Woo buddy. The Baxters and Koenigs did something I thought may never happen. We vacationed as a family all together! This was a huge endeavor when you consider that my parents had not been to the ocean since their honeymoon in Florida (1976) and my brother and his wife had not yet flown or vacationed with their 3 kids (ages 1, 3, and 6). I started pushing the idea about a year prior when I decided it would be fun to go somewhere other than Wisconsin for a summer vacation (sorry WI but coming every year for the last 18 years has lost some of its charm). Jason and I had vacationed in Santa Cruz with the boys in 2021 at his sister’s Airbnb and had a great time. It offered a sense of familiarity with family literally right next door. I must have made a decent sales pitch because everyone agreed to give it a try.
After quite a bit of planning, Jason and I loaded up the kids and the Pilot in late July and headed out a day earlier than the rest of the bunch to get everything situated. We arrived near bedtime and Misty and girls had already put away our grocery delivery (score!). I tried to order most everything ahead and made a meal plan for the week. It was a lot of work, but I really wanted this first experience to be a good one for everyone.
Day 2 (Sunday) the Midwest travelers arrived. They flew in to San Jose, grabbed a rental van and made the 45 minute trek over the mountain into Santa Cruz. By all accounts it was a good travel day and the kids flew well. I think the secret to flying with little kids is to bring along a set of grandparents. That sure would have helped when we were still flying to the Midwest when our boys were little! It was my dad’s birthday so we celebrated that evening with cake before everyone crashed into bed.
Day 3 was a rest and recovery day. (I am of the opinion all vacations should include rest and recovery days). We hung around the house, made food, and took a short adventure down to the wharf to stare at the sea lions. What a bunch of noisy buggers. That afternoon we put all of the kiddos into wetsuits (courtesy of Misty and Curtis’s amazing stash of ocean stuff) and ventured down to the beach. The water was cold, but fun. We even got grandpa Bruce into a pair of sandals! I think I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen my dad in much other than work boots so it was certainly worth documenting.
Day 4 we loaded up the gang and ventured south down the coast to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. It was BEAUTIFUL (and busy)! The drive along the coast was pretty as well, lots of produce farms and fog would be my summary. 🙂 We returned to the Airbnb in time for dinner and a chance to throw all the kids into the hot tub.
Day 5 we again stayed close to home base (rest and recovery days forever!!). The kids tried their hand at boogie boarding and once again filled every crevice with beach sand. Those who hadn’t ventured down to the wharf on Monday went to check out the sea lions and rode a few rides on the boardwalk.
Day 6 was another day with a big outing as we drove north this time to San Francisco to see the Golden Gate Bridge and Redwoods in Muir Woods. Muir Woods was one of my favorite places we visited during our honeymoon 15 years ago and it was fun to be back with all the kids and cousins. Mom was pretty excited to see the Golden Gate Bridge as she didn’t think in all her life she’d get to see it in person. We ran the kids through the Redwoods, and across the Golden Gate Bridge before taking Highway 1 back down the coast and back to the Airbnb.
Day 7 we were all pretty exhausted and it was time to do laundry and pack up for the return trip. Little did we know that the mild cold my dad had during the week was actually Covid…so the tired cold like symptoms we were all experiencing were likely the beginnings of that. Thankfully Covid didn’t ruin our trip and we all had a great time.
Day 8 (Saturday) we said our goodbyes, took one last photo together and the Baxters drove back to Utah while the Koenigs flew back to the Midwest. Post vacation recovery was a bit more complicated by Covid, but more on that in another post. I’d consider our first family vacation traveling together a roaring success! 
PS: If anyone wants to spend some time in Santa Cruz I know some folks with a pretty freaking awesome Airbnb. Thanks again Misty and Curtis!
PSS: I was thoroughly chastised after this vacation by my brother who is convinced Ava (his 18 month old) learned how to manipulate adults during her outings in California. It takes a lot of extra snacks, cuddling, and treats to get a little kid who is short on naps through long travel days. Jim credits this trip with teaching her how to work the system to get her way. She was bound to figure it out sooner or later wasn’t she?