Santa Cruz Dec. 22

If it's possible to build a town specifically for surfers, Santa Cruz would be the perfect prototype. It's Surf City North. Protected from the dominant NW winds, every nook and cranny in the coastline seems to offer up a good surf spot. Unfortun ately, that tailor-made aspect also means a helluva high percentage of the population surfs, not to mention the out-of-towners from points north, south and east (like me) that come there. Your doctor, high school history teacher, auto mechanic, priest, gardener, etc., they all surf, which makes for crowded, i.e. sometimes tense situations. But as long as you know that going in, the contrast of the idyllic setting and the hustle and bustle of the lineups won't throw you off too much. The town itself is also beautiful. Downtown SC got rocked pretty damn hard during the Loma Prieta earthquake, but it's since been rebuilt and revita lized. There are still a lot of the original Victorian houses (painted ladies), which are really cool to check out. Lately, because I've been gone for so long, I kinda lose my bearings when I pass through downtown, but I was in no hurry. I stopped to take a couple of photos of this tree.
I also took a picture from the car of this Victorian (the photo doesn't do it justice). It really is worth it to check these houses out. If you don't know what I am talking about, it's those houses that they show in the opening credits of that great tv show Full House (kill me now, please).


Anyway, if you're going to surf in Santa Cruz, you gotta check the Lane (Steamer Lane that is). It's the epicenter of surfing in Santa Cruz. It's yet another picturesque spot in SC that has several great waves and is also one of the best places in the world to just watch surfing, due to the fact that spectators can view the action from the cliff and look down on the lineup. A functioning lighthouse rests near the tip of the point. The interior of the lighthouse also doubles as a surfing museum. Another landmark is the metal man statue.

Well, when I got to the Lane, the swell was pumping, although the tide was too high. (Yeah that's my excuse.)

Keep in mind that the cliffs sit about maybe 20 feet above the water. Well, for a land-locked Gulf surfer, it looked a bit much for me for now, so I opted for something more manageable and headed to the East Side.

(I'll continue this later, b/c I'm actually going surfing (and snowboarding) again. I'll be gone for the weekend. Happy New Year!)