Posts From The Highway: Santa Cruz California

Historic Landmark: Guests mingle on the well-known Santa Cruz Seaside Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, Calif. which is a Nationwide Historic Landmark. The boardwalk opened in 1907 and continues to function at this time. The ability contains an amusement park, an indoor arcade, video games, and a miniature golf course. Photograph by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

Santa Cruz Boardwalk: The doorway to the Santa Cruz Seaside Boardwalk was embellished for the vacations once we visited town throughout our Christmas RV journey in 2017. Past the overhead entrance was a tall Christmas tree welcoming guests to the park. Photograph by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Previously of Los Alamos

We’re off of the street till after Christmas so the subsequent few Put up From the Highway will characteristic a vacation RV journey we took 5 years in the past. This journey nonetheless stays one in every of our favourite RV journeys.

It’s arduous to imagine that it’s been 5 years since we traveled to the west coast for Christmas in 2017. Our son in regulation, Tim, is from Santa Cruz, Calif. and we have been invited to affix his household for the vacations. 

We arrived at Santa Cruz on Christmas eve and parked our RV at Tim’s guardian’s home within the RV drive that included full RV hook ups. That will a candy deal for any RVer! Christmas eve and Christmas day have been put aside for household Christmas actions and festivities.

After Christmas we have been handled to a couple days of sightseeing round this magnificent space of the California coast. Santa Cruz is positioned on the northern aspect of Monterey Bay overlooking the bay and the Pacific Ocean past. 

Immediately, Santa Cruz thrives on tourism given its lovely seashores and surf which mix in to the rugged central California coast line. The quaint downtown is a brief distance from the seashores and options eating places and retailers, a lot of them primarily based on the ocean and marine life within the space.

The well-known Santa Cruz Seaside Boardwalk is a keystone fixture on the seaside on the town. The boardwalk has been named the perfect seaside park on the planet many occasions. A large amusement park is a well-liked exercise for all ages and even options two rides that are Nationwide Historic Landmarks together with the very distinguished 1924 Big Dipper wood curler coaster. The boardwalk property can also be a Nationwide Historic Landmark.

Indoors on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk guests discover an arcade, video video games, pinball machines, classic video games and a miniature golf course. When one tires after the rides and arcade video games there may be quite a lot of foods and drinks decisions for everybody.

Exterior of the boardwalk on the seaside there are quite a few seaside volleyball courts and numerous water sports activities accessible for company. After all, many guests simply take pleasure in wading within the water and sunning on the seaside. 

A brief stroll away from the boardwalk is the Santa Cruz Wharf, a pier which stretches over one half of a mile out over the bay waters and has many retailers and eating places.

One other standard exercise on the coast is viewing the tide swimming pools round Santa Cruz. We visited swimming pools positioned close to Pure Bridges State Park and the Seymour Marine Discovery Heart. 

Tide swimming pools are created on rugged rocky slabs and ledges alongside the coast line which can be in a continuing dynamic state of change. When the excessive tide happens the rocky ledges are submerged beneath water. When the tide is low the rocky ledges are out of the water and could be simply seen by strolling across the rocky slabs. 

When the tide is out, holes and crevices within the rocky shore retain the ocean water creating a whole bunch of tide swimming pools. The swimming pools differ in measurement and depth and all include 1000’s of algae and numerous marine life. One can view a number of species of mussels, sponges, tiny crabs and plenty of different creatures of sea life.

Whereas strolling and viewing the swimming pools and marine life is allowed the tide swimming pools are a Marine Protected Space and may by no means be disturbed. Strolling among the many tide swimming pools provides guests a tiny peak of what exists on the planet beneath the oceans.

A brief drive east of Santa Cruz positioned within the Santa Cruz Mountains is the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. This park is positioned in a rain forest which is conducive for the redwoods, furs and different kinds of inexperienced foliage. 

The primary attraction is the grove of the large redwood timber. Whereas there are a number of mountain climbing trails within the park, the Redwood Grove Loop Path is the most well-liked. At slightly below a mile, the Redwood Grove Loop Path options many of those magnificent timber and offers guests an up shut view of the redwoods. The tallest tree within the park is 277 toes tall. It was wonderful to stroll amongst these giants!

After a number of very particular days in Santa Cruz, it was time for us to get within the RV and journey south. Nonetheless, we didn’t go far. Subsequent week’s Put up From the Highway will characteristic our go to to Monterey, Calif.

Editor’s be aware: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his spouse Marilyn are touring across the nation, and he shares his images, which seem within the “Posts from the Highway” collection revealed within the Sunday version of the Los Alamos Every day Put up.

Christmas Decorations: A better view of the Christmas tree on the Santa Cruz Seaside Boardwalk reveals the seaside ball decorations and the garland on the tree created from flip flops which have been very becoming for a tree on the seaside. Photograph by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

Tide Swimming pools: Tide swimming pools could be present in numerous areas round Santa Cruz, Calif. Seen are waves as they crash towards the rocky shore line throughout low tide with a whole bunch of tide swimming pools alongside the rocky ledges of the coast line. Throughout excessive tide, the rocky ledges are submerged by the ocean waters. Photograph by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park: Guests at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park within the Santa Cruz Mountains gaze on the magnificent redwood timber whereas mountain climbing the Redwood Grove Loop Path within the park. Photograph by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com

Strolling Across the Giants: Guests take pleasure in strolling across the large redwoods at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park a brief drive from Santa Cruz, Calif. The path via the grove of huge redwoods give guests an up shut view of a number of the tallest timber on the planet. The tallest redwood within the park stands 277 toes excessive. Photograph by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com