Good things Aptos

We vacation on the central coast- and we have for years.

In fact, my dad vacationed there when he was a kid, 

and his family all rented houses on the same street when we were growing up. 

Needless to say, it holds a special place in our hearts. 

If I need to convince you in the direction of the central coast, 

all I probably need to say is that it's the happy medium off all the West Coast. 

It doesn't have the same crowds as Southern California. Nor the same traffic. 

And it's not frigid cold like the Northern Beaches. 

Aptos is our home base, but we like it all. 

The shops in Capitola, the boardwalk in Santa Cruz, 

and the history/aquarium in Monterey Bay. 

So in case you happen along that way anytime soon, 

I'm going to share some of our favorite places to go [warning:mostly food]

Aptos Street BBQ

Go. 

And go early. I'm dead serious. 

Those who know us know that we Veaters love our meat. #cattleranchfamily

[are hashtags appropriate on a blog? Meh.]

Moral of the story is this place smokes the meat overnight and only has a certain amount. 

They sell out by the end of the day, and believe me you don't want to miss it. 

Get the TriTip and it will change your life. 

I crave it on the daily and I'm not kidding. 

Marianne's Ice Cream

Try their licorice ice cream for me, would you?

Ok, you don't have to but I'm obsessed. 

I never can choose another flavor, though if I'm in the mood for a double scoop [aka almost always]

I'll pair that bad boy with salted carmel, which will also blow your mind. 

Not to say that 50-50 and snickerdoodle cookie dough aren't equally as amazing....

but you get the idea, don't you?

Santa Cruz Boardwalk

Ok, so it's super old and maybe slightly ghetto, but the rides are actually great!

And you can't beat looking out over sailboats and the ocean while screaming out your lungs. 

Can you?

And if I say so myself, it's a great place to people watch- 

every type of person you could think of is there. 

Cafe Sparrow

A darling little Country French restaurant!

Wallpaper and fresh flowers on the table and the best pork chop I've ever tasted.

And I don't like pork chops, so that's saying something.

And now for some more vacation pictures!

p.s. I forgot to mention that now that Jay's in the family, we do bonfires too.