We%26#39;re taking a day or an overnight trip to Santa Cruz before baby is born- a trip within the next couple of weeks (March/April). I%26#39;m 8 months pregnant so long walks/hikes are limited. We%26#39;re from the bay area (east bay) so we%26#39;re familiar with most of the main attractions in Santa Cruz. Looking for some variety. My husband%26#39;s not into museums though. He likes to shop %26amp; I like warm, pretty beaches (some of the beaches get real windy). Want something nice, but won%26#39;t break our budget- which is getting smaller these days with baby preparations. So, restaurants would be inexpensive %26amp; casual. Let us know what you think of our plans so far.
This is what we%26#39;ve got so far:
Thinking of staying at Ocean Pacific Lodge or Torch Lite Inn or Adobe B%26amp;B (if we splurge)
Mystery Spot- I%26#39;ve been, but thought it might be fun for Scott
Henry Cowell Redwoods- the short loop since I can%26#39;t walk all that far any more
Tidepools- Walker Ranch or Fitzgerald%26#39;s... which would you recommend?
Boardwalk- What is there to do there- mainly people watch?
Capitola - What kind of shops are there?
Heard August Moon Cafe is good in Capitola?
Is there a beach to hang out in Capitola?
Wharf - Riva%26#39;s Cafe- is it good? Is there a view?
What else is there to do on the wharf?
Which beach is your favorite %26amp; why? Somewhere that doesn%26#39;t get real windy- long enough to walk around %26amp; enjoy the view. Water is tooo cold to swim!
Santa Cruz trip itinerary- Any suggestions??
Lots of questions....let%26#39;s see...(you are going to be SO sorry you got me going....but)
Ocean Pacific Lodge is two blocks from the Municipal Wharf. Have not stayed there, of course, but it is an attractive property in a good location. The reviews on TA are fairly positive but some clinkers. I would not recommend Torch Light because of its location on Riverside Drive which would make you walk several blocks to the Boardwalk area and through some not too good neighborhoods.
I don%26#39;t know Adobe B %26amp; B, but if you can manage it...like splurge...do see if you can do the Dream Inn, right on the Bay, next to the Municipal Wharf. Every room has a balcony or patio facing the water. Was just renovated last summer after having been bought by Joie d%26#39;Vivre. It would be really special, and since you are about to add to the family, you deserve it !! Just think of it as your last splurge time together before diapers.
http://www.dreaminnsantacruz.com/
Mystery Spot...ok, if you insist %26lt;grin%26gt;. Be sure to tell Scott that it is a complete schuck, based on perception, not reality. This time of year should be OK, but Japanese tour agents have been really touting this and the parking lot in the summer fills up and people park on Branciforte Drive and walk in, and the residents there have to put up %26#39;no parking%26#39; signs in front of their houses.
Until last year, we lived on Granite Creek Road, and the maps to the Mystery Spot took everybody down our little country road. Almost every weekend, on our way into town, we would see poor tourists parked by the side of the road staring at the maps...so we would stop and direct them on their way.
Be sure to do Henry Cowell Redwoods. The trails are not strenuous, and it is only 7 miles from Highway 1, out Highway 9.
%26gt;%26gt;Tidepools- Walker Ranch or Fitzgerald%26#39;s... which would you recommend?%26lt;%26lt;
Whew, never heard of either of these and I have lived here for more years than you want to know.
Do you mean ';Wilder%26#39;s Ranch';, north of Santa Cruz?
Never mind. I recommend Natural Bridges State Park, at the end of West Cliff Drive, away from the Boardwalk. Go to the beach area and turn right around the small cliffs for the tidepools.
They have a great visitors center here...ask them, as well. The Monarch butterflies overwinter here in a eucalyptus grove and the visitor%26#39;s center has an interesting interpretive display about that.
Boardwalk....well, you won%26#39;t be into riding the historic wooden roller coaster, probably. But it might be fun to get on one of the original wooden horses designed by Looff on the historic merry-go-round and listen to the original calliope music and catch a brass ring to toss in the clown%26#39;s mouth.
I really like this place because it is definitely an old fashioned beach amusement park, not a ';theme park';. Try your hand at tossing dimes into plates, or throwing balls at clowns, or etc. Watch the taffy pulling machine. And, yes, watch the people.
Capitola...lots of ';cute'; shops. Parking is hard on weekends and very well regulated because the village is so small. There is a very nice small beach here. The Esplanade has a lot of restaurants. One we enjoy for lunch is the Stockton Bridge Grill. It is fairly new and classy and serves interesting small plates, with a view out where Soquel Creek empties into the Bay.
The August Moon Cafe is sushi and is not in the village of Capitola, but in a strip mall near the large Capitols Mall on 41st Avenue. I would take a pass on that.
Riva%26#39;s on the Wharf is the local%26#39;s favorite. Doesn%26#39;t take reservations, probably not credit cards, I don%26#39;t remember. It is not too large, but does have window tables. I recommend it.
What else there is to do on the wharf? Ignore the tourist shops. Walk to the end. Watch for the sea lions. At the end of the wharf are cutouts to peer down and watch them sleeping on the big beams.
But the best show is to peer over the left hand side of the wharf as you are going to the end and find the boat landing where they all pile on top of each other, sleeping, or swim around nearby, or bark.
The favorite beach of my teenagers, when they were around, was Seabright, and I agree. It is wide and long. It is across the San Lorenzo River from the Boardwalk, but you can%26#39;t get there from there. Go down Ocean Street from town towards the water then turn left on East Cliff Drive and you can%26#39;t miss it.
I have two other recommendations.
Downtown Santa Cruz has a lovely main street, Pacific Avenue, which is tree lined and has more sidewalk cafes and boutiques and bookstores and coffee shops than I can count.
You can walk the street and check out the menus, which are usually posted outside, and get some very reasonable and good food. We like, for example, Rosie%26#39;s Irish Pub, which is upstairs overlooking the street and serves good comfort food and great salads.
The other recommendation is to drive north on Mission Street to Bay Avenue and take it to the University of California of Santa Cruz campus. You will be on Coolidge Drive and part way to the top park on the side of the road and take in the drop dead view of the city and the Bay and Monterey.
You will notice a lot of old buildings. This was the Henry Cowell Ranch where he quarried limestone and shipped it to San Francisco to build after the earthquake of %26#39;06. One of the quarries now serves as a public place for graduations, etc. Some of the old kilns are at the entrance as you go in. If you keep driving and go in a counter-clockwise direction you will pass the individual colleges and come out the other entrance.
You cannot really do this Santa Cruz odyssey in a day trip...plan on an overnight.
I would love to hear your trip report after you get back. You have done some research and know the questions to ask.
I know my answer has been very long, but I hope it has been helpful.
If I can be of any help from here, please call on me. As, if you need more information which would be easy for me to get from here, let me know.
Wishing you a wonderful trip and congratulations on your new addition.
Santa Cruz trip itinerary- Any suggestions??
Wow! Puter, thank you so much. Loved your post- very thoughtful %26amp; detailed... extremely helpful. Will definitely take your suggestions to heart!!
We loved our time in Capitola, there is a very nice beach tehre and quaint downtown area. I would not miss a meal at The Shadowbrook in Capitola, I have a review of our time there. Have fun! :)
I loved Capitola as well
The Inn at Depot Hill was a awesome when we stayed there a few years ago (3 I think).
Puter,
Once again, you%26#39;ve nailed SC highlights. Let%26#39;s hope people continue to come visit us this summer, we need the $$$! And I%26#39;ve promised myself that I will not rant and rage about all the traffic, all the trash on the beach, etc...
Babs,
%26lt;giggle%26gt;...Then I will promise not to rant and rave at the groups of tourists who stop in the middle of the sidewalk for a conference, not letting anyone pass.
We now live at the new condos on North Pacific and every other day do a trek down to Laurel, at least, and back, for exercise sake. I am a little hopeful, because on the weekends traffic on the sidewalk has been pretty good, with a lot of non-locals. And it is only April.
Thanks for the encouragement. I DO go on.
* ';%26gt;%26gt;Tidepools- Walker Ranch or Fitzgerald%26#39;s...'; *
This would be Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, which is at Moss Beach, almost 60 miles north of the city of Santa Cruz. It has some great tidepools, but you don%26#39;t need to go that far. Natural Bridges does have good tidepooling and the weather is more friendly.
http://www.fitzgeraldreserve.org/
If you weren%26#39;t so pregnant, I%26#39;d suggest Año Nuevo State Nature Preserve, one of the world%26#39;s main habitats for the Northern elephant seal. It also has sea lions, pelicans, and other marine mammals and birds. But the hike to the beaches where the big seals hang out is about 3 miles round trip, on dirt and sand dunes. You can put it on your to-do list for another time.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=523
Puter,
No worries, you represent SC well! I%26#39;ve seen you on other forums and you have a great way of interjecting ';Santa Cruz'; so maybe others will take a second glance about coming here.
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