Hello! Happy Monday. How was your weekend? Hopefully fun, relaxing, and not too hectic. Today I’d like to share a few pics of our walk in Santa Cruz by the ocean.

Their last fun day at the coast

The beauty of living in our town is that the beach town of Santa Cruz is a mere 20 minutes from home. Enter this impromptu late afternoon soiree to Santa Cruz two days before they were leaving to head back home.

We went to enjoy the ocean views, stroll in a book store in downtown, and then grabbed dinner at local restaurant Lillian’s Italian Kitchen .

I just love West Cliff Drive!

I just love love West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz!! This oceanside promenade is a gorgeous walk on the cliff by the Pacific Ocean where we can see surfers, whales, dolphins, clear blue skies and crystal blue waters.

This walk never disappoints

No matter the season or weather it’s always fun strolling here. Had to bring the Kenya family and they loved it.

Got to see cliff divers on this afternoon

I’ve never seen this before – diving off the cliffs here. I don’t know how these young adults had the courage to just jump off right into the ocean.

Surfers too of course

West Cliff Drive on a gorgeous August afternoon

Book Shop Santa Cruz a local favorite

Another local spot I always take out of town guests to is Book Shop Santa Cruz in downtown Santa Cruz.

This gem of a store is a treat for book lovers. It’s huge! Current bestsellers, out of print books, books on sale, second hand books, stationary, kids area, they’ve got it all.

I loved this sign.

“A town isn’t a town without a bookstore.” Neil Gaiman

Bought two cookbooks that I can’t wait to try out the recipes from. One is on Indian cooking and is full of vegetarian recipes that to be honest are similar to recipes I already have on my blog. Besides, I just loved the pictures and I am a sucker for good photography LOL.

The second cookbook is on vegan Mexican cooking. I was telling my daughter that there are a group of Mexicans in Mexico who have been vegan for ages, and their cooking is not like American veganism where we focus on alternative cheeses and alternatives to dairy but rather their cooking is all natural using mostly legumes, nuts and seeds for their protein. Very excited to try out recipes from this book!

Stay tuned for book reviews on these two cookbooks.

Fun afternoon in Santa Cruz

For a quick getaway with a stroll by the ocean, a stroll in a book store, then dinner by candlelight – check out Santa Cruz on a fall afternoon.

Sunday night movie – The Adam Project

As I mentioned our Kenya family flew back on Saturday, enter a very quiet Sunday for us. I made a leek and cauliflower soup for dinner and asked my other twin who is still home with us until end of September to pick a good movie to watch.

She picked The Adam Project. Folks, this was such a fun movie starring Ryan Reynolds, Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, and Zoe Saldana. A fun, entertaining family movie that all of us enjoyed. It’s about time travel, family love, has action, intrigue, and comedic, all wrapped in a good movie.

The Adam Project on Netflix

Wishing you a great week ahead 🧡