passed us on our walk. And Sweetie is a natrually fast walker -- he's been very patient, but it must feel like he's shackled to a boulder.

Anyway, now we've had a sushi dinner that was okay. (The service was kind of lame -- I'm used to being able to order one roll or two-piece, then order more later, but the waitress brought my roll, then stolidly refused to make eye contact until she brought the check. I hope Sweetie wanted water, because she asked me what I wanted to drink, then walked away.) And now we have finished gelato at a gelato and Wi-Fi place, and I have to get moving, because our parking meter is about to expire.

I hope you're all well, and we'll be home tomorrow. After breakfast at Scotty's Cafe at the Sash Mill and perhaps some Pacific Cookie Complany cookies straight from the warehouse.