Blogs from Santa Cruz, California, United States, North America - page 8

Dearest support group, It is hard to believe that I am home typing on my own computer. Our house is as if it has been in a time warp because all the holiday stuff from Christmas is still up, magazines in the same place, winter weather, the roof still needs fixing, but I am definitely a different person having spent our month in South America. Sitting here at my table at 4 AM it almost seems that the trip and memories might only be a dream. Bob's and my last few days in Buenos Aires were so much fun. It is as if we finally became oriented. The big city seemed smaller because we knew our way around. We walked miles and miles to be sure we filled our itinerary with those "must sees" from the ... read more

Today we travelled to Santa Cruz AKA Weston-Super-Mare or Southend on Sea on a wet and cold January morning; drab dull and somewhat disappointing you can imagine the pikeys doing their thing on the waltzers in the summer. Somewhat surreally every where we went outside speakers blasted out Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits, reminding us both of “Tim Nice but Dim” playing air-guitar on his bed with a tennis racquet - 90s Harry Enfield at his best. This is where they filmed the Lost Boys which does give it some kudos I guess? Well after walking down the boardwalk for a while we stumbled across the Wharf. On first glance it looked pretty similar to the touristy funfair section we had just avoided, but then the sound of barking seals had a certain allure. There ... read more

Hey Guys, after a week in San Francisco we decided it was about time to move on so we've travelled three hours down the coast to the legendary Santa Cruz. It was here that surfing began and even today Santa Cruz is a mecca for surfers all over the globe. We travelled by train from San Francisco to San Jose then changed to a local bus for the hour-long drive to the coast. Santa Cruz is the ultimate seaside destination, even though we've arrived out of season when most places are closed it is still warm and there are surfers in the bay. Upon our arrival the town seemed deserted, as all the surf shops were closed as well as the large theme-park styled boardwalk. However Santa Cruz is also a university town with the University ... read more

Today we went to pick up our awesome red Grand Prix (or Pricks as we’ve been calling it), and went to check in to our hotel. Our car has the sweetest navigation system, which has become VERY handy so far, so totally worth the extra 7 bucks a day we’re paying! Anyway, after checking in, Sammie, Frank & me headed out to Santa Cruz! It’s about an hour or so south of San Fran, and where Frank went to school. (UCSC) We had lunch at the cutest Italian deli, and then walked around the little town, making a few stops at the shops in between. Frank then took us to see the The Natural Bridges Beach, and the University, both were so awesome! We took the 1 north, (Pacific Coast Hwy) back to San Fran, and ... read more

(photos yet to come-- having technical difficulties. worth the wait though, come back soon!) I am lying in my freshly erected tent in a cozy spot beneath a towering redwood grove in Big Sur State Park. I've traveled only about 30 miles today, but they were thirty of the most difficult yet. Of course it's been worth every drop of sweat, straining turn of the crank whose gears just won't go low enough, every insistent pang of hunger for something other than oatmeal, energy bars, and over-salted peanuts. How to speak about this place that is so affectionatley called the Big Sur coast? The name comes from the Spanish "el grande Sur", literally "the big land in the south"-- evidently folks have been verbally stumped by this place for quite some time. But how to elaborate ... read more