Your mom and I had the brilliant plan to take your Grandpa Gene to Santa Cruz for Independence Day. We'd gone a few years ago and thought your Grandpa would love the busy boardwalk and huge beach. Well, once we got there, after braving long traffic delays, we spent about an hour looking for a place to park with no success. We eventually abandoned the plan and drove to nearby Capitola, a much quieter and more easily accessed beach which offered a nice break after fighting the crowds.
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| The coastline was beautiful and gray, offering some roaring but peaceful surf. |
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| I had a hard time putting the camera down. Your mom looked so serene against the coastal backdrop. |
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| One of my favorites of her. |
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| We walked around the beach for a while, enjoying the cooler weather and energy of the surfers and families wandering around and making the most of their holiday. |
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| We crossed paths briefly with this young girl who took a moment to show off the various sea life she'd found while exploring, including this tiny crab. |
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| Summer had hit, so the birds were heading north. |
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| Your Grandpa helped us take this picture. We didn't get too wet, but it was pretty slippery out there! |
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| We love taking your Grandpa to the coast. He's always had a passion for the water, and here your mom is taking a picture of him to commemorate the moment. |
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| Your mom, as always, humored me by hitting up a couple nearby beer places to try some new stuff. |
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| And without any dinner plans, we made our way back to Davis. On the way, we had a hankering for Chinese and found this delicious little place open in Los Gatos to finish off the day. Not exactly the most traditional July 4th dinner, but it was pretty dang good. |
