The grimace on Emily's face was not really a grimace. Her mouth was just too full of deep fried Oreo goodness. Waiting for her was a slab of tater twists, all bought at the Santa Cruz boardwalk--lol! We had a wonderful mini vacation at Santa Cruz. I swear, all we did was eat.

We checked in at the Best Western Suites near the Boardwalk. I honestly don't remember ever using Best Western. It's a little more expensive than Motel 6 but not as pricey as Holiday Inn. So, I signed up for a 2-queen bed room for 4 people. As we checked-in, they upgraded us for free to a two-suite room with a king-sized bed, a queen bed, a sitting room, mini kitchen, and huge bathroom. Whoa!!

Here is Emily taking over the master suite. Have I mentioned that there were 2 huge TVs as well?

Here are hubby, Emily and Matthew at the beach. The water was still cold.

Emily and Matthew (and me taking the picture) waiting for Dad. He rides with them. I have vertigo and therefore, cannot ride.

Picture taken in front of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. We had a mini vacation to Santa Cruz, and on the way back home, we stopped by WMH. I've been there in the early 80's and found this place really weird. It still is, 29 years later. The kids were fascinated by all the weirdness and the way Sarah Winchester had the house built. I'm going to include the link to the
house and you can read more and see some pictures. During the tour, we were not allowed to take ANY pictures, specially inside the house. They want you to go there and see for yourself. Outside, on the grounds, you can take limited shots but by then, I was too tired to even care. The tour of the house inside and outside took 2 and a half hours.

This is a finished shawl, designed by Stephen West, called
Daybreak. It was an easy shawl to knit. I used a cotton/wool blend yarn called Cestari. I'm not sure if they still make/sell this yarn though.

This last shawl is called the Ginger Leaves Shawl. I've seen a similar design from Evelyn Clark's Triangular shawl book where it teaches you how to design your own shawl. I enjoyed knitting this one as well.