Labor Day in Capitola

My husband and I decided to check out the Annual Begonia Festival in Capitola, CA on Labor Day weekend. Of course, my other half didn't think it was a good idea to go out during a long holiday when the highways would be clogged with cars and more people would be out on the street than usual. But I convinced him. "Come on. It's such a nice day to waste it at home, sitting in front of the TV," I whined a little.

Unfortunately, we experienced everything he feared. The highway going to Capitola was packed. Long rows of cars sat barely moving in the midday heat. "Great. Looks like everyone's going to Capitola, too," my husband sighed. "Can't blame them. The weather is wonderful," I said, praying we won't end up tailgating on that highway instead of having fun at the beach.

Good thing my husband knew a different route up on the mountains. It took us longer, though. But there were only a few cars and the view was filled with tall redwoods and fall greenery. Too bad the begonias were already wilted and we missed the parade of floats on the creek. But we enjoyed the good food, the festive scene and the walk on the wharf.

As expected, the beach was overcrowded with families. There were a lot of moms and dads with children in tow. Babies in strollers abound. There's a quaint baby store in downtown that I caught a glimpse of. My heart ached a little. For a moment, I felt a pang of longing and a little bit of nostalgia. But I was able to move pass it. We decided to walk to the wharf and found things that amused us and made us smile along the way.

Now we always have a problem taking our picture during trips and vacations. I hate carrying a tripod and we are both too embarrass or too shy to ask other people to take our photo (we're such inexperienced tourists!). So we do a hit-or-miss-self-photography. But last weekend, a guy, who drives a bike taxi, took pity on our pathetic attempts at taking photos of ourselves that he volunteered to take one for us. Hallelujah!

It was peaceful at the wharf. No boisterous laughter. No blaring music. Not a lot of people were there, except for a few who were silently engrossed at fishing. All we could hear were the seagulls, the sea breeze and the waves of the vast ocean. I knew at that moment, Kai was with us. I asked my husband to hold Kai's name so I can take a picture of it. This is our way of saying, "We will always remember you wherever we go, little Lumpy."