A place that will always hold a piece of my heart.
It was so good to be there.
We drove the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) up from San Luis Obispo – with the camper. We weren’t sure if we were going to do it, and it was foggy that morning, but we decided to go the adventurous route. And it was adventurous!
It started out pretty mellow, but soon turned narrow and curvy with lots of ups and downs. The spiciest moment was when we met another vehicle with trailer on one of those sections, but we all survived! Matt enjoyed the driving and did a good job keeping tabs on brake and transmission temps with his thermal camera (of course). We’ll have to come back someday to see the beautiful ocean views, but the foggy coastal mountains had their own beauty and adventure as well!
We dropped the camper off at our campground in Scotts Valley and then met up at our friends’ house in Felton. It was a Summit/Mt. Hermon reunion with the Terrell and the Smucker-Oates crews! They have a beautiful house/plot of land along the river with a big swing. Claire scraped up her feet trying the swing, but was ok. We enjoyed lemonade with lemons from the lemon tree down the street from the Smucker-Oates and caught up from many years of not seeing each other. We enjoyed it immensely.
Then we had dinner at the Frankls! Jessica and I have kept in touch, but I had only met their son after he was first born 6 years ago and had never met their daughter, so it was about time! We enjoyed seeing their house updates and just being together. Thankful for this community! We’ve been missing community.
On Sunday, I took Matt to the airport super early for another work trip. The kids and I relaxed that morning, went to the park across the street, and eventually met Jess and kids at Mount Hermon and hiked down to the creek before meeting up with many other Mount Hermon people that I hadn’t seen in years. We all brought dinner to the field and enjoyed conversation and community. Super grateful to reconnect with people here.
On Monday morning I got to trail run with Jess and Karen! I’ve had feet/ankle issues over the past several years, but Jess and I had been well matched workout buddies for years. So I taped my feet and did it! This was a huge highlight of our trip for me!
Quick recap of the rest of our time there:
Rest of Monday: Met Hank (the Corstorphines puppy), did school, had dinner at the Frankls.
Tuesday: Did the Mount Hermon Outdoor Science Extended Day hike with the kids (Bear Mountain, cathedral, Roaring Camp, Henry Cowell Redwoods, Fremont Tree, up steep trails back up!), saw Jana and Peter.
Wednesday: School at Lulu’s (coffee shop), Trader Joe’s, Farmer’s Market (got cabbage, sugar snap peas, artichokes, and dates!), and dinner at the Frankls again!
Thursday: School, Natural Bridges with Bianca (tidepools, smashball, lots of dead sailfish on the shore), picked Matt up from the airport, Taqueria Vallarta for dinner.
Friday: I ran with Jess, Matt and Reece swam at the campground, relaxed, and then went to Jana and Peter’s for dinner (met Bonnie!).
Saturday: Easter egg hunt at the campground (met some neighbors), tye-dyed Easter eggs at the Frankls, I went to a ladies get together at Jana and Peter’s.
Sunday: I went to early Easter service on the beach with Jana and Peter, hike with Matt, Easter dinner with the Bristol family (Jessica’s family).
Monday: Felton donuts with Jana and Peter and the Frankls, hiking in Fall Creek with the Frankls, Verve, Bookshop Santa Cruz, Pac Wave, and Pizza My Heart downtown, West Cliff – Surfer’s Museum and statue, dinner at Frankls.
Tuesday: We packed up and headed out.
The Santa Cruz area will be dearly missed! Until next time!!
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