Derrolyn Anderson's Blog, page 19
August 13, 2014
August 12, 2014
August 10, 2014
August 8, 2014
A Nostalgic Trip
My husband and I dropped our youngest off for a stay with Grandma & Grandpa and took a drive a couple hours down the coast to visit our old stomping grounds in the Santa Cruz area. We went wine tasting at some old favorite spots and discovered a few new ones, picking up a bottle to enjoy at sunset alongside the shipwreck at Seacliff beach in Aptos.
The night was suitably foggy and atmospheric.
The cement tanker Palo Alto was towed to this spot in 1929, where it served as an amusement destination, complete with a heated pool and dance hall. Benny Goodman actually played here!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Palo_...
I set my first book series, "Marina's Tales" in this location, back when you used to be able to walk onto the deck of the ship - at least up to the point of the first break at the stern. Now a fence stops you at the end of the long pier, and the entire wreck has been taken over by sea birds as a nesting site.
Oh man. You do not want to be downwind of it now. It stinks to high heaven!
I cringe when I think of all the fan letters from readers who planned to visit in the hopes of spying a mermaid in the dark waters. Sorry about that.
A short walk from the beach, our former abode is now a vacation rental with weekly rates that are more than we paid for the entire month. We brought our twin babies home from the local hospital to that house, and they learned to walk on its rooftop deck with a sweeping view of Monterey bay. We may have to come back one summer and stay there.
How very odd that would be.
So now we are only visitors, doing all the usual touristy things. We spied on the surfers at Pleasure Point:
We picked up some saltwater taffy for the kid:
We stopped by Margaritaville in Capitola:
And grabbed a slice from the original Pizza My Heart to eat with our toes in the sand as we watched the paddleboarders go by:
I'm SO renting one next year! There are OTTERS floating in the kelp beds out there.
On the night of our wedding anniversary we got a surprise visit from room service, delivering an ice bucket with a nice bottle of champagne courtesy of our twin daughters.
Boy, did we raise those girls right.
All in all, it was a great little stay-cation, but we were happy to get back to the sunshine and warmth of our wine country home. I need to spend more time lounging by the pool, reading, writing and gardening, and less time worrying about inconsequential things. Time flies, and I need to use mine more wisely.
Unfortunately, when you run a home-based business, it's impossible to get away for long, so we arrived home to find dozens more orders and customers freaking out about a few delayed shipments.
I refuse to get stressed. Take a chill pill people!!! We'll get to you when we get to you. Life is too damn short, and there's nothing like a little walk down memory lane to drive that point home.
I'll drink to that :)
The night was suitably foggy and atmospheric.
The cement tanker Palo Alto was towed to this spot in 1929, where it served as an amusement destination, complete with a heated pool and dance hall. Benny Goodman actually played here!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Palo_...
I set my first book series, "Marina's Tales" in this location, back when you used to be able to walk onto the deck of the ship - at least up to the point of the first break at the stern. Now a fence stops you at the end of the long pier, and the entire wreck has been taken over by sea birds as a nesting site.
Oh man. You do not want to be downwind of it now. It stinks to high heaven!
I cringe when I think of all the fan letters from readers who planned to visit in the hopes of spying a mermaid in the dark waters. Sorry about that.
A short walk from the beach, our former abode is now a vacation rental with weekly rates that are more than we paid for the entire month. We brought our twin babies home from the local hospital to that house, and they learned to walk on its rooftop deck with a sweeping view of Monterey bay. We may have to come back one summer and stay there.
How very odd that would be.
So now we are only visitors, doing all the usual touristy things. We spied on the surfers at Pleasure Point:
We picked up some saltwater taffy for the kid:
We stopped by Margaritaville in Capitola:
And grabbed a slice from the original Pizza My Heart to eat with our toes in the sand as we watched the paddleboarders go by:
I'm SO renting one next year! There are OTTERS floating in the kelp beds out there.
On the night of our wedding anniversary we got a surprise visit from room service, delivering an ice bucket with a nice bottle of champagne courtesy of our twin daughters.
Boy, did we raise those girls right.
All in all, it was a great little stay-cation, but we were happy to get back to the sunshine and warmth of our wine country home. I need to spend more time lounging by the pool, reading, writing and gardening, and less time worrying about inconsequential things. Time flies, and I need to use mine more wisely.
Unfortunately, when you run a home-based business, it's impossible to get away for long, so we arrived home to find dozens more orders and customers freaking out about a few delayed shipments.
I refuse to get stressed. Take a chill pill people!!! We'll get to you when we get to you. Life is too damn short, and there's nothing like a little walk down memory lane to drive that point home.
I'll drink to that :)
August 4, 2014
Silly Dogs
Because dogs are people too.
Also, I once had a boxer with absolutely no fear of fire. I had to tie her up on the fourth of July, because she'd attack the fireworks and try to bite the sparks, LOL.
