Down By the Boardwalk.

Rain rain go away! A few weeks ago we were clinging to the last days of Bay Area summer (also known as September) and hit the boardwalk down in Santa Cruz. I spent most of my summers there as a kid and have such amazing memories of the Pacific Garden Mall, playing on the UCSC campus (where my parents taught) and hitting the boardwalk on weekends. The day was gorgeous—not too hot, but beautiful and sunny. It's literally right on the beach, which makes it all the more fun! I looove carnival food (icy sodas, corn dogs and caramel apples) and all the colors. My favorite rides are the log ride and the vintage carousel. If you sit on the outside horses, you can grab a small metal ring and try and wing it into this clown's mouth as the carousel spins around and around—way harder than it sounds! My other fave, the balloon game dealie where you squirt a water gun into a clown's mouth. Wolfie loved this too and even won a little stuffed dragon. All in all, a pretty rad little day.