Getting Older

It is funny how when you are young you impatiently count the days till your next Birthday, but when you get older you start to count how many days you have left before you have to add another year to your age. I can't really tell when or what year it is that I started not really thinking Birthdays are a big deal. I get excited about Christmas and the holidays more so than my birthday (I look forward to lots of family, good food, and drink). This year I am counting the days to Palina's Birthday (big 21!) and didn't for my own. There is just a point in your life when your birthday doesn't feel like the birthday's and excitement you had as a kid. I don't mean to sound down and depressed about it, because I am not. I just like to have a low-key day doing the things I like best. Which is exactly what I did this year.

I woke up at exactly 2:50 am on my Birthday morning. Totally by accident and I don't usually ever wake-up in the middle of the night. I looked at the clock and thought, 26 years ago I was only 4 minutes old. Crazy how I woke up at almost the exact time I was born. I always love moments like this and think they are special- things happen for a reason. After combing my hair in the dark for any gray hair, I crashed out again until the actual morning...when I was awaken by my favorite Peets Coffee Pumpkin spice latte and a new season of Weeds on DVD from Lisa. For those of you who don't know...Weeds is my all time favorite show and has BRILLIANT writers.

I took Wednesday off work, along with Lisa who wanted to take me to Santa Cruz. I really love Santa Cruz and appreciate it so much more that I don't live there anymore. Every time I visit I explore places I never knew existed when I was living there. We started the day by enjoyed nature in Henry Cowell Redwood State Park. I love the smell of redwoods and the ferns that grow underneath them. Being in the redwood forest reminded me how much I love nature and depend on it to be happy. I walked through the forest and realized one thing that is good about older (non kid) birthdays is that you can walk through nature and appreciate it, this life, that I have and was given because of my parents. The forest was practically empty (thanks to it being a work-day in the middle of the work-week) which was nice. We only ran into a few deer here and there.

After a few hours of hiking we made our way to Seabright Brewery for lunch and beer tasting. I had the Pelican Pale Ale which is the brewey's signature brew. It was probably the weirdest pale ale I have ever had. Very straw-like and it had a hoppy kick to it. It tasted like a wheat beer with extra hops. It was odd. Not a mixture I was expecting. Of course the Blur was what won my heart. The brewery describes it as: "A tradition IPA. Although golden in color this is not a light beer. With more than 65 bittnerness units its got a bite to it. This is a very agressive tasting beer." It was delicious and went really nicely with my black bean burger and fries. I ended up buying my first growler filled with it to bring home to share with my Pop. It is always amusing to me when I buy the most hoppy beer and the reactions I get. The waitress asked me if I wanted a smaller size? And gave me a look, like are you sure? It is bitter. And it was bitter. A perfect birthday brew.

Bellies full and head spinning a full buzz- Lisa took me to the Teahouse Spa for an hour soak in a hottub with tea and sauna. It was so relaxing and one of my favorite places and memories of Santa Cruz (from when I lived there). Soaking in the tub I felt like this was the most relaxed I ever could be. i also fell in love with their lavendar shampoo that is locally made in Santa Cruz.

After the hottubs we had to go back to the brewery, because in my buzzed state I realized I forgot my sunglasses there. Found the sunglasses and drove to the next brewery...but on the way stopped at the beach. We noticed the beach was empty (no one). This was the most empty I have ever seen the beach in Santa Cruz. So we broke the leash laws and let Jaime run in the waves and dig in the sand. The sky was so clear and the air so fresh. I ran like a kid across the beach and thought age is so over-rated. I felt so lucky to be able to experience my two favorite things in nature all in one day: redwoods and ocean.

We stopped at Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery which was in a warehouse and all local. I was disapointed in their IPA after my Blur. But was excited about the strawberry cupcakes from the bakery next door. We ended our day in Santa Cruz with a stop at Patagonia where I got a new capilene shirt for those cold nights sleeping in the tent. There was a little traffic on the way home, but we amused ourselves by making words out of business signs: Nagina Travels became Vagina Travels. And once again I was reminded I might be 26 but I still have the humor of a junior high kid.

I ended the night having a special dinner with my family (I missed Palina though) and was so excited to see my Pop got me that special Estate brew from Sierra Nevada. Can't wait to try it. It was probably what I wanted most of all.

So even though I am a year older- I am happy to be experiencing and living life. I feel thankful for all the people close to me in my life- friends and family alike. I feel so loved and grateful. Being 25 was a good year- I wrote a thesis, got a masters, had good beer, good laughs, adventures, and went to the motherland, Russia. I grew-up in some ways, I hope, and experienced tons of good times with family and friends. Life is good. I can't wait for another year of memories.