St. Paddy's Day in Capitola

This weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to visit my grandparent's good friends, the Paarmanns, who live in Capitola.  My grandparents, Bob and Nancy, met Tom and Carol at the University of Washington awhile back (ok in the '50s).  Apparently we had visited them when I was much younger and I made quite the impression on them.  My grandparents continue to remind me that for lunch, I proceeded to pick apart my corn dog until there was no "corn" left.  Now if I happened to have a corn dog today ... I would enjoy the entire thing, probably with the heaping addition of ketchup, mustard, relish, and onions.  Oh how taste buds change.

Anyways, I was able to drag my friend Liz away from her studies and work commitments for a weekend of excellent food, good laughs, some explorations and plain 'ol fun.  Liz and I had studied together in Barcelona in the fall and were used to spending every single minute of the day with each other.  Now that we are back at school, it's tough to fit in even 30 minutes together between classes, internships, work, and sleep.  So, this was a great escape and way to catch up!

We arrived for lunch ... a little concoction that Carol whipped up with lettuce, mandarin oranges, pineapple, yogurt, coconut, chicken and doughy croissants on the side. 

HERBIE! Not quite, but such an adorable little bug made in '66.  What a lovely color, perfect for my future house/kitchen

After lunch, we hoped in the Paarmann mobile and got a tour around Santa Cruz, Capitola and Soquel. Tom also guided us around the UCSC campus and I was astounded to find out how large the campus was. Over 14,000 students and a number of buildings over 2,000 acres.  It definitely follows the hippy stereotype of Santa Cruz and is almost hidden away in the forests on the hill. 

Natural Bridge Rock out by one of the Santa Cruz beaches

The small surf museum located along the coast

We stopped by to wish their daughter, grand-daughter and new great grand-daughter a Happy St. Patrick's Day, then we arrived back at home around 4.  Took the rest of the afternoon to relax, peruse all of Carol's cooking magazines and chatted up a storm.  It was raining off and on, but inside their kitchen and common room was quite cozy.  

THE IRISH MEAL! I believe I am part Irish but because some members of my family are not willing to try new things, I have never had the opportunity to have corned beef and cabbage, the epitome of an Irish meal.  Come to think of it, there are only a small percentage of Irish people in the world, but on March 17th, everyone pretends to be Irish. 

Tom took charge of the corned beef, boiling it before we left on our tour earlier in the afternoon.  It was cooked to perfection!  Tender slices with a mustard sauce baked on top.  A complete authentic meal with boiled potatoes and carrots, cabbage, and Irish soda bread.  I was in 7th heaven and quite content at the end of the meal. 

What a wonderful couple! Tom and Carol Paarmann sitting down to dinner

After dinner Liz worked a little on a final paper (we couldn't completely escape the fact that finals were a few days away) and I continued to look through food magazines, ripping out certain pages and taking notes on others.  So many fun recipes to try. 

Look at this little guy.  He just sits and keeps anyone in the kitchen company. 

 

Tom whipped out a delicious surprise for dessert.  Breyer's mint ice cream with Mrs. Field's chocolate cookie bites.  They really have spoiled us all weekend!

After a wonderful night's sleep, I decided to take a run along the coast. It was raining off and on, but I got some great shots of the beach, surfers, and Capitola.  Running along the beach in Northern California is SO MUCH different than running in Southern California. There is not much sand to actually run on, so I stuck to the pavement of the highway. 

LOTS OF SURFERS! They were not only battling the rain, but cold and stormy waves.  Dedication for sure!

Isn't this tile work fabulous?

A look at downtown Capitola.  Tiny and quaint! I bet it is a blast during the summer.

This was our stop in Santa Cruz for breakfast.  A happening place but we were lucky enough to squeeze in before it got crowded. Good service and pretty tasty food.

Carol's "9 Grain" pancakes with a blueberry sauce

My choice of Belgian waffle with carmelized bananas, walnuts, vanilla yogurt and a poached egg

Liz's pesto and tomato scramble with home-style potatoes and sourdough toast 

We took one last tour around the area post breakfast and before we started the trek along highway 17 home.

This was the "iron battleship" created for WWI but was finished right after the war ended.  They decided to sink it in the Capitola bay and for awhile people were able to walk off the dock and onto the top of the boat.  Years of waves and storms have broken it down and now just sits there as a reminder. 

Such a wonderful weekend away.  Tom and Carol were absolutely adorable, wonderful chefs and hosts. We cannot wait to return for another adventure later in the spring!

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
– Eleanor Roosevelt