Wharf to Wharf 2008 (AKA Capitola Weekend)

For the 3rd year in a row I attended the Wharf to Wharf run, which is a six-mile run from Santa Cruz to Capitola. (See: http://www.wharftowharf.com/) I did run in 2006, and had a great time. Last year I had an abdominal surgery a couple of weeks before so to be safe I sat the run out, but still went to Capitola for the weekend. This year I sat it out for obvious reasons, at least to my family and friends. However, we are continuing a tradition started by our friends Jim & Noelle 12 years ago. They have been going to the race for 12 years now and have a great plan: Stay in Capitola Saturday night, head over to Santa Cruz (where the race begins) Sunday morning (transportation is provided by the Inn), run the race back to Capitola, have breakfast at the Inn, and spend the day relaxing in Capitola. We all get together for dinner in the evening, and Ralph and Valerie join us for that.

In 2006, Matt & Laura joined in at the Inn while Dave and I also went to Santa Cruz for the weekend (and I ran). However we stayed at a friend's house in Santa Cruz. Last year (2007) we joined Jim, Noelle, Matt, & Laura at the Inn.

So, now we 6 couples have a yearly tradition that I hope lasts for a very long time.

Here are the details on this weekend:

Dave and I got to Capitola around 5:30 and checked into the very lovely Inn. Then we changed quickly and headed off to dinner at Caruso's. We ordered the scallop special and a gnocchi plate. Both dishes were excellent, most notably the scallops. I don't think I ever had better scallops! We did seem to get lost in the end, though. The owner asked if we'd like more wine and we said we'd like one more glass. It never arrived. The waitress cleared our plates and boxed up the left-over gnocchi. While doing so she asked if we'd like to see the dessert menu. We said yes. Next thing we know, the check was put on our table, rather than the glass of wine & the dessert menu. Oh, well, we were full anyway so we paid and left. We headed next door to the wine bar for a glass of Port.

Afterwards we headed back to the Inn to meet up with Matt, Laura, Jim, and Noelle. We chatted for a while and then all headed in for an early bedtime. Since half of them were running in the morning, they needed their rest, and we all were tired.

Sunday morning Dave and I slept in, then headed to the race end to meet up with the runners. We all headed back for breakfast, then Dave, Noelle, and I hung out outside to listen to the band that had been playing since 8:30, when the race started. They sounded great! After a short nap, Noelle, Dave and I headed out for a walk in Capitola while Jim rested his wounded knee. We bought me a very cool jacket, some salt-water taffy, a necklace for Noelle, some great bath salts. We had Bloody Marys (Noelle and I), beer (Dave), and some snacks on the Pier. Along the way we met a poor pelican looking for handouts. He tried to eat a large fish that was just captured by some local fishermen. Poor thing. Here's a pic: So, after snacking and shopping, we headed back to the Inn for a another nap (!) and then the 6 of us (well, 7, really, if you count Baby Alex) joined Ralph and Valerie at Bella Roma for an excellent meal. We all brought some special wine to share. The meal was wonderful, minus the hair in my food (oops...) But overall we really enjoyed ourselves. Here's a pic of all of us, except for Laura, unfortunately. You can see her chair. She was taking the photo.

Across from Laura's chair is Matt. Next to him is Dave. I am across from Dave. Next to me are Noelle and Jim. The other couple (next to Dave) is Valerie and Ralph.

That pretty much wrapped up our weekend. We gathered in our room for some dessert and everyone called it an early night. Dave and I had to get up WAY too early Monday morning for appointment and work obligations. Next year we'll have to not do that!