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Our last resort

English is indeed a strange language.  Readers are forgiven for thinking I was about to narrate a rather sordid tale describing our predicament and the last ditch efforts we might have undertaken to escape it.  Far from it.  I mean far from it is the real tale..

That of our weekend spent relaxing at a resort in the hills of Santa Cruz last weekend.  Named by Spaniards as the Heavenly Cross (hence Santa Cruz) it is a 250 year old establishment that came to be as the preachers rode up from Mexico into California spreading the word of the lord.

Today while tourism is a mainstay it also houses one of the UC campuses and remains a easy weekend trip from the bustle of Silicon Valley to relax by the waters and stroll the many boardwalks or beaches.

Bougainvillea accent an archway

The Pacific is at the horizon



The Venetian - colorful motel by the sea

Nice wharf with a view of the town and the ocean

Street Art

Santa Cruz Breakwater Lighthouse on a spit of land sticking out at sea
We found our own spiritual retreat in a remodeled affair amidst Eucalyptus and Oaks with a view of the Pacific beyond.  Some New Orleans style Etouffe with crawfish for dinner at a local joint run by two local boys was a perfect accompaniment to the cold evening.

Sausage Gumbo and Mach Tchou (corn and bean prep with cajun spice) was another item we savored

Morning breakfast was discovered by chatting with the locals.  It was a bakery, next town over which also offered some interesting topography by the sea (and on the table where we dined).



It was a good retreat after a week spent playing catch up with the idiocy of work that piles up when you are away for a week (the prior week plus was spent in Japan so I think I should be excused for not knowing what the time of day was).

Comments

  1. hard work comes easy to the Japs. I predict they'll be the last men standing, come rain or glaciers.

    ReplyDelete

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