Day Fourteen – September 22, 2018

Day Fourteen – September 22, 2018

Another gorgeous day with sunshine and a light breeze.  A quick breakfast and we are off to pick up the kids and Esmé.  The traffic is a bit heavier as it is the weekend but we make good time and, on the mountain, there is light traffic.  That road is a little tricky in spots if you encounter a car traveling the opposite way.  There are not many places to pull over to let someone pass and there are no guard rails so we take it slowly around the curves.

Some little one did not sleep so well which means two older ones did not sleep so well either.  But with the promise of pie on the trip we pack the car with baby items.  There is already a cooler with ice in the car just in case we find goodies along the way.

Spending these last few days with Esmé has been fascinating.  She has such a strong personality already!  She does not like to be horizontal – she does not like to be excluded from activities or conversations – she does not like her car seat.  Okay – that is a bit mild – she HATES her car seat.  And on this trip she lets us know – big time.  There is nothing little about her crying as we progress to Capitola to pick up our starfish and then on to Santa Cruz.  The “Baby Shusher” (a battery driven device that sounds like shush – shush – shush in a kind of white noise way) designed to calm infants is not working today.

In fact, everything we try does not work.  She keeps crying and Trista says this is a new cry and she isn’t sure she likes it at all.  

There is a book that Trista reads called The Wonder Weeks.  Esmé is in a growth week that involves four pages of things she might be doing – and as I look through those pages, she is exhibiting most of those things.  Poor baby – so much going on and so much to take in – and so much!!!

We make our way through Santa Cruz and see parts of the University.  This is a college town for sure as we see many pubs, little shops, and lots of traffic.  Chris mentions we might want to gas up here because there may not be many places along our way.  What is with the names of gas stations – in Las Vegas it was Terrible’s – here we see Rotten Robbie’s???

We, well Esmé is crying.  I have some music on my phone – let’s try that.  From “The Voice”, Spensha Baker is singing and it seems to work – no crying – just sort of looking at the phone wondering where that sound is coming from. It is so cool watching her try to make connections.

There are some incredible views of the ocean on this trip – sadly there are lines in the windows of the far back passenger seat of the car and those make it difficult for the camera to focus.  Dale thinks these lines are a safety feature – the sensors that let you know there is a vehicle beside you – so you don’t pull into that lane.

 

Route One is quite interesting – little places to eat, shop etc.  We stop at Whale City in Davenport for a late breakfast. 

 

The place is packed so we have to wait about 20 minutes for a table.  There are a lot of bikers, foreign tourists, and locals here – must be good!  By the time we are seated they are through serving breakfast and into the lunch menu.  Both Chris and Trista opt for burgers, Dale and  I have ham and cheese.

 

 

 

A good stop and then we continue on to a place that the kids really like – The Pie Ranch. 

 

Home-made baked goods in a barn with all sorts of locally produced goods.  There are the normal sized pies and then individual pies.

 

 

 

 

Chris and Dale enjoy their pies – Esmé has a dairy intolerance so Trista cannot have food with dairy products and regrettably – no pie.  It is good pie!  We see signs for olallieberry pies but we are not familiar with that berry. 

 

 

 

Dale wonders what Toma Toes are and Trista tells him tomatoes!

A diaper and wardrobe change and we are off. 

 

Wait – there is silence!  Esmé is sleeping!  We make our way to Pescadero – a very cute little town with lots of character.  This is artichoke country – and we are eager to sample!

   

While the baby is sleeping Chris and Trista are craving coffee so we find a parking spot and rush to get coffee while they stay with Esmé.  The first store we see with coffee is also a bakery/grocery/wine store.  As we approach the coffee urns a young man brings out bags and bags of warm fresh artichoke with garlic bread.  I almost get stampeded as a woman grabs four bags of bread and a guy grabs six bags of bread!  They might be on to something so I grab two bags as well.

There is a line in the store so we try to get cashed out as fast as possible.  By the time we get back to the car – the baby is wide awake.  Oh well, the kids have caffeine and warm artichoke bread.

We start to explore the little shops and wares of the town.

 

 

 

 

 

Esmé is doing well now – able to see what is going on and enjoying life.  She particularly likes this store – must be in the genes as Dale’s father and Dale are woodworkers.

 

Too funny “Puzzle Boxes not Recommended for Anxiety Pills”

The restaurant with the artichoke soup is now displaying a sign – “Due to the artichoke shortage there will be no artichoke soup for take-out.”  The severe drought is really taking a toll on all agriculture here in California.  We are really bummed out by that – but continue to explore.

This is also wine country!

 

 

Time for another diaper change so the kids go back to the car and Dale and I go back to that first store to check out what other treats they might have – garlic stuffed olives and garlic olive oil look good – in fact there are a lot of things that look good.  We decide we don’t have room for a lot of things and just buy those items.

Esmé is tired but not giving in!  It is getting late and we need to start heading back.  That means the car seat.  Oh No – Not the car seat!!!

Yep – the crying commences and we all try to make her more comfortable.  There is something about being restrained that she does not like at all.

I try more music – this time Blake Shelton and Emily Ann Roberts singing “Islands in the Sun. “

Works again – she is sleeping.

Almost back and the traffic is stopped – Chris says this is beach traffic – families returning home after a day at the ocean.  Once back on the mountain – Esmé is awake and ready to play!

We know everyone is tired, so we say goodbye for the day and return to the hotel.  There is a band playing in the lounge so we open our patio door and enjoy the music. 

As we prepare for bed we watch the Weather Channel to see if there are any issues for our travels.  They are interviewing a young woman who is in the forest restoration business.  She speaks about the drought and how it is killing the trees in the forests.  Very sad.  We get quite a bit of rain on a regular basis in the Northeast. 

An early bed for us as well!