oh Aptos
our week in Aptos was a perfect reminder that NONE of this is our timing or plan, it’s divine timing, the Universal plan. (I get caught up sometimes in questions like “is this how it’s supposed to go?” "how would other people do this?" and “are we doing it wrong?”)
we are exactly where we’re meant to be.
case in point: as a result of a last minute conversation with my parents, I boldly reached out to extended family to see about visiting their house across the street from the ocean in Aptos.
I’m SOOOOOO glad I did. their generosity was beautiful and even more so, we became friends. the conversations and connection were such gifts. I can’t imagine this having gone any other way, or having missed this.
Aptos was quieter than what we’ve seen of the California coast so far. the town felt quaint and wasn’t crowded. we never paid to park and we found a gorgeous (known to locals) quiet park called Hidden Beach Park with a huge, nice playground and a short walking path to a even quieter beach than Rio Del Mar. (Hidden Beach also happen to be the most dog friendly beach in the area, so it was a treat for ALL of us.) :)
We had a couple of rainier, colder days here. the kids were grateful for a hot tub bath after our beach romps. we even went to the beach in the rain one afternoon in our rain boots and it was delightful.
Post-bath, pre-bed cashews and CHEEEESSSEEE. Yes, that's marker on his chin. Bless.
one of the rainy mornings we found a local library and got to play with trains and put on puppet shows. we walked, the kids biked, the Wharf in Santa Cruz and saw sea lions and stopped for coffee. one rainy afternoon we treated ourselves to the popular local ice cream shop too and it delivered. if you’re ever in the area, head to Marianne’s Ice Cream & Market, it’s phenomenal.
the kids loved having a home to run in and visiting “Miss Paula.” Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and Target were just a 12 minute drive into Santa Cruz and traffic wasn't hardly a thing. and we found great parks/playgrounds. and we stayed here long enough to get some mail ;)
it really felt homey here.
as always,
KG
