Beach House 2020
Fast on the heels of of our summer trip to Idaho. We got home and had 5 days to get the laundry all cleaned, relax for a few days and then start packing all over. Thanks to the coronavirus, traveling and packing for trips has gotten interesting. I am honestly a borderline germaphobe when it comes to travel now. I wasn’t at Naomi Campbell level, although, flying from now on, I will always carry a pashmina for each us all to cover our seats.
My biggest fear renting houses this summer were the beds. I went crazy and invested in allergen grade mattress covers. Will they protect us, probably not but it’s more for peace of mind. We normally bring our own sets of sheets and pillows to the beach house. The only obstacle was blankets or comforters. For Idaho I decided to bring all over our handmade quilts we have collected over the years. They were easy pack in suitcases and heavy enough to keep us warm overnight. So I have decreed us a traveling quilt family.
We’ve been collecting quilts for a short while and have commissioned a few from a our dear friend Amber who has an amazing eye. I first fell in love with a quilt she made for a show back 2017 and then commissioned a Mary Blair Small World theme quilt The finished quilt is still one of my all time favorites but traveling with this quilt does give it some mileage. I’ve decided to reach out to a few more friends who amazing a quilting and have a few new ones made in time for next summers travels.
Back to the beach, we made our yearly trek to Aptos and it just was not the same. We did have two families come out on separate days but COVID certainly rained on the whole week. Thankfully the house was ready for us and oddly enough, not being the first tenants of the season, meant nothing break on us. We did have a few challenges here and there and regular treks to places like Corralitos were put on hold.
The focus instead was on down time and relaxing on the beach and the hot tub. I think this trip was the first trip I had actually gone in the hot tub more two times. Both Grandma’s joined us, along with my brother and his two kids. Through the cloud of lysol and the stress of COVID, this little stint in Aptos had positive moment to drain out the noise of the outside world. I think we all need a break now and then from the regular life. And I happy to see more and more friends jumping on getaway wagon.
We’ve even see families completely relocate their family and doing distance learning remotely on a vacation or a second home such places as Aptos or Tahoe/Donner. We did bite the bullet on this trip and did take-out twice. First we opted to sushi night on the first night. Our safe regular in Santa Cruz is Mobo Sushi and we had already done one dinner to go from there. Our second takeout was on a day where, the day just got away from us. Overall the trip was a nice end to the summer. It’s been many years since we actually stayed in Aptos during the summer. The weather was pretty steady with only one overcast day and a trickle of rain. Till next time.