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Old 10 Nov 18, 07:22 PM  
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bambikate
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The 1200 Mile West Coast Adventure - August/September 2018: Day 7: Santa Cruz'in!

Day 7: Santa Cruz’in!
Sunday 25 August 2018

Driving to Santa Cruz, Mystery Spot Tour, Target, staying in an airstream at KOA, BBQ and late night swimming

Index

We were up early again, there was too much to do on this holiday for lie ins! We enjoyed Starbucks breakfast so much the day before that we all agreed we would like the same again today. Andy and Izzy kindly volunteered to go to Starbucks and collect breakfast this time so we could eat it in our room. In the meantime, Imogen and I packed up everything back into our cases. (Well, I did whilst Imogen looked out the window and watched Andy and Izzy and frantically waved and banged on the window! )

Breakfast was really good once again.







Tonight’s accommodation was KOA (Kampsites of America) staying an an airstream! We were planning on having a BBQ for dinner and popping to Target on the way so we had a quick google what facilities it came with to see what we needed to buy! We were impressed by how well equipped it was, including a gas BBQ.



We finished packing, took our stuff downstairs and checked out. We were fully expecting to pay for parking but we were so shocked with the price on checkout. Parking was… wait for it… $65 a night for regular cars or $75 with in and out privileges . BUT ours was “oversized” therefore it was $75 a night or $85 a night with in and out privileges. BUT… this didn’t include tax, and not just normal tax, parking tax was a special 14% rate! On top of this there was the urban facility fee of $25 a night. But this also had tax of 14% on it and another 2.25% and 0.195% so on check out we forked out another $355 on top of what we’d already paid. We knew parking and urban fees were extra but it really left a bad taste in your mouth forking out all that in cash, I don't know why it can’t just all be paid up front, slightly less painful at least!

It didn’t help we had a very surly member of staff checking us out. When we questioned whether our car was oversized because it fitted in a normal parking space, she said “What car is it?” We said a Chevy Tahoe. “That’s oversized.” she said very matter of factly not even making eye contact while ringing up our total.

With our wallets significantly lighter than a few days ago... it was time to head out of San Francisco.

We had a pretty easy day planned today and had one place we were yet to visit on the way to Santa Cruz, 16th Avenue tiled steps! It was kind of on the way out of the city and wasn’t much of a detour, it was cool to see the other neighbourhoods en route.









We topped up with fuel, put the music on and started our 1hr 40 min drive (via the coastal road) to Santa Cruz! Woo!

The drive was beautiful











The further South we got the sunnier and less overcast it got













After an easy drive we arrived in Santa Cruz in tim for an early lunch. We managed to find some free parking and walked down to one of the branches of “Pizza my Heart”



They did pizza by the slice and we’d chosen this place as we’d heard lots of good reviews online.

Imogen’s puffed sleeves underneath making it look like she’s been hitting the gym hard! Dem gains!











We ate inside, the food was fresh and tasty and reasonably priced. It was exactly what the doctor ordered!

Our next activity was the Mystery Spot Tour! We’d seen this on a Katie Ellison vlog. It was $32 for the four of us for a short tour. We had booked online a while ago and had our print at home tickets in hand. The drive up to the road is so bumpy we were flying around our seats from side to side driving in!



It’s a good job we booked as they were turning away anyone who hadn’t booked as the carpark was totally full.

After parking we checked in and had a look around the gift shop then paid $5 for parking. I’m not really sure why they charge for this separately, you can’t really get here without driving anyway!

It was a really fun little stop. They explained that the Mystery Spot was a gravitational anomaly and gave a back story.

Izzy got called up to help with an example using another taller visitor and a spirit level.







She loved being part of the demonstration.

The slope up to the building was so steep!



I won’t spoil it too much so here are a few pictures only of the tour. Although they explain it as a gravitational anomaly I think it’s a trick of the mind using slopes and angles but it was so clever, it was done brilliantly.









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Edited at 07:43 PM.
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Old 10 Nov 18, 07:23 PM  
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I got chosen to be used in the next demonstration but Andy only videoed and forgot to take photos…

Finally the last demonstration, Imogen was chosen! Lucky family, huh? She was thrilled to be used in the demo.

[



We then got given a free gift for visiting - a Mystery Spot bumper sticker each



We stopped to admire the beautiful redwood trees before making our way back to the Tahoe.





We loved the Mystery Spot and would recommend it if you are nearby for an hour or so stop off.

Our check in time wasn’t until 4pm so we had enough time to pop to the nearest town to find a Target and stock up on what we needed for our self-catering experience tonight.

We picked up some BBQ food, some breakfast food, some snacks and drinks, some alcohol and the shorts I’d been wanting since our last Target visit (yay!)

After stocking up we made the short drive to KOA Santa Cruz / Monterey Bay.

If you haven’t heard of KOA, it’s Kampsites of America which is a network of around 500 campsites located across the USA and Canada. We only heard of them by chance as we stumbled across a vlog where a family stayed in an airstream and we thought it looked like so much fun.

When we arrived we pulled up to the little convenience store on site which also had the check in desk. They had everything you needed at pretty good prices and to be honest we probably didn’t require the trip to Target but hey, who doesn’t love a bonus trip to Target!

We had a browse anyway and bought the fire wood and fire lighters we had planned to buy from here anyway and checked in. The staff were so friendly and commented on my Disney nails and Andy’s Disney tattoos and told the girls they had very cool parents…

We chatted about Disneyland for a while then got our keys for the caravan.

They radioed for someone to meet us there in a few minutes to give us a tour and said that someone would drop the wood off to our caravan shortly to save us putting it in our car! Perfect.

We were given a little ticket to hang on our car visor for parking and a map of the resort and drove up to our airstream!

The next friendly member of staff was waiting outside the caravan in his bright yellow t shirt, having sped ahead in his golf buggy.

He showed us how to lock and unlock the caravan, where all the bits and pieces were inside and how to operate the fire and the BBQ and ran through some of the facilities available and said if there’s anything at all we need, just call.



Our airstream was super adorable and we instantly felt at home and relaxed on the site. Everyone was so chilled and friendly and the weather was beautiful.

I forgot to get nice tidy pics when we arrived so here are some ones when we left with the curtains closed and some courtesy of google…

The dining table / bed 4






Back to our pics







There were a range of campers from other people renting airstreams, wooden cabins, deluxe wooden cabins, tents to gigantic RVs.

We LOVED our cabin, it was so cute, clean and fun! Our closest neighbours were an American family.

It was a bit too early to eat yet, so we poured ourselves some drinks and walked down to the bounce pad to let the girls burn off some energy for a while whilst we chilled.











The girls loved the bounce pad. Our neighbour’s son, Matthew was also playing. He taught the girls to do a front flip, which was brilliant.

We felt so relaxed just chilling out watching them have fun.

The girls also wanted to try out the play park and Matthew joined us along with a couple more kids from the campsite.

They played it/tag and hide and seek.





After a little while, we walked back to our airstream to get the BBQ on. It was a gas fired BBQ which was so convenient.



Andy got started cooking the burgers and Matthew invited the girls to play with his remote control car that he was driving around. The girls came back to say his Mom had made S’More’s and was it OK for them to have one. We agreed they could but they decided on just a toasted marshmallow each instead as dinner wouldn’t be long. The girls thanked them and we got chatting to Matthew’s parents for a while.



Dinner was ready and we all sat down to eat. It was really good, compliments to the chef!





Can you say Ketchup?





After dinner we decided it would be great to go for a dip in the pool! We changed and walked down to the pool, which was right next to the convenience store and laundry facilities.

I took the opportunity to do some laundry too and lugged some bags of laundry and detergent down with us.





The pool was nice and warm and a great size. It was also well lit and there was also a hot tub.



We said the girls could play until the pool closed (10pm) after a few minutes the girls noticed Matthew was here too and they did some jumping in competitions together followed by a few games of Marco Polo together, which were hilarious to watch



After he left the girls continued playing until the staff came in to give us a polite warning the pool was almost closed but were pretty relaxed about it and let everyone have a few extra minutes. I used the opportunity to collect my now dry laundry (thanks to slow.jo’s top tip of using 2 tumble dryers instead of 1)

The girls changed into their pyjamas then headed back to the caravan.



We lit the fire and hung around for a while taking in the atmosphere. We really loved this place.





We had some toasted marshmallows then decided it was time for bed.







When we got in to the caravan, the girls didn’t want to sleep on their own near door, which is where the two single beds were. I had a felling this would happen…

We managed to come to the agreement that Andy and Izzy would sleep on the two singles and Imogen and I would sleep in the double bed in the bedroom… sorry Andy!

It was very cosy and it didn’t take long for us to get to sleep. A fantastic day
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Edited at 07:49 PM.
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Old 10 Nov 18, 10:46 PM  
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Love the airstream! What a fantastic night!
The parking cost are horrendous. I thought Fourseason were expensive at $30 ish😣
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Old 10 Nov 18, 11:02 PM  
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The parking costs are crazy! I remember begrudging paying $35ish in LA when we stayed in Hollywood 10 years ago.

The campsite and airstream look amazing, great place for the kids
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Old 11 Nov 18, 01:18 AM  
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Ouch, that parking charge is a bit ridiculous! I just don't get why places aren't upfront about prices.

It still sounds like you had a lovely day. Andy is so brave driving round everywhere, I don't think I'd ever have the courage to drive abroad.

Looking forward to the next day!
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Old 11 Nov 18, 04:28 PM  
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i love jack
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The KOA sounds and looks lovely, I’ve been looking at the babies for out holiday but wondered if the campsites were crazy busy which I didn’t really fancy..
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Old 12 Nov 18, 10:54 PM  
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Your stay in the airstream looks fab but ouch to the parking charges in the morning!
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Old 13 Nov 18, 08:31 PM  
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What a lovely experience in the airstream. The Mystery Spot looked good fun. Wow those parking charges are a bit extreme.
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Old 17 Nov 18, 03:13 PM  
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What a fun place to stay! It must have felt like a little holiday in the middle of your holiday!

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Old 25 Nov 18, 11:18 PM  
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The parking charges 😱!

But that airstream looks amazing! My youngest is desperate for a camper van (we have too much stuff when we camp so it will never happen) so I am very tempted to do a couple of nights after seeing your insta photos! Just need to rob a bank to afford San Fran on the way 😂

Thanks for sharing!
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