Visiting Cape May, New Jersey

Last summer, K's mom wanted us all to take a beach vacation together... It was time to get to the sea, and for the family to get closer to Baby E. I was all for it! I always miss the ocean when I'm away from it, so I was extremely pleased to be able to spend a week near the Atlantic... It's one of the oceans that I'm not too familiar with. I grew up next to the Pacific, and my timeshare is on a Pacific Ocean beach. I'm always happy to get to know another ocean, though!

Lush flowers

Wild berries to eat

Biking to the bay

We stayed at a home that we found on www.vrbo.com, which is how I booked places to stay when I was in Europe, remember? This worked well then, and it worked well for our local vacation, too! The house we rented had bikes, water gear, pretty much everything we needed for a fun time with family by the beach! We enjoyed biking to the bay to see the sun set... it's one of few places on the east coast where you can watch the sun set over the ocean!

Pathway to the bay

We also liked walking to the ocean early in the morning... but I was surprised the first time we went. This is what we saw...

Horseshoe crabs all over the beach

Getting stuck in the sand after the tide has gone out

I felt really bad for them! We helped a few live ones back to the retreating sea, but I doubt many made it. Turns out it was the time of year (July) for them to come in and find mates and lay eggs, and then die. Sad! But also kind of fascinating.

Who was this fishy creature?

Is this a needlefish? Do they live in cold water?

The other cool thing to see was the tidal patterns on the sand... I loved them.

Lacy patterns from detritus left on the shore

We went out a lot, too... just to eat yummy seafood, and to do a little shopping here and there. The historic downtown of Cape May is quaint. They have a couple of really cute candy shops, and unique children's stores. There were cafes and restaurants, too. One crab shack we went to was right by the water... it had a nice eating area on standard picnic tables. We ate some fresh crab there... it was okay, but the view was really cool.

My favorite beach, though, was Sunset Beach, which is more of a local's hangout. Not remotely like the main beach in Cape May proper. I can't stand those beaches where you have to pay to sit on the sand about a half mile from the edge of the water because it's so crowded. No thank you. I like the quiet little beaches where you can relax and hear the ocean waves lapping at your feet. Also, Sunset Beach had a little fried food shack that was actually pretty yummy! And the sand looked like this...

My favorite kind of sand...

We're going back to Cape May this July, and I'm already looking forward to it! Probably in part to the intense winter we've been having. Boy, I almost forgot what it feels like to have the sun on your face! Mama needs some time on the beach with her family!! It feels so far away right now, but the way time seems to fly since Elie was born, it'll be here in a flash! I need to remember to slow my mind down and savor the moments we're living. {Breathe... just breathe....}

Here's to sunny, loving thoughts to keep you warm this winter...

Blessings,

S

An Autumn Color Palette Blog Walk! Inspired by Joy...

Guess what time it is, People? It's time for another Color Palette Blog Walk! It's hosted by the inspirational Brandi at Brandigirl Blog. Woot woot! This time the inspiration is "What Brings You Joy?"


The first two color palettes were ones that I created from photos I took on my recent trip to California. (So obvious, I shouldn't have to tell you.) These are definitely coastal Northern California colors. Subdued, warm, earthy. The place where my joy is close to the surface.

This last one is a reminder to get ready for winter! (If you're a squirrel.) Autumn has become my favorite season the east coast. It definitely gives me joy to walk outside and feel the crisp air and see the amazing autumnal colors burst forth from the trees. Collecting acorns has become a new pastime inspired by my love of nature walks and this lovely season. I like how the texture for the color swatches turned out! They remind me of the striping on the acorns.

Check out what the other bloggers have created, too... they are a whole lot of creative talent all on one blog tour! I hope you liked my color palettes, and I hope you take a look at what's happening on the rest of the walk... take a hop, skip and a jump over to...

• Francesca at Francesca Watson Designs -- http://www.francescawatson.com
• Lori at Pretty Things -- http://www.PrettyThingsBlog.com
• Marsha at Marsha Neal Studio Blog -- http://www.marshanealstudio.blogspot.com
• Cindy at Sweet Bead Studio -- http://www.sweetbeadstudio.com
• Kerry at Kab's Concepts -- http://www.kabsconcepts.blogspot.com
• Cynthia at Ornamental Style -- http://www.ornamentalstyle.com/blog
• Linda at Linda's Bead Blog & Meanderings -- http://lindalandig.wordpress.com
• Emily at Good Things* -- http://jorpins.blogspot.com
• Erin at Treasures Found -- http://treasures-found.blogspot.com
• Brandi at Brandi Girl Blog -- http://www.brandigirlblog.com
• Jenni at Jenni's Beads -- http://jennibead.blogspot.com 

Santa Cruz, CA - Day 2

My favorite no-name beach

Okay, technically, the photo at left is not in Santa Cruz. It's actually a bit north, closer to Halfmoon Bay. I suppose the reason I've always counted this as part of Santa Cruz is because I access it by driving up Highway 1 from Santa Cruz. I have rarely driven past this idyllic spot to Halfmoon Bay. When I spend time here, it's with the intent of returning to Santa Cruz, and probably having dinner at Ristorante Avanti, my favorite little restaurant in Santa Cruz. This was the plan for the day with K, when we came her last Wednesday.

Photo by K (see below where I captured him taking this)

I first discovered this beach after spending many days at Pebble Beach, which is connected to it. (Not the Pebble Beach in Carmel, associated with the golf course, but a state park called Pebble Beach due to the pebbles that make up the shore.) My grandparents first took me here when I was about six or seven. My family has been returning here for years, and on one of my trips, I chose to walk across the expanse of rocks to the north of the beach, and found a little special spot that rarely sees more than one or two people/couples at a time. It's very remote and beautiful for that.

Me on Pebble Beach

K on Pebble Beach

When we arrived this time, first to Pebble Beach, there were a busload of school kids here. We took a few photos and then got back into the car to drive north a little ways, as I knew of another place to access the beach. It takes you to a sandy beach, also with no name, that's part of the California State Park system. It's also lovely, with its amazing rock formations, and I love the beach home that sits perched on one end.

Me walking back to the sandy beach

You can just make out the beach house in the photo above. Those rock formations are what you have to traverse to get to and from my secret beach. The ancient lava floes created anamorphic shapes, so you can sometimes make out a whale, dolphin, seal or even a puppy's face and an elephant head in the rocks.

  
I love the smooth, colorful pebbles that make up the shore at my secret beach... they're lovely, and you can't help but lay close to them so that you can see the individual colors and shapes of the stones. We collected some seashells for K's school kids, to connect them to this amazing beach. We took videos of the creatures we saw in the tide pools... hermit crabs, anemones and a starfish!

An open anemone

We were pretty lucky, actually. I didn't have my tide log, and had forgotten to check my tide log app before we arrived. It was high tide, but it was going out. So we only had to wait a bit for the waves to recede, and then we were able to view the sea life up close! We were very careful not to tread on the live snails living on the rocks. It wasn't easy!

Some seashells for the kids, some rocks & driftwood for us

We had a truly lovely time here... having the beach to ourselves was wonderful, and the sun was out and it wasn't too windy. As I wasn't feeling that great, having come down with a cold, it was nice to just relax on the straw mat when I felt tired. Something about the ocean air is very healing, though, and I found that I was able to stay longer than I had expected. Also, we planned a dinner at Ristorante, and I wasn't going to skip out on that!

The drive back into town is just lovely, too. The fog was starting to roll in just a bit... wisps, really, nothing too heavy... making the golden grasses off the sides of the highway just glow. Then we arrived in town, and got seated at little table for two, tucked away in a corner.

Mmm... yummy food!

K eating some calamari

We had their calamari fritti (so crispy and delicious!) served with a light mignonette, and we both got the grilled sea bass served on Israeli cous cous with locally grown tomatoes and cucumbers in a light citrus sauce. It was absolutely fantastic! The veggies were so fresh and sweet (a commitment that the restaurant has made is to use only locally grown veggies and humanely raised livestock and produce.) 

Our sea bass on cous cous

It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day! We drove home to San Jose with our tummies full, smiles on our faces, love in our hearts and a little sunshine left on our cheeks. I can't ask for more.