A lazy Seascape weekend

It’s not very often that we decide to go away for a weekend and spend two days doing almost nothing. In fact, we have never done that after we moved to CA. Hubby had been slogging for a few weeks and desperately needed a break. Staying at home with an energetic toddler is far from easy, so I can do with a holiday, just about anytime.

Going to the seaside is always a good idea. It becomes a fabulous idea if California Central Coast is far enough from home and work, yet not a long drive away. We’d looked for pretty places in Carmel-by-the-sea and Big Sur but what ultimately worked out was a resort in the quiet little town of Aptos*, and this made it even better.

I’d been thinking I wouldn’t write about properties in the hospitality industry but then once in a way I come across those one-of-a-kind of places that I can’t help writing about, so here I am, doing the unspeakable for the third time. This time, it is a place called Seascape (in Aptos, CA). From the name, you’ve probably figured out that it’s one of those resorts that look out to sea. That is right, but it’s not just another of those places. Seascape does have rooms that face the sea and a private beach and all of that. What’s interesting here is that the beach is actually a five-minute’s walk so that allows you to lace up your shoes and hike down to the sandy beach. There are a couple of trails that snake through Seascape’s own small patch of wilderness. Out here, having your paths crossed by deer, raccoons and possums is an everyday thing.

Can you spot a deer in one of these images?

Other beach-related activities include biking by the beach and some water sports. What had us charged up was something that Seascape calls Beach-fires-to-go. They light up a fire for you, arrange some chairs and few bottles of water and even supply you with smores. That apart, they drive you to the beach and pick you up once you are done watching the sky or waves and have had your fill of your favourite campfire snack. This was one thing we decided we should surely do. So when Sunday evening came, we bundled up in some warm clothes, picked Mr. Toddler up and let the buggy drive us down to the beach. The sun had already set by the time we got there so it was pretty much dark except for the flames of the fire. The sea breeze made sure the tongues were long and bright. The waves roared a few metres away and we could see some lights far off on the northern end of Monterey Bay. And the crescent moon wore a sleepy smile and hid behind the clouds after a few minutes of showing his face. Out came the skewers, marshmallows, Graham crackers and Hershey’s chocolate and there we were roasting and biting into the chocolaty sandwiches. The gentleman who lit the fire for us suggested inserting chocolate into the marshmallows and letting it melt in there while the marshmallow roasted. We tried that too. It was good.

Since it was a Sunday and most people had already wound up their holiday weekend and the others were probably packing up so as to leave early next morning, there was nobody but us on the beach that night. And that wasn’t very comforting. There was no moonlight and walking to our rooms meant a good 15 to 20 minutes ascent through some wilderness. I mentioned some animals that frolic there, didn’t I? So after an hour of sitting by the fire, we thought it wise to walk up to the foot of the hill to the single lamp post near what was the facility to insert our key cards into and call for a pick up. If there is a next time, I’m sure we would only do this on a Friday or Saturday when there’d be more company on the dark beach.

Another specialty here in Seascape is that they have in-room spa treatments? Isn’t that a great idea — to have a masseur bring up in all those supplies and give you a massage in the privacy of your hotel room. What more would you need for a perfect lazy weekend?

*Aptos – pronounced ‘Ap-toss’
Seascape’s official site