Dusk At Santa Cruz Boardwalk

Speaking of that summery feeling, it went into overdrive for me a few weeks ago when Leah and I on a whim decided to drive over to Santa Cruz (on a school night!). We tossed a blanket into the car, threw on sweatshirts over work blouses, and settled into the car with snacks and the radio. We pulled up to the Boardwalk not too long before dusk and as the crowd was clearing up, and let me tell you, it was like walking into the pages of a Sarah Dessen book.

Did you guys ever read those? I was a huge sucker for them and any other young adult novel espousing small town summers: the summer jobs at the supermarket or the movie theater, the late nights spent somewhere special, the diners where everyone knows everyone.

The Santa Cruz Boardwalk felt like all of that came to life. The teenagers manning the funnel cake stands, the shrill shrieks of those aboard the loopy wooden roller coaster, the cheesy theme park music, the sandy shore stretching way into the distance.

We walked onward, along the pier, and then heard indignant barking beckoning from below. Curious, we craned our necks and saw: 

Sea lions! 

I Snapchatted this above image to our two closest friends, proclaiming: wish we were all snuggling like this! Sure enough, a couple of weeks later, the four of us crashed at Leah's place and we slept piled up side-by-wide width-wise across her bed. I fell asleep thinking comically, ask and you shall receive.

Before long, the sun began its descent, and we quietly waved it "see you in the morning bright and early when we're back at it again with the work life" and continued on in blissful ignorance. We found ourselves another slice of small town wonder–a dessert parlor selling delightful treats like frozen bananas dipped in chocolate: 

With that, we headed towards downtown Santa Cruz in search of some more substantial grub. Finding that most restaurants were already closed, we ducked into the first place we found open–a fast food-style Indian restaurant. The spicy bites of chicken vindaloo warmed us up on such a breezy night, and wholly satisfied, we retreated back home where we went to bed at a somewhat decent hour only to wake up and face the office coffee and computer screens once more.
Oh but what a delight it was to live out a Sarah Dessen book, if only for an evening!
What were your summers like growing up? Were you a Sarah Dessen fan?