Santa Cruz: sun, surf, sea-lions...blood-sucking teenagers

We absolutely love Santa Cruz. Small town, liberal, relaxed people. Like a little slice of the Hawaiian north shore. You get great glimpses of the Boardwalk fun fair from the forbidden side of the "Lost Boys" railway bridge.

The beautiful house where we stayed in Santa Cruz.

Steamer lane surf break

My favourite house on Westcliff, Santa Cruz

Right: Deep-fried Twinkies and Oreos

The Farmer's Market in Santa Cruz on a Wednesday

Those pesky vampires sneaking off to the bridge at night.

Yosemite

After a 14 hour drive from Vegas we got to the Tioga Pass at nearly 10,000ft and drove through Yosemite in the darkness. Lucy and Siri drove out from San Francisco and met us the next day. They'd come armed with a full load of  delicious spaghetti b and Karla's exquisite cupcakes for Bear's Birthday. Snow shut the pass for the next couple of days, so we were lucky to get the "Chateaux" beast through.

An inquisitive little marmot