The Boardwalk Santa Cruz, California

When I started planning this trip to California, I knew I wanted to take my children to Santa Cruz as I have so many magical memories of it from my childhood.  The Boardwalk still stands, but the wooden boardwalk is gone replaced by concrete. Many of the shops filled with cheap junk are gone replaced by food stands with just anything your heart desires in terms of carnival food such as corn dogs as long as a football field, donuts the size of your head, deep-fried Oreos, slurries, and corn on the cob dripping with butter or Parmesan cheese.  We skipped on the junk food and ate our picnic lunch of watermelon, grapes, and sandwiches with cold lemonade.  After riding a few rides, we spent the afternoon at the beach.  Have I told you how much I adore the beach? Well, maybe not the sand, but I love that the children never seem to get bored when they are at the beach.  The girls are getting braver each time we go and are at least letting the water touch their feet.  They are scared of the waves.  When we went back to the hotel the children fell fast asleep with sand still in their hair and ears.  It was a good day!