Mama's Visit: Santa Cruz & Gilroy

Hey There!  I know it's been another long stretch between posts, but I have a good excuse:  my mama came to visit!  Yes, even with my Mamaw passing, my mom was able to keep her original plans to come see us on the Left Coast!  Mom left Illinois on a Wednesday, flew back to Virginia, and woke bright and early on Friday to get on another plane to come here for two weeks!  It was a whirlwind visit, but we managed to see and do everything on Mama's must-do list (and more!) and had a ton of fun together.  I didn't realize how much I missed having my mom close by to go to lunch, go shopping, cook dinner, craft, or any of the other things we love to do together!

So...  I thought I might recap the last two weeks for you, sharing all the fun adventures Mama, Bunkey, and I enjoyed during her visit!  Allow me to take you back to two weeks ago, February 17th

Bunkey and I took off for the airport exactly an hour before Mama's plane arrived and got there right as she was landing.  The mean rent-a-cops at the airport wouldn't let me stay at the curb just outside baggage claim even though Mama was at the carousel and collecting her suitcase at that very moment so I had to drove around the airport twice before they'd let me stay put long enough for Mama to hop in the car.

I thought she'd be exhausted after so much traveling and such an early departure, but Mama assured me she wasn't and that she just had to go to the Farmer's Market near my house.  Without even making a pit-stop, we headed right to the community college parking lot that houses the weekly market.  I introduced my mama to my favorite flavored walnuts, hummus, pesto, pies, flowers, and more!  She had a blast and loved every minute, even picking up soe goodies to munch on while we cooked dinner later that evening.  Following the market, I took her to lunch at the same adorable restaurant, The Trailside Cafe, that my girlfriend took me to a few weeks ago.  Yum.  Now I want a BLT.  Except that it's Friday and Lent.  No meat for me.

On Saturday, we ate breakfast and packed up the car for a drive north, to Santa Cruz.  The drive was gorgeous and we couldn't have asked for better weather!  And parking?  Too easy, as Hubs would say!  Except that he was playing golf, so he didn't join us...but if he were there, that's what he'd have said.  Our first stop was the Boardwalk and the ticket counter to purchase passes for the 1911 Looff Carousel.  Even though he didn't really know what was going on, Bunkey loved the merry-go-round and his ride on "Secretariat" (as we refer to all horses!) and of course all the music and lights!

After our ride, we wandered up and down the Boardwalk, and then decided on a pier-side cafe for a tasty lunch of fish tacos!  We also hit up a surf shop on the way back to the car so that Mama could get Little Brother (an avid surfer) a tee shirt!

Then we drove inland about 45 minutes to Gilroy, the garlic capital of the US.  The drive was full of twists and turns, but boasted amazing forest views, so despite scaring ourselves a few times, we really enjoyed the scenery!  My GPS wasn't picking up the name of the particular garlic market I wanted to visit (one I see every time I drive north for Drill each month), so I tried to get us as close as possible, until I knew where we were.  We found the place, Garlic World, and were slightly disappointed.  I thought the market would be nothing but garlic products and food combinations beyond my imagination.  Instead, it was really like a small roadside market/grocery with just a few garlic-y extras.  Oh well.  I still left with a garlic braid and a garlic keeper that my mom wrapped up as a birthday gift "from" Bunkey!

After the market, we closed the triangle of our adventure, driving yet another 45-minute leg to return home!  This drive wasn't quite as scenic for me, being one that I make fairly often, but we arrived home mid-afternoon, and opened a bottle of wine to enjoy with some of Mama's farmers market finds from the previous day!  

We fed the baby, and I went over his routine with my mom.  Then she graciously babysat while Hubs and I enjoyed our first night out sans baby since we arrived in California!  Hubs treated me to a belated Valentine's Day dinner at Tarpy's Roadhouse.  I had a fabulous lamb dish that simply melted in my mouth!  We tried hard not to discuss the baby while we were out, but it was oh-so-difficult!  That said, I truly relished the time away and the opportunity to pass the responsibility off to someone else for an evening.  It really made me realize just how much we need an evening to ourselves every now and then...which is good because I have a sitter set up for two evenings coming up in the next two weeks!  Anyway, I loved my evening away, but couldn't wait to get home and peek in on my sleeping baby boy.  Thanks, Mama, for looking after Bunkey for us!