What We Did In Santa Cruz

Our family always takes the week after Christmas off for a vacation to the California coast. This year found us in a beach house in Watsonville, near Santa Cruz, where we got to see mornings like this:
and sunsets like this:

And ate food like this (pizza from Smoqe, featuring pulled pork, sweet onion, fresh cubes of pineapple, and BBQ sauce):
And like this authentic Brazilian food (salt cod with traditional accompaniments pictured below):
We went bird watching at an estuary:


Watched sea lions off of Santa Cruz boardwalk wharf:

And hiked in Natural Bridges State Park-

where each winter monarch butterflies congregate in a grove of eucalyptus trees.

Best of all, we celebrated the new year and new possibilities, together!

Happy New Year, from us to you!