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Santa Cruz - great place to sample California’s best
If you don’t happen to have time to tour the entire state
of California, we found a place that almost seems like a
microcosm of the state. You have your beaches, your
surfers, your Redwood forests and, just an hour away, one
of the state’s largest and most cosmopolitan cities.

Give up? Try Santa Cruz. Hugging some of California’s most
scenic coastline, this city offers a sampling of some of
the state’s most interesting attractions all in one
relatively small area.

We were amazed, for example, when we topped off a morning
of beach sightseeing with a little seven-mile drive up to
the sleepy town of Felton. Almost instantly we were taken
from a bustling beach town to a forest so thick you could
hardly see through the trees. It’s no wonder that the famed
“Bigfoot” was spotted in the Redwoods not too far from
here, and that today there is a Bigfoot Museum beckoning
both the curious and the amused.

Fifteen minutes later we were back in Santa Cruz, enjoying
the sweeping coastal views and watching as visitors and
locals basked in the winter sun while enjoying lunch at one
of the city’s many outdoor cafes. Most likely their menu
choices included lots of fresh produce ‘ apples, berries,
spinach, squash, tomatoes, etc. ‘ as these and other fruits
and vegetables are all grown close to Santa Cruz. In fact,
there does seem to be a lot of attention paid in Santa Cruz
to diet and exercise. It’s hard to be unhealthy in a place
where you can easily jog along spectacular ocean cliffs or
hike the trails of a half-dozen area state parks.

If we were so inclined ‘ and we weren’t on this particular
trip ‘ it would be a reasonable day trip from Santa Cruz
into the San Francisco Bay area. And that’s why you’ll want
to allow plenty of time for your visit: there is something
new every direction you turn.

If you have the opportunity, we’d suggest a midweek visit
to Santa Cruz. That’s what we did and, while it’s not
exactly a ghost town during the work week, there do seem to
be plenty of wide-open spaces to explore with little or no
concern about traffic. Santa Cruz motels and inns had big
empty parking lots during this January visit, and we’re
told all of that changes on weekends.

Our base of operations was the Hilton Scotts Valley, a good
choice for travelers who want their lodging a little ways
away from the bustle of the beach. It’s just a 10-minute
drive from Scotts Valley to the main tourist attractions in
Santa Cruz so it’s not at all remote. Yet this particular
hotel offers almost double-size luxury rooms with all of
the Hilton amenities and, we might add, some of the most
courteous and helpful hotel employees we have encountered.

Driving into Santa Cruz, you first wind your way through
the downtown area where it soon becomes apparent that this
is a beach city in every sense of the term. Like many other
coastal cities, Santa Cruz does attract down-to-earth
non-conformists who, for example, don’t have any hesitation
using hair colors that looked like they were chosen from a
box of crayons. Think about your worst fashion nightmare
for your teenage kids, and that’s what you sometimes see on
the streets of Santa Cruz ‘ which, of course is part of the
charm. You don’t travel just to see places exactly like
home.

Out on West Cliff Drive, where the views from these coastal
bluffs are painting-perfect, you encounter the surf crowd.
On any given day, dozens of free-spirited surfers are
paddling out to ride some of Northern California’s most
challenging waves. Long, narrow concrete stairways give the
surfers easy access to the water not far from where the
waves break. On the bright, sunny day we visited, maybe
half of the pedestrians along West Cliff Drive were
carrying surfboards.

Indeed, this part of Santa Cruz is Surf Central. There is
even a small but informative Surfing Museum where we
enjoyed looking at exhibits that detail the
decade-by-decade evolution of the sport. Housed in a former
lighthouse, the Surfing Museum includes lots of memorabilia
and examples of different types of surfboards ‘ some so big
and heavy that one wonders how the original surfers ever
managed to get these things to and from the beach.

About a five-minute drive and we were back in downtown
Santa Cruz. Just another few blocks out to the beach and we
had arrived at the famed Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The
roller coaster, thrill rides and buildings of the Boardwalk
are an indelible part of the Santa Cruz skyline and
visitors enjoy the nostalgia of visiting the West Coast’s
only seaside boardwalk. The 75-year-old roller coaster is
said to be just as thrilling as any of the newer ones, and
that has been augmented by a host of other, more modern
rides. Of course there are the bumper cars, the carousel,
the huge arcade and, uniquely, a broad and beautiful beach
where you can sun yourself and, in summer, enjoy a dip in
the ocean.

The Boardwalk area is only one of the many beaches and
coastal vantage points in the Santa Cruz area. Several
state beaches are just south of Santa Cruz in the Capitola
and La Selva Beach areas. You can designate a morning or
afternoon and take a scenic drive north on Highway 1 where
you’ll pass through Davenport and come to more beaches
including Waddell State Beach. An interesting non-beach
excursion takes you north from Santa Cruz on Highway 9 to
the Roaring Camps Railroad where you can ride a historic
steam train into the Redwoods.

Our own drive north on Highway 9 was short but productive.
Not only did we get a look at Henry Cowell State Park with
its towering redwoods, trickling streams and recreation
trails, but we also had a chance to stop by the small,
inconspicuous wood building that now houses the Bigfoot
Museum. Most days, proprietor Mike Rugg is watching the
store all by himself and, no doubt, will be more than
willing to share with you his many Bigfoot stories — as
he did with us.

Understand that Mike has never actually seen a Bigfoot ‘ at
least not that he can say with any degree of certainty. But
he became convinced about the creature’s authenticity when
he did a college term paper on the subject. While the
professor gave him only a “C” on the report and dismissed
his research as having as much ‘ or little ‘ validity as a
UFO sighting, Rugg was undeterred.

Bigfoot is supposed to be a creature perhaps eight feet
tall that resembles a gorilla and is said to roam remote
mountain regions of the Pacific Northwest, Northern
California and other locations. While little scientific
evidence supports the claim, there are hundreds of
sightings reported and one grainy home movie that Rugg is
convinced is the real deal. The Bigfoot Museum features a
six-foot-high blowup of a frame from that movie and Rugg
has numerous footprint casts and other items on display to
help convince you he’s right. Since the museum opened in
July, visitors have added many more sightings to his
wall-size pin map showing just where Bigfoot has been
spotted.

Whether it’s hairy creatures in the mountains or colorful
creatures downtown, Santa Cruz offers a surprising
collection of curiosities and attractions that make it a
unique destination ‘ a truly flavorful slice of California.

AT A GLANCE

WHERE: Santa Cruz is on the California coastline between
San Francisco and Monterey.

WHAT: A particularly scenic area that offers many miles of
scenic beaches, coast drives, state parks and several
access points to Redwood forests and parks. The city itself
offers the West Coast’s only beachfront boardwalk.

WHEN: Year-round, as temperatures are typically moderate.
In winter, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is open only on
weekends. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, it is open all
week.

WHY: Santa Cruz offers many different getaway experiences
and visitor attractions in an area that is easy to navigate.

HOW: For more information on Santa Cruz, contact the Santa
Cruz County Conference and Visitor’s Council at (800)
833-3494 or visit www.santacruz.org. For more information
on the Hilton Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley, phone
(831)-440-1000 or visit
www.santacruzscottsvalley.hilton.com.

—————————————————-
Cary Ordway is president of Getaway Media Corp which
publishes websites focused on regional travel. Among the
sites offered by GMC are http://www.californiaweekend.com
and http://www.northwesttraveladvisor.com
ademco