Day trip to Capitola

I have been meaning to write about our daytrip to Capitola for quite some time now (almost a year!). So here I am, 8.5 months pregnant with baby #3, trying to muster up the energy to get one last post in before the baby arrives. I have rather optimistically made a long list of day trips and adventures that I want to pursue on maternity leave, so I hope you all will follow along on instagram in the event that I don't get around to writing much on the blog.

Now, back to Capitola! Like many of our trips, the catalyst for heading to the area was to make a stop at the very popular Saint Adairius Brewery in Capitola. Our first planned stop of the day, however, was the nearby Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. We hadn't done the best job packing for the day, so we were all a bit hungry when we arrived in the area.  Thankfully, we stumbled upon the Aptos Farmers Market which was pretty darn awesome! I highly recommend making a pit stop if you are visiting on a Saturday. We loaded up on fresh baked pastries and several baskets of berries and fresh fruit and then continued on our way down the road to start our hike.

Does anyone else have a problem actually getting home with strawberries?? These kids could easily eat half a flat in one sitting!

We parked just inside the main gates (parking is $8/vehicle) and hiked along Aptos Creek. The trail immediately takes you off the main road and into the redwood groves where you are greeted by the sound of the creek. We followed the trail until we got to a point where the creek was just an easy couple of steps down from the path. The kids enjoyed hopping on the boulders and walking across the fallen trees. It doesn't get much more relaxing than being surrounded by nature with the sound of water flowing. We ended up keeping the hike relatively short and turned back after about a mile.

Our next stop was Saint Adarius, so we swung by a local grocery store to pick up deli sandwiches and some snacks and then headed to the brewery. The seating area is relatively limited, but we were able to find a nice picnic table in the back room, which opens to the parking lot, providing fresh air and ample sunlight. The kids were easily entertained with lunch and some coloring books, and we got to enjoy some of the delicious beers on tap!

Our kids love to smell our coffee and beer.

Clearly a relaxing venue for this little lady...

Our last stop of the day was Capitola City Beach, located in the heart of the charming beachside town of Capitola. We arrived in the early afternoon, but despite being a popular spot, we had no problems finding a place on the sand to settle in for a bit. One of my favorite parts of this beach is that Soquel Creek runs through the middle, making for a very calm moving and relatively shallow body of water for the kids to splash around in without the worry of waves. It was the perfect environment for both our girls to enjoy some time in the water.

We came a bit unprepared in the sense that we didn't bring swimsuits since we don't typically go too far into the ocean water (brrrrrrr!). The kids ended up having a blast and getting pretty soaked in the creek, so thankfully we had a change of clothes back in the car. After a couple of hours in the sun, we were all pretty exhausted so we packed up and headed home. While I got the sense that the beachside stores and restaurants were pretty touristy, I would definitely like to do a little more perusing of the nearby streets when we return someday.

Any recommendations for things to do in Capitola?

Details: Capitola is about an hour and a half from Berkeley. Street parking is a bit hard to find, but there were plenty of spots in the Beach and Village public parking lot.