Staycations: Still Watching the Pennies by Paul & Sylvia Myrvold
to be in order. Fortunately, we live in the ideal part of the country if you are looking to vacation on an extremely tight budget. I have found a little stretching of the truth helps to maintain the illusion of actually being on vaca- tion. First, tell everyone that you are going on vacation and to please try not to call you unless it’s a true emergency. Ask the post office to hold all your mail for the next week. Make sure you have enough clean clothes in the closet to get through the week because you are not going to waste your time doing laun- dry! Finally, pick up your copy of Out & About and check the community calen- dar for lots of fun things to do. Paul and I decided to write this one
A
together. I am starting with some sug- gestions of day trips you can take and Paul decided to recount some we have taken in the past. We hope this will help you to plan your own Staycation.
A COASTAL TRIP WITH THE KIDS Start out with a simple breakfast at
home. You don’t want cranky kids or adults by 9am. You also don’t want to cook or clean the kitchen, so this would be a great time for cereal, yogurt and fruit.
The first stop of the day is Gizdich
Ranch (55 Peckham Road, Watsonville). They are open from 9am to 5pm for pick your own fruits, depending on what is in season. They also have a terrific pie shop with all sorts of fla-
16 July 2011 • Out & About
pparently we are still struggling with a down economy, so anoth- er year of staycation ideas seems
vors. Stop in for a slice or pick up a whole pie for later in the day. Continue on through Watsonville and take Highway 1 into Monterey. You proba- bly are thinking of the Aquarium right about now, but that can get pricey for a family. No, my sug- gestion, is the wonder- ful Dennis the Menace Park at 777 Pearl Street. Lonely Planet lists this as one of the five best things to do in Monterey. I believe it. When our kids were little we spent some time there, sliding, climbing, running
through the maze and
past Carmel as if you are going to Big Sur. Once you enter the reserve, for a small $10 day use fee, go all the way to the end by the tide pools. But don’t stop there. Take the road to the left that goes to China Cove and park in the little lot at the end. Walk up the stairs and there you will see it, the mermaid lagoon from Peter Pan. The climb
down the stairs (and back up) is long, but worth it. This little cove is rarely
CHINA COVE IN POINT LOBOS RESERVE
scrambling onto the train. The park is open from 10am to dusk from May to September and is free of charge. By now, if you’re lucky, it will be warming up some so the next stop would be China Cove deep inside Point Lobos State Reserve. Get back on Highway 1 and head south,
crowded and is shel- tered so the kids can play
safely in the water. There is a picnic area by the parking lot, just the right time to break out a simple picnic, and maybe one of those Gizdich pies. By now the kids should be slowing
down, so I would finish off with some- thing simple, like maybe a pizza to go. If it’s a Friday night, and if you packed some beach chairs and a blanket, head over to your neighborhood free music
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