Santa Cruz Anniversary :: One Year

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Already one year, can you believe it? Three years together and one year married, crazy. I remember when I was little I would get so anxious to be older: to be in high school, to drive, to be in college, I always wanted time to speed up. Lately, I want it to stop altogether, or at least slow down.

July 27 Allan and I celebrated our one year anniversary in Santa Cruz and it was nice (at least until we had to leave early, but even then we made the most of it). We began our trip early Friday morning with our homemade breakfast burritos in tow and made the journey up North. I was super excited, not only to arrive at our destination obviously, but to also pass through King City and Salinas. I was jazzed because I am currently reading Steinbeck's East of Eden and these cities are significant to the narrative and author.  The story takes place in these towns and John Steinbeck grew up in Salinas (we even got to stop at his childhood home).

Fast forward to our arrival in Santa Cruz. I have been researching this town for quite some time now (thank you Design Sponge City Guides). Because of this particular guide, we were ready to eat at delicious restaurants, enjoy coffee shops, and browse the local record/book stores. After arriving in Santa Cruz, we ate at Betty's Burgers, walked around downtown, visited the boardwalk and Verve Coffee. Now, I usually plan most of our trips around coffee shops (I am sure this is a known fact about me by now) and Verve has been waiting to get checked off my list for awhile.

I realllllly like this coffee shop. It has quality coffee, friendly employees, and an all around good vibe. Needless to say we stopped in on this store a few times. We also stayed in a cozy studio which we found and booked off of AirBnB.com, a website where you can rent unique places from locals. We loved where we stayed; it was cute, comfy, clean, annnnd even had a community garden! So lovely!

But sadly Saturday morning I woke up feeling no bueno, so we had to come home and cut our anniversary trip short. I was completely bummed, but in reality it makes for a more memorable trip. Plus, we have many, many more anniversaries to plan and celebrate! Fortunately, we made the most of it as previously mentioned and took the scenic route home via the 1. Such a beautiful drive! Looks like we will just have to make it up soon, possibly with a quick one day getaway? Solvang, Palm Springs, or the Wigwam hotel perhaps? Regardless of my sickie mishap, (WARNING: mushy, gushy words ahead) I am extremely grateful/happy to be called Mrs. Wheeler. To be married to a man like Allan is a treat in and of itself. Love you babe, looking forward to many more years together ; )

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