LiveFromTheWorldYo: Santa Cruz, Baby (literally)!

Heyyy, it’s me — BeSeeingTheWorldYo! To celebrate our 3 year wedding anniversary, Justin and I took Eliza on her first weekend getaway to Santa Cruz, California. But the real highlight of the weekend? Eliza was an absolute pro during her first hotel stay. 🎉

Sleeping Like a Champ

Eliza’s slept in plenty of places before, but I was nervous ‘cuz this trip was her first time in a pack and play and using our new travel stroller. Turns out I didn’t need to be! It took a little trial and error to settle her in the pack and play and properly set up the stroller, but we all figured it out. Our travel stroller can lay flat, which is awesome — she was totally willing to nap in there while we explored, even though it wasn’t super easy for her to get her hands above her head the way she likes it. (Full travel stroller review coming soon in a BePackingTheWorldYo post — stay tuned!)

Brittany holding baby Eliza by hotel room window with pack and play visible — Showing Eliza the view from her very first hotel room – notice the pack and play tucked away in the corner.

Brittany pushing new travel stroller down a tree-lined downtown Santa Cruz street — Travel stroller, meet downtown Santa Cruz. Full review coming soon! 👶✨

Cookie Appetizer (per ush) for the Soocookiens

Justin – or should I say the SooCookie Monster – and I have a long-standing tradition of eating dessert before meals. Like why “save the best for last” when you can enjoy it first! So, our first stop downtown Santa Cruz was the Pacific Cookie Company. We ate the cookies (mission accomplished) without any photo evidence. Feeling abashed I forgot to snap a photo – I asked to go back the next day so you could get a taste of the vibe. They dip their cookies in chocolate!

Mint chocolate chip cookie at Pacific Cookie Company — My favorite — mint chocolate chip.

Brittany with chocolate on her face mid-cookie — Clearly enjoying it a little too much (didn’t notice the chocolate on my face) and almost forgot to snap a pic… AGAIN!

We wandered through a kids fair happening by Abbott Square (very on-brand for our new life #begrowingtheworldyo), then rolled up to Walnut Ave Cafe where we both crushed our burgers. Real lunch, finally, hours after dessert.

Cheeseburger with potatoes and pepperoncini on a blue plate at Walker Ave Cafe — 🍔 Walnut Ave Cafe burger — exactly as good as it looks – and served with home fries.

Boardwalk Bliss

We strolled down the river path to the boardwalk, and I nursed Eliza right by the beach — a moment to soak up whatever sun we could get and to watch some kids make TikToks on TikToks. When we made our way through the Boardwalk, Eliza was obsessed with watching the carousel and the other rides. Justin and I tried to win her a Pokémon toy at one of the games and… we did not. Sorry Eliza, we’ll get ’em next time.