Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Santa Cruz Wedding

Over the weekend my mom, Aunt Bernadette, and I flew to Santa Cruz for my cousin's wedding. Our first stop was Gilbert's Seafood Grill on the warf. I had a yummy crab bake and was able to see surfers on the beach and in the water.

That night we went to the rehursal dinner and I was able to meet relatives on my mom's side who I had never met before. I had an awkward moment with my four year old cousin when I asked him what his favorite super hero was and he looked at me and said, "That's an innappropirate question!" I guess he's a little sheltered... but still a little awkward.


The next day we met my Aunt's grandson and great grandson for breakfast. They were very nice and brought her a beautiful bouquet of roses.

The wedding was at a gorgeous venue outside of Santa Cruz. It is called the Byington Winery and had views over looking Monteray Bay. The groom is Scottish and had relocated to South Africa with his family. He wore a kilt and so did the best man and the ring bearer. It was really cute!




The next morning we had brunch and headed out to the Wincester Mystery House. This home was built by Sarah Wincester in the early 1900's. The legend says Sarah Wincester lost her baby in infancy and her husband who was the heir to the Wincester Rifle fortune passed away a few years later. She went to a psychic in her state of greif and the psychic told her that rifle was responsible for her fortune and her misfortune and she was being haunted by evil spirits who had died at the hands of the rifle.
The fortune teller told her that to ward off evil spirits she had to build a house that was so posh and welcoming it would invite nice spirits and they would overrun the evil spirits. The fortune teller also said for her to achieve eternal life she was to never cease building her home.
She inherited $20 million dollars and had an income of $1,000 / day. This was in 1906 and was a lot of money. She moved to San Jose and continue construction on her home for 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The construction never stopped for 32 years. She built the home to confuse evil spirits so there are weird things like staircases that lead to the ceiling and doors that open to 8 foot drops. It was a beautiful and interesting place to visit!


3 comments:

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Unknown said...

Ivy, it is so great that we got to reconnect. Love your blog!

Erin

Unknown said...

That’s lovely! It would have been so much fun here. My sister got married here a few years ago. It was a beautiful wedding just like this one. I remember lining up event halls for rent for her that time. She took her own good time to finalize the venue and her dress.