Sea Creatures, Bicycles, and Butterflies!

{A smack of jellies at the aquarium}

That about sums up our awesome trip to Monterey Bay Aquarium and Santa Cruz this weekend.  We had a great time in perfect 70 degree weather without a cloud in the sky.

On Friday morning, we stopped at Dynamo Donuts as promised.  Their flavors are ever-changing, so we got to try Meyer Lemon Huckleberry and a sticky bun, along with the Apricot Cardamom donut we'd had before.  They did not disappoint!

{Me with an apricot cardamom donut...mmmm}

Our drive down the coast was so beautiful in the morning sun.  We got to Monterey just in time for the aquarium to open.  I was really impressed by the entire place.  It kind of made me feel like a kid again!  We saw sea otters, penguins, a giant octopus, the kelp forest, seahorses, tons of jellyfish, and much more.

{Cole as a baby penguin at the aquarium}

Two exhibits in particular were really amazing.  One was The Secret Lives of Seahorses.  The other was one that centered around pink flamingos but had a lot to do with climate change.

{Looking towards the Santa Cruz boardwalk on our bike ride}

After lunch at a beachfront restaurant and finishing up at the aquarium, we headed back up the coast to Santa Cruz.  The Dream Inn was just totally perfect--a 1960s beachfront hotel that's been updated with a modern design twist.  From our sixth floor balcony, we had a great view of the ocean, the boardwalk, and the cliffs to the north.  We could hear the waves even with our balcony doors closed!  It was lovely.

On Saturday morning after a delicious breakfast in downtown Santa Cruz, we rented bikes and headed up the bike trail on West Cliff Drive.  Aside from constantly having to dodge twin strollers and errant joggers, we loved riding along the trail, which runs right along the beach cliffs.

We rode up to the state beach, where there just happened to be a huge number of monarch butterflies resting in the eucalyptus groves there on their fall migration to Mexico.  It was such a peaceful scene, with tons of orange butterflies flittering between trees.

{Cole in the eucalyptus grove}

After checking out the butterflies, we headed back down the bike trail towards the boardwalk.  We saw lots of surfers out in the rowdy waves.  After a late lunch and some lounging on the beach, we headed back to the car and left Santa Cruz to meander back up the coast.

Stay tuned for part 2 of our trip--the places we stopped on the way back to SF!

To see the rest of our pictures from the trip, go here.

Dynamo Donuts

{image via}

Dynamo Donuts will be our first (and last) stop tomorrow morning before we head south to Monterey Bay for the aquarium and then back north to Santa Cruz for the night.  We've devoured these donuts twice now (both times with Sam, incidentally) and they are easily the best donuts I've ever tasted.  It's not just the imaginative flavors (Candied Orange Blossom, Maple Bacon, and Pumpkin Nutmeg, to name a few), but also the texture and freshness.  The Spiced Chocolate donut is simply not to be missed.  As we discovered last time, Dynamo also has an extremely cute back garden in which to enjoy your breakfast goods and coffee.

So great is Cole's love for donuts that she may have cooked up this road trip just to make a stop at Dynamo.  I wouldn't put it past her at all.

"We've been aware there's some very serious vampire activity in this town for some time."

--Edgar Frog, from The Lost Boys

The Santa Cruz Boardwalk

{image via}

We're going down to Santa Cruz for the night on Friday, so of course I had to pull out my favorite quote from The Lost Boys, which was filmed there (although it's called "Santa Carla" in the movie).  We're staying at a hotel that I've been lusting after for quite awhile now, the Dream Inn.  It's the only Santa Cruz hotel that's actually right on the beach, and it looks to have an awesome modern design aesthetic. 

I found a treasure trove of  historic photos of the hotel and had to share a few. 

{The beach before the Dream Inn in 1960; image via}

{Newly finished Dream Inn}

{Miss California contestants frolicking in front of the hotel in 1963; image via}

I'll be back with photos of the hotel in present day next week.  What I'm hoping to see is most of the 1960s design elements preserved, with the right kind of midcentury modern updates to furniture, lighting, and decor.

Before we check in on Friday, we're heading down to Monterey Bay Aquarium for the day!  This is another thing we've been wanting to do since we moved here (we're slowly checking things off our mental lists, one by one...).  Not only am I super excited for the Aquarium itself, Monterey Bay is a known gathering spot for all kinds of sharks at this time of year. 

So yeah...I won't be getting into the ocean :)