"Dad's Gone Wild" Weekend in Santa Cruz

Special Guest Blogger: Patrick, a.k.a. GaGa

First of all, I'd like to thank Thea for this opportunity to blog with you today. And I'd also like to thank our friend Reuben who had extra ride passes to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, and proposed making a weekend excursion out of it. Thea seized the moment and said "YES! You take Alston to Santa Cruz with Reuben and Zadie and I'll stay here. By myself. Quietly."

Well, I can take a hint. So we made it a "Dad's Weekend", grabbed our kids, booked a hotel with a pool, and hit the road! There were about 10 rides that were compatible with the under 2 crowd, which was more than enough to blow their minds and tire them out.

Reuben and his daughter Zadie, who is just a few weeks younger than Alston. (Here they are, back in younger days)

I wasn't sure Alston would be OK in the helicopter by himself...

...but he loved it!

Flying dragons!

Alston is a fierce driver.

The car chase action shot.

Zadie loves the carousel ride.

Alston's favorite: the whiplash-inducing car track.

Each picked their own Santa Cruz psychic shop.

On the way home, we made sure to detour up the coast to Pescadero, where the beach is beautiful and lunch is at Duarte's Tavern (since 1894). One of Northern California's greatest meals: half Cream of Artichoke/half Cream of Green Chile soup, served with steaming sourdough bread and a cold Anchor Steam.

Culinary nirvana: Cream of Artichoke/Chile Soup with sourdough bread a cold Anchor Steam. Dump trucks and pacifiers optional.

The kids opted for a double-dose of starch. Plain spaghetti with french fries.

Final stop: Pescadero Beach for more fun in the sand.

 It was a great adventure. Two dads left for the weekend with two kids, and everyone came back in one piece! There were rides, swimming pools, french fries, several beaches, a few gin and tonics for the adults, and a stop at the legendary Duarte's. Not bad, fellas! Not bad.

And as for Thea... I think she missed us. But it was actually her first overnight separated from Alston, which is kind of amazing. She had some fun and tackled a couple longstanding home improvement projects.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed my guest blog, I expect this blog will now return to the regularly scheduled programming. GaGa out.