Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz--A 4 Day Trip

This past Easter weekend, my family and I took the off to enjoy the first half of our Spring Break in the Monterey Bay/Santa Cruz area.  Spring is a beautiful time to visit as the rainy season is, for the most part, over, and the hillsides are full of lush greenery.  It's also not quite as crowded as the July/August peak season.

We stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Capitola.  I stayed there last year when my oldest son and I went on a trip and we decided to return.  It's a decent hotel, much nicer than others in the area that will possibly be closer to the beach, but as a rule are not as pleasant.  The beds were comfortable.  The room was clean.  Free breakfast is given every morning and there's a safe, locked parking area, which is a nice perk in this area.  The only downside to the room itself was that the cleaning crew left the slider open and forgot to replenish our bath towels.  We were lucky no one jumped into our room and stole anything, but thankfully, even being on the first floor, we were not at ground level, so getting in would have been tough for a thief.  The hotel was a bit noisy and sound carried very well, but generally, things were quiet from 10PM-6AM, which was good enough for us.

One of our favorite locations in the area is the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.  This is one of the last classic seaside amusement parks on the west coast.  My husband and I also happened to work there for a few years way back when we first met, so the area holds some personal connection for us as well.  Going to the Boardwalk is free, but parking is $15 and rides can cost anywhere from about $3-$7, or you can get an unlimited ride wristband for a bit more, which makes sense if you plan on riding a lot of rides.  There's also a huge arcade, indoor mini golf, a haunted house, and laser tag.  Overall, it has a carnival type feel, but it also has some classic rides that have been around for over 100 years, like the carousel and the Giant Dipper, a classic wooden roller coaster.

We also visited another personal favorite, the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Located in Monterey, California, this aquarium is amazing.  It's a bit pricey at $50 for adults and $30 for children, but well worth the money to see the amazing exhibits.  Where else can you see fish larger than a toddler swimming in a gigantic multi-story display or watch otters swimming in their enclosure, then step outside and see them drifting in the wild literally right outside the door?  All of my children really enjoyed this experience.  As an extra perk, it's a great way to make a trip educational.

While in Monterey, we also stopped at Dennis the Menace Park.  Close to the wharf, this area is a fun place to let your kids run.  Fair warning though, it gets very crowded and is quite large.  If you have more than one or two kids, it's hard to keep track of everyone.  Still, it's one of the best parks I've ever been to and worth the side trip.

Speaking of educational, we also took a trip to the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California.  This museum is meant for children between ages 8 and 14, but my 4-year-olds enjoyed it, too.  There are hands on exhibits on robotics, networks, the human body, and health.  You can even simulate an earthquake to see how buildings, materials, and people respond to the shaking.

San Jose is a beautiful city with an odd juxtaposition of old and new.  A stroll around the downtown area rounded off our trip.  Some of the old buildings and modern art were gorgeous.

As for food recommendations, my number 1 choice is always Las Palmas in Santa Cruz.  This is a pretty basic taco shop with tacos, burritos, enchiladas, rice, and beans, among other basic Mexican fair.  Prices are also right.  A bean and cheese burrito will only cost you about $4.  Taco platters run around $9.

My other standard recommendation is Erik's Deli, which you can find in Santa Cruz, Capitola, Watsonville, and San Jose.  This deli seems like any other typical place until you actually taste the sandwiches.  Alfalfa sprouts come standard on most of the sandwiches, adding a little extra flare.  The sandwiches aren't the most cost-effective, but definitely worth the $7-$10 per sandwich if you want something surprisingly good and unique compared to larger chain companies.

It was a great trip and I can't wait to go back again.  Hopefully we'll make it next year.  Our next big planned trip is Legoland in June.  Can't wait!

10 Week Challenge--Weekend 10

We have made it to the end of my 10 weeks of free activity weekends.  In reflection, the challenge wasn't too hard.  I wish I had been able to find more free activities in the area to highlight, but my kids keep getting sick.  If I do the challenge again, I will do it in the summer when they are less likely to get sick. 

Saturday was a Girls' Day for my daughter and me.  My husband took the boys to a taekwondo event, but my daughter didn't want to go, so we had a special day, just the two of us.  We first went to the mall to explore Toys R Us since it's closing soon.  It was fun just walking around the store and looking at toys.  As a child of the "Toys R Us Kid" generation, it's a little hard to know they'll be gone soon.  Then, we went home.  My daughter wanted her nails painted, so we had some fun with home pedicures.  We also made a delicious "baked penne" (think baked ziti but with penne pasta) for dinner from scratch.  It was a good end to our 2 months of money saving. 

As for how I did on the money front, I am finally caught up on my credit card payments.  I will be able to pay off my card the day before we leave for our trip.  And since I've already paid for most of the attractions we'll be exploring through my union discounts, the trip is looking very manageable.  I highly recommend this type of challenge to anyone.  It's reduced my weekend spending and been wonderful.

 

Today, I'm packing as much as I can for our trip.  Since I won't have much time during the week with work and my kids' activities, I have finally figured out that packing a week early is the best way to go.  There will be odds and ends that have to wait until last minute, but getting the bulk of it done makes traveling with a large family so much easier.

So here is the latest list for packing.  We're going to a beach area in central California.  Temperatures range from highs between 65 and 75 this time of year to lows between 45 and 55.  My kids, at this point, are 7 (almost 8) and 4 (x2).

We also make a car sick emergency kit.  It has paper towels, hand sanitizer, wipes, plastic bags, extra clothes, an old plastic ice cream tub, and dramamine.  One of our three kids gets car sick every time we go on road trips, so this is essential. 

Can't wait for our trip!  I'll have plenty to share when I return.

10 Week Challenge--Weekend 9

We didn't quite make it to the zoo this weekend since the L.A. Marathon was going on and we wanted to avoid traffic, but we headed north instead and took a walk around Ventura Harbor and the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center.  This is a great area of Ventura and totally free if you remember to bring yourself a picnic lunch or some snacks.  We haven't been there in a long time, but before the December fire that took out much of the mountains in the background, this was one of our favorite free adventures.  I'm happy to say that even with a little crispiness still charring the hillsides, the harbor itself is still quite beautiful, as are the mountain backdrops.

We also spent some of the weekend cleaning out the mini van.  Only 2 more weeks until our road trip and we start the prep work early so we don't have to do it all last minute!

10 Week Challenge--Weekend 8

This weekend, my two youngest were getting over colds and my youngest boy got an ear infection on top of that, so once again, our plans were somewhat thwarted (originally we were going to go to the harbor and walk around, but between them being sick and the rain storm that came through, we chose to stay home).  With that in mind, we had a lot of fun at home.  Saturday, we played Mario Kart on the Wii-U for a good part of the day in celebration of MAR10 (March 10--it's a nerd thing).  Today, we've spent the day watching Frozen and Tangled movies, shorts, and tv shows. Tonight, we are making lasagna from scratch.  If I remember, I'll post pictures.

As we get closer to spring break, I'm starting to use some of that money I've saved up through the past 8 weeks to prep for our trip.  This weekend, I found some great deals on tickets to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk through my union's discounter, Recreation Connection.  I don't use this perk of my job enough and I'm not sure why.  I was able to get 10% off the aquarium tickets, which is great when it's normally almost $50 per adult and $30 per kid.  The deal at the Boardwalk was even better.  $44.95 got me an all-day ride wristband for my oldest son plus a $25 fun card (which is like purchasing ride tickets and tokens for the arcade, but on a card for convenience).  Typically the wristband itself runs about $40, so considering the card it comes with, I think this is one of the best deals I've ever found for an amusement park, not including, of course, when I worked there and got free passes.  We didn't purchase wristbands for all 6 of us because realistically, it wouldn't make financial sense.  My 7-year-old will go on quite a few rides, but I'll only go on roller coasters and the pirate ship, my husband only does spinning rides, the 4-year-olds probably won't go on much at all except the carousel and the cave train, and my mom will probably stick with the little ones.  So, for the rest of us, we're getting a $100 fun card when we go, which gives you $15 in bonus points.  So, overall, we'll be paying $145 when otherwise we'd be paying much, much more.  Anyway, my point is, if you have a union, don't hesitate to ask if they have deals on tickets.  It's worth the effort for the savings.

I can't wait to go on this trip in just 3 more weeks!  And doing this savings challenge has really helped me feel more confident that I have the money for the trip and won't be in major debt after just 4 days away from home.  Next week, assuming everyone is healthy finally and the weather is good, we're planning a trip to the zoo on our zoo passes that were pre-paid before this challenge started.  The weekend after that, we'll be packing, so I'll provide an up-to-date list of items we pack for road trips.  Then, a week or two after that I'll be back with a trip report on all the exciting things we did and saw during our spring break road trip.

Edited on 3/18--We have pictures of the lasagna.  Sorry it took me a whole week to get them!

10 Week Challenge--Weekend 7 (And Some Off-Topic Stuff)

I don't have a lot to say about this weekend of the challenge.  Yesterday, I went out to see a concert I had bought tickets to months ago, so the focus wasn't really on finding free and exciting activities for the kids.  I got to see the Beach Boys (or what's left of them) perform live with my mom.  John Stamos performed with them and I was pretty much in heaven the whole evening.  All I will say is, if you love the band, see them live just once.  It's an awesome experience. We also had dinner at Umami, which is a trendy burger place.  I had a slider trio, including a hatch (which had peppers on it), truffle burger and the infamous "impossible" burger, which is a vegan patty that has the texture, look, and taste (to a lesser degree) of a regular burger.  For all of you reading about the impossible burger on foodie sites or social media, yes, it really is as amazing as it sounds, and, while it doesn't stay together as well as beef, it really is nothing like a typical veggie burger either.  Definitely worth a try...but I'm off topic.

Today is a pretty laid back day at our house.  My youngest son went out with his grandmother.  The other two are watching tv and building forts out of blankets, cushions, and couches.  I'm pretty tired from my late evening, so I've been reading books most of the day.  I also did meal prep for my lunches this week, which is something I've just recently started doing so I don't go out to lunch as often or find myself eating too much overly processed food.  This week, I made steak with farro and steak with wild rice and quinoa.  I get a pound of a cheap cut like "stew meat" and split it into 4 days worth of lunches.  The grains are relatively cheap, too.  Overall, I spent about $10 to make 4 lunches, so about $2.50 each day.  Not too bad considering even a cheaper lunch at a fast food place would be between $4 and $8.