EPIC BEACH EXCURSION.

the following events take place in santa cruz, california.

pulled over on the side of the road to climb to the top of a cliff to enjoy the view...

almost there...

...and that's where we found her. a completely isolated and pristine beach with absolutely no way down. or so we thought.

before picture. this is what i was wearing at the beginning of this excursion.

pretty wildflowers everywhere.

after scouring the side of cliffs for about half an hour, we were losing hope that there was any way down to this "secret" beach. we decided to trek through private property (quickly, of course) and found what looked to be a reservoir of sorts. along the side of this huge reservoir was a very steep, very muddy hill (with nothing to hold on to while foolishly stumbling down it, making it very easy to fall in to said reservoir).

after somehow making it down alive (i had mud up to my knees...) i realize that we made it. mike and i were the ONLY people on this beach for who knows how long (unless other people decide to risk their lives sliding down a mud hill on a regular basis). after realized that i only had on bikini bottoms and no top, i decided to cut the strap of the under-layer of my skirt (that i had pulled up to wear as a dress) so i could take off the cumbersome lace layer. this is where we got super macgyver and pulled out nail clippers to cut the straps.

after relieving myself of one layer of clothes, we walk a few steps to find this group of gorgeous neon green moss-covered rocks that were pouring with drips of water like little miniature waterfalls.

we found 3 coves at this secret beach- one of which was COVERED with this insanely creepy things. they looked like lizard feet up close.

the entrance to one of the coves. isn't it beautiful? this beach looked and felt so tropical that on multiple occasions i found myself forgetting that i was in california.

this is where the first half of the beach stopped. the epic waterfall seen in the 3rd picture was still further, so we needed to wade through the ocean to get to the other side. remember how i said i had no bikini top...?

the under-layer of my skirt, which was actually a skirt, which i had worn as a makeshift top, was now turned into a makeshift bikini top. did you follow that? no? i don't blame you.

the ONLY sign of human life down here was this crazy aqueduct type construction that was covered in graffiti. there's a cement plant across the street, so i'm assuming at one point they had a way down here to work on the once functional aqueduct? it's a theory.

these were directly in front of the cement construction, further leading me to believe my theory. they looked so cool and mysterious down there in the middle of this deserted place.

enjoying the pristine weather and total privacy in my spontaneous bikini.

WE MADE IT TO THE WATERFALL! after hours of hopelessness, we did it. excuse my silly face, i was excited.

such gorgeous rocks down here. the pictures don't do it justice! i loved the way his shirt looked against the colors of the rock.

mike was just as excited about the waterfall as i was.

we found SO many perfectly intact shells, and even found this recently deceased hot pink starfish that we ended up taking home (is that weird? i don't care, i love it).

after this indescribable beach excursion, we stuffed our faces with falafel and stayed up late with friends drinking unfiltered sake and listening to crappy music.

xx