A visit to our old stomping grounds

On Sunday, we went to the Santa Cruz mountains to visit our former neighbors. This was Matt's first trip back to the area since we moved, and only the second time Emma and I had been back. The old house looked sad and a little run down, and it was strange to see it that way. It's a lousy time of year there though -- the sun barely touches the ground, and the moisture is so thick in the air you can feel it as you breathe. It makes the temperature feel at least 10 degrees cooler than it actually is, and it quickly chills to the bone. I'm glad we moved, and that I didn't have to go through another winter under the redwoods.

After our visit, we visited some of our favorite places in Santa Cruz. We took a walk by the lighthouse and watched the surfers (the temp was about the same, but it was actually pleasant by the ocean), ate at Planet Fresh (a tasty and cheap burrito place), browsed Bookshop Santa Cruz (Matt bought Hammered by Elizabeth Bear, and we also got Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel for Emma), bought some coffee at Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company (our favorite is the Sweet Italian), then got a cookie at Pacific Cookie Company. It was a nice, nostalgic little visit, and I'm glad we did it. It was shocking to see all the people around, especially out by the lighthouse. I think we've gotten used to a much lesser degree public space usage here out in the suburbs. The people in Santa Cruz are definitely different... they didn't used to seem quite so much so before when we lived in the area, but the difference is much more noticeable now in contrast. Another notable difference -- all the places we went were local establishments and we could easily walk to everything.

It was a fun day, and we all enjoyed ourselves. We're all glad we moved though, even if we do now live in 'burbs.

Updated to add the Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting company link - I knew I was forgetting something!