My sister Julie and my niece visited last week and we didn’t waste one second of our time together.  My niece is the same age as my twins.  Three tweens, one teen, and two silly adult women = non stop fun and laughter.

The girls

We hit the ground running Monday morning by starting, where else?  The Beach!  We hit one of my favorite spots to soak up some sun (and Pizza) at Pizza My Heart in Capitola.  This is the cutest little coastal town near Santa Cruz.  Worth a stop if you have never been here.

photo courtesy of trip advisor

Travis (Mr. Red) brought a friend.  They had their wet suits on and were in the water before we even had our beach towels arranged.  We had to pull them from the water three hours later when we left. That water is cold too in case you are wondering.

Myself, my girls and my niece.  The weather was gorgeous.

That night we capped it off with a trip to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Monday and Tuesday night all rides are a dollar.  I learned a few things this night.

It cost a lot of money to paint the historic Big Dipper Roller Coaster.

My mother used to ride this roller coaster as a teen, now my kids do!  (They have maintained it quite well I have to say).

 photo courtesy of google images

I also learned you can’t eat Pizza for lunch, chips all afternoon and a dinner of deep fried food, followed by herkyjerky rides and two trips on an intense roller coaster and still feel good.  It worked when I was a teenager!

We needed to work around the recently employed teenager, so we packed in more fun  on  Tuesday.  A trip to San Francisco’s China Town.  Something for everyone here.  We took a visit to the world famous Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory.

The barber next store was on his lunch break.  He decided to make some extra cash and entertain us tourists with what else, Christmas Songs on his Chinese Violin!  Three of the top hits were played for the 20 minutes we were there, over and over and over.  Notice the ear phones?  I didn’t want to listen either, but I did tip him nicely for the picture.

Fish anyone?  You can find any kind of exotic fish, fruit, nut or vegetable here.

Or maybe you prefer just the fish skins.

Like any good tourist trap, there are endless emporiums of stuff made in China, for Americans, sold in China Town!  We were intrigued by the Naughty Chicken.  It basically has a gel filled egg that pops out when you squeeze it.  Still not sure what it did to be so naughty.

SF Chinatown is a gem in a city filled with gems.  It has looked like this for as long as I can remember.  (Although there are far more touristy stores here than there were 35 years ago, and I am not 35 by the way….)

 

Every visitor who comes to see me must accompany me to Fentons.  Of course, if it is my family, we HAVE to go there.  We grew up on Fentons and we didn’t have a proper visit if we don’t consume hugungeous amounts of Ice Cream.

And yes, I finished every last bite.  And notice how my sister ordered the Jr. Sundae.  Wimp.

The rest of our trip was one lovely moment after another.  We did a trip to the town we grew up in, nearby where I live.  We of course stood over the fence of our childhood home and snapped pictures and snooped through the gate.  I am assuming whomever owns that home now does not read my blog.  If you do, the yard looks great, but I miss my dad’s roses.

 

My sister even came down to Paris Flea Market with me to help me finish setting up.

The visit ended too soon, but we have fantastic memories.

Hope you are all having a blast this summer.  It is over too soon, so make sure you make some memories with your loved ones too.  And don’t eat fried food and go on rides.

Next up, our annual Sisters Trip! Here we are on the Friend’s Couch in LA from our last trip.  I know you are all jealous.  Jennifer Aniston sat where I sat.