Over the past two years, my dad has taken a huge interest in the sport of cycling. It’s something he enjoys doing with his brothers and my older cousin, almost like they’ve created their own little club. He participates in bicycle races everywhere, always traveling to take part in some type of race, sometimes riding up to 70 miles. But my favorite race location is California. Once a year he does a race there and my mom and I love going with him. My uncle, aunt, and cousins live there, so it’s always such a fun trip to see everyone. Typically I vlog the trip, but this year I thought, why not blog it?
Join me on a day-by-day blog of my time in California during spring break!
Monday, March 3, 2025
This day was a bittersweet day for me because I had to drop off my puppy for boarding for the first time. I knew I was going to miss her so much and be so worried about her, but the place I took her to is absolutely amazing. They sent me tons of pictures and my pup had a great time. So if there are any dog moms or dads out there in Michigan looking for a good place to take their doggies, check out Crysti’s Pet Services LLC in Davidson, Michigan. They offer grooming, boarding, and daycare services.
After dropping my pup off at boarding, I went home to finish packing. Then my parents and I headed to the hotel near the airport where we did the park and fly. I definitely suggest it if the airport is a ways away, it’s super easy and the hotels are nice enough for a night before your flight to your destination.
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Early wake up call. Our flight was at 8 in the morning, so we left the hotel by 6 a.m. and were ready to board by 7 a.m. The best thing about flying out of smaller airports is how quickly you can get through TSA. When looking for flights, consider looking at smaller airports like Grand Rapids, Michigan before Detroit because it’s infinitely less stressful. We had enough time to pass through TSA and have breakfast. I was even able to read a few chapters of the book I was currently reading, Bloody Heart by Sophie Lark, before boarding.
Another airport tip, if you have a layover, choose the one that is at least an hour and a half to two hours long. You would much rather have a longer layover than not enough time to reach your connecting flight. Planes can be delayed, you could be sitting on the tarmac forever, and gates can change at the last minute. While a longer layover may seem like a pain, it really pays off in the end. During our layover, we had lunch and I was able to read a little more before we boarded for the last stretch of our travel.
We rented a car and drove to my uncle’s house in the Santa Cruz, California area up in the mountains, where we were staying for the first two nights of our trip. By the time we arrived, we were exhausted from traveling all day, so we settled in. I went with my uncle to pick up his dogs Nala and Kaya from daycare. They are the sweetest dogs ever. Big labs, but just the sweetest you’ll ever meet. I love them so much. After we picked up some dinner, we spent the rest of the night in, where I was able to continue writing one of the books I’m currently working on.
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
This was one of my favorite days. As a writer who tends to travel a lot, I’m always looking for different places to write about. I love finding new places to base my characters out of, and when we went to California last year, we hit three cities that I absolutely adored: San Francisco, Monterey Bay, and Los Gatos. I created an interconnected standalone romance series after visiting these areas. The ideas, plots, storylines, and characters just flowed through me as I explored the three cities. The first book in the series is based in Los Gatos, and since we only had time this trip to hit one city, I decided to go back to that one since it was the first book’s location.
Los Gatos, California is a small town in the Santa Clara County of California. In the mountains, it’s such a beautiful place to visit and even live. The entire town itself is very walkable, but during our first visit last year we only walked down the main street for shopping. This year, I wanted to get the full experience and fully immerse myself in the town so I could do it justice while writing about it. So that’s exactly what I did.
I went with my mom and, since it rained that morning, we spent the first part of the day shopping at Westfield Mall which was definitely an experience in itself. They had an entire supermarket in the mall, something that I’d never seen before, and they had one of my favorite foods that I discovered in Canada last year: crispy potato corn dogs. They’re a Korean food technically called Gamja-hotdog and are so delicious, and I’m sure they have them on Michigan State University’s campus. I actually peeped out a place on Grand River Avenue that sells them. It’s right next to the ice cream place Twisters, but their store hours are weird and I’m never quite able to make it.
Los Gatos, California was about a 30 minute drive from the mall, and when we got there the sun was out and it was pretty warm considering it was the beginning of March in Northern California. There were a few places that I’ve mentioned in my story, like the street my characters live, the street they work, and some parks and trails that I wanted to see. We spent hours walking through residential neighborhoods like Main Street and Santa Cruz Avenue, which is kind of like their second main street. We walked through side streets and found other trails that I could write about. We saw their library, museum, high school, and daycares. I was able to get the full experience and capture so many videos and pictures to reference from when I write. It was an amazing day, and if you’re ever in the Santa Cruz area, I suggest a quick trip to Los Gatos.
Thursday, March 6, 2025
Thursday was another short travel day. We drove three hours to Buellton, California where my dad, uncles, and cousin’s bike race was located. We passed a few small towns on the way over, but really there was nothing but mountains and lands making it a beautiful ride. We got In-N-Out on the way there. Their menu is very limited, but the burgers are really good. I love them but personally, I think their fries could use a little work.
We checked into our hotel and spent some time there. Later that night, my dad and I went to hang out at my uncle’s RV after he finished setting everything up. Both of my uncles stayed in the RV while the rest of my family and I stayed in hotels. The RV is really nice though. It’s very spacious on the inside with a full bathroom, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a small living area. He even brought his two dogs with him.
I spent the night with my dad and uncles, catching up and hanging out with them while giving them some preparation tips for the race. I used to be a very dedicated track runner, so I told them just about everything that helped me. Static and dynamic stretches, hydration, and a huge carbo-load the night before.
Friday, March 7, 2025
My mom and I went to walk around the small town, only to discover there was a whole lot of nothing there and all the happenings were really in Solvang, California which was about a ten minute drive down the road. Don’t worry, we explored on Saturday. Meanwhile my uncles went golfing for a little bonding time and my cousins drove in with their significant others, so after my uncles got back from golfing we all hung out at the RV for the next few hours. My uncle cooked us spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and then almost everyone went to bed.
Not me though, it was literally only 8 p.m. My cousin, his girlfriend, and I stayed up. We hung outside the RV for a lot longer just drinking, talking, and catching up. And then around 11 p.m. they brought me back to my hotel where I took a shower, read a little, wrote some more of my book, and then hit the hay.
Saturday, March 8, 2025
Saturday was race day! My dad, uncles, and cousin were out by 6:30 in the morning with a full day of riding ahead of them. My dad and uncles did the 70 mile route while my cousin pushed himself to do the 100 mile. My mom and I wished my dad luck as he went out the door and then fell right back asleep because it was too early.
Around 10:30 a.m., my cousin and his girlfriend picked me up and we went to brunch in Solvang (the city ten minutes down the road, which by the way was so beautiful and full of shopping and eateries) called Brekkies. It was my first time at a place where you order and pay for your food first, then they sit you down and serve it to you, and honestly I like that way better. That way you don’t have to wait for your check, and when you’re done you can just leave. It was so much more efficient.
After brunch we walked around the downtown area and went to some of the shops to do some window shopping. We also met up with my other cousin’s (the one who was doing the race) fiance and their dog Dex and they walked around with us a bit. Obviously I had to go into a local bookstore which was so cute, and I might have gone a little book crazy in there (I bought four books with the cutest Fourth Wing tote bag, and I may have spent about a $100 LOL). I honestly couldn’t help myself, and I was on vacation, so I had a great excuse to shop to my heart’s content.
After, we picked up my mom so we could go to the ostrich and emu farm, which is one of Solvang’s big attractions, but it was super crowded and it stunk so bad that we settled for watching them in the car as we drove by. Still a pretty cool experience though and I liked it.
Next we went to pick up my aunt and the five of us headed to Sunstone Winery for a wine tasting! It was the first wine tasting for me, my cousins, and my mom (she doesn’t drink but I’m a bad influence) and we made sure to go with a professional (my aunt). It was honestly so fun, the place was absolutely gorgeous and I can understand exactly where they got the name Sunstone. The architecture was beautiful and the sun was shining so brightly, it was the perfect day. The wine was delicious! We had a Viognier, a white wine and by far my favorite. We had a Pinot Grigio which was good as well. The last wine we tasted was a red that was a little more bitter but still perfect for the hot day and the charcuterie board of cheeses, meats, and crackers we had. We were there for maybe two hours, catching up, talking, and overall having a good time. It’s definitely one of my favorite memories from California.
After the wine tasting we all headed back to the RV since the guys had finished their race and showered. They said the race went well but they were exhausted, meaning that it was up to me, my cousin, and his girlfriend to cook dinner. The three of us headed to the grocery store on the $100 budget they gave us and got a bunch of different meats to grill, some potato and pasta salad, and some wine. My cousin’s girlfriend and I prepped the meats and then my cousin grilled. The food turned out great (thankfully, or we wouldn’t have heard the end of it), and the night was an amazing one spent with family. My cousins and I stayed up later just talking about everything under the sun. We got McDonald’s around midnight and then called it a night.
Sunday, March 9, 2025
This is the day everyone said their goodbyes, which is always bittersweet because I love being around my family. Luckily, I’ll be back at the end of the month for my other cousin’s baby shower, so I’ll see them again very soon. My cousins went back to the San Francisco, San Diego, and Orange County areas where they live. My uncle and aunt packed up the RV and headed back to their place. My dad and other uncle took our rented car and their bikes and also headed back to my uncle’s place. My mom and I went back to Solvang to shop a little more since my mom didn’t get a chance to. She loves shopping, so we stayed for a few extra hours. I got a really good soft pretzel, and then we drove my aunt’s car back to my uncle’s place.
We spent our last night there pretty much all tired out from the long week and everyone went to bed pretty early, since we had super early flights. We had Mexican food from their local Mexican restaurant for dinner, and I was highly disappointed with my meal.
Monday, March 10, 2025
Another day of travel for the books. Another 8:00 a.m. flight, long layover and back to Grand Rapids, Michigan around 10 that night. I got a lot of writing done on that layover by the way, it was about five hours long.
My favorite thing about traveling as a romance writer is being able to romanticize the new places I visit and imagine characters that I create and the lives that they live in these new places I venture to. California is the setting of my next few books, so I love going back to discover new things my characters could do or live or even visit in their own story. I love having two passions, traveling and writing, that go hand in hand together.