Keep Santa Cruz Weird

Santa Cruz is well known for being a town full of weird people. This is mostly true. In downtown, there are several homeless, most of who are absolutely crazy. Oscar is the crazy guy who has a train of carts he drags behind him and yells off into the night. The bag man sits on a bench downtown completely covered in trash bags, claiming there is no god.

Santa Cruzians love their locals. The local vendors stay alive due to this fact. Santa Cruz rejects chains like a body's immune system will reject a new implanted body part. If you plan on opening a store in Santa Cruz, make sure you're a local.

Weather

The weather is not normal. The temperature doesn't go below 10^oC (50^oF) and doesn't exceed 26.6^oC (80^oF), except for in extreme circumstances.

In the summer, usually there will be fog in the morning until about 10 or 12. The fog will then burn off and the day will be nice and sunny. Then in the late after noon, between 5 and 7, the fog will come rolling back in. Not everyday does it burn off, but it does a majority of the time.

The hottest months of the year are usually in the autumn. That's what is called an Indian Summer. If everybody wasn't going back to school or working, everybody would want to go to Santa Cruz in the autumn because that is when it have the nicest weather.

Winter is usually like most other places... except for the fact that it never snows. It does rain a lot, but never snows. The last time it snowed was in 2001 and it was for a quarter of a second. It didn't make it all the way to the ground before melting. The last time the snow was significant was in the 1970s. There was three feet (about a metre) of snow on the beach! Anyway, it does rain. The rain doesn't act the same as any other place, but that you will have to experience that for yourself.

Last but not least, we come to spring. Spring's weather is just about the same as anywhere else.

Restaurants

People generally have this habit of eating and some really enjoy it. Here are the best places to do this.

• Stagnero's - If you go to Santa Cruz, it is very important to try the seafood. If you have never been to a coastal city and eaten seafood, you don't know what seafood really tastes like. For a very nice seafood dinner, Stagnero's is the way to go. It is located at the end of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. It can be a bit pricy, but is well worth it. This is can be a very romantic restaurant (sometimes the view of the sunset is fantastic) and it could also be something nice you take your family to.


• The Crow's Nest - Located at the mouth of the harbour, the Crow's nest is another fine restaurant. During the food hours of operation it is a rather elegant place to dine. In the evening, it turns out to be one of the most rockin' places in town. Apparently the bar is fantastic.


• Ristorante Italiano - If you like Italian food, Ristorante Italiano is the place to go. Very good food, again a little pricey. Don't take little kids with finicky tastes. Sometimes the simple things can be kind of extravagant.


• Shadowbrook - Absolutely, positively the nicest restaurant in the Santa Cruz area. It is actually located in the town directly to the south called Capitola. If you can find the place, the place is worth it. It is a little pricey and the food is all right, but what you're really paying for is the atmosphere. It has a neat little elevator that goes up and down the hill, but do that part on the way back up from the restaurant. Instead you can walk down through the really nice garden they have there. This is a shirt and tie kind of place. It's not mandatory, but you would look like a fool if you didn't even wear a nice shirt.


• Zelda's - Another good reataurant in Capitola is Zelda's. Also, it is another seafood restaurant. This one is marginally priced and is not as nice as the other previously mentioned restaurants. This is a restaurant where you could casually go have dinner no matter what the occasion. The occasion could even be that it is dinnertime and that will suffice. They often have great deals on lobster in the middle of the week.


• Pizza my Heart - Arguably the best pizza on the face of the earth... or at least in Santa Cruz. It has a location in the Capitola Village (right next to Zelda's) and in Downtown Santa Cruz. The prices are really good. For $8 you could buy a t-shirt and get a slice of pizza.


• Little Shanghi – It’s just about the greatest Chinese food around. The best time to go here is lunchtime. You get a lot of food very cheaply. Their hot and sour soup is the greatest. It’s located downtown on the corner of Cedar and Locust.


• Pink Godzilla - The best Sushi place in town. Expect to wait to get a seat. It's located on 41^st ave. The price is like any other Sushi place; it's expensive. The Spider roll is great!


• Carpo's - One of the great sandwich type places. They have a couple other things on the menu as well, but they are mostly known for their sandwiches. Nothing to fancy here, but decently priced.


• Emily's - The best bakery ever. They have good sandwiches as well. Their pastries are to die for. Prices... very low. You can even eat here on the college budget. Although, getting your coffee here is not the greatest idea.


• Coffeetopia - This is the place to get your coffee. There is one located just down the street from Emily's and another one located in Capitola. Yes, it's better than Starbucks.


• Jalapenos - Very good burrito place. Again, a very good price. Located at the end of Downtown Santa Cruz.

Waterfront

As said before, Santa Cruz is located right on the top of Monterey Bay. Due to the location on the bay, the waves and geography is great for many waterfront activities. Tourists come to Santa Cruz to visit the ocean.

Beaches

Most people who go to visit Santa Cruz are mainly interested in the beach. What kind of guide entry would this be if it didn't have a section on beaches?

• Main Beach - Probably the worst beach you could go to in Santa Cruz. It is located right in front of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It's always filled with the most touristiest tourists and there are often signs along the beach that say something along the lines of "Don't swim here unless you want to grow an extra toe." If you want to go to the beach, Main beach is the wrong one to go to.


• Capitola Beach - The second worst beach to go to. It's located in the Capitola Village. It's basically bad for the same reasons as Main beach. The water is a lot worse, but there are usually a few less tourists.


• Twin Lakes Beach - This is a good beach for bonfires. It is located just south of the harbor just off Portola Road. During the day it is also a nice beach to hang out at. The waves are usually not to good for surfing, but sometimes you can get a good boogie board session here.


• Sunny Cove - A great beach for boogie boarding during the day and excellent for bonfires at night. Usually all the beaches in Santa Cruz close at 10 or 11, but sometimes the rangers miss this beach, so you can spend more time there.


• Seabright Beach - Another great bonfire beach. This is the beach to go to for fireworks on the Fourth of July; the place just lights up even though fireworks are illegal in Santa Cruz.


• Seacliff Beach - This is located just south of Capitola. It is the beach with the infamous concrete ship. It floated at some point in time but is now permanently docked on a small wharf on Seacliff beach. No waves really, but it can be a nice beach to lie on.

Surfing Spots

These are the three most popular surfing spots in Santa Cruz:

• Cowell's - Located on the other side of the Wharf from Main beach, Cowell's is the bunny slope of the surfing world. Everybody who starts surfing in Santa Cruz starts here. The waves are really easy to catch and there is a surf shop called Cowell's who offer lessons.


• Steamer's Lane - The most publicly known surf spot in Santa Cruz. It is where all the surfers from far and wide go to be seen. Someone who surfed there once said, "When you get up on a wave there its like surfing on a stage... Everybody is watching you."


• Pleasure Point - The locals' little known secret. It is located at the other end of Portola Road from Twin Lakes. Mr. O'Neil (the owner of the famous O'Neil's Surf Shop and inventor of the neoprene wetsuit) owns a house right on a cliff overlooking Pleasure Point. He has a staircase that leads to the ocean and a rock garden in his front yard.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

The Boardwalk is the place for tourists to go. Locals never bother going to the Boardwalk, but that is usually because they have already worked there at some point in their life. Most high school students get their first job at the Boardwalk. Anyway, if you so choose to go to the Boardwalk, you should know that the park is not a single admission. To get into the park is free, but you do have to pay for the rides individually. Just go to the ticket stands and you can find out all you need to know about how many tickets it takes for each ride and how much the tickets cost. I'm not including any prices because they do change quite often (usually about once every few years). You can find out here. Here is a list of things to do at the boardwalk:

• The Giant Dipper - The most classic of classic roller coasters. This is the oldest roller coaster at the Boardwalk. It is still fun after riding it several times. There is a camera that takes your picture. You can buy the picture just as you get off the ride. The camera is located on the second drop to the left. If you go to the Boardwalk and miss this ride, you will regret it.


• The Hurricane - The other roller coaster on the Boardwalk. This is a much more modern coaster. The excitement level is much higher. There is on steep curve that always launches your stomach into your throat. It's not a must-ride, but it is still very fun.


• Logger's Revenge - Another great classic. You sit in a log and float around a "river" for a few minutes, then you go down the giant slope and get totally soaked. For the best effect, stick the heaviest person in front.


• Haunted House - The only good thing this ride is for is making out. It's dark and has not-so-scary things in it. If you go on it alone, it is pretty lame.


• Bumper Cars - There are two rides with bumper cars. The one near the Hurricane won't allow you to bump into other people head on. You're supposed to go around in a circle. It's supposed to simulate a race. The other bumper cars are on the complete opposite end of the Boardwalk in the pit (you will know what I'm talking about if you ever go there). These are the ones where you can do as much head-on-bumping as you like. The controls are also really fun on these ones... joysticks.


• Arcade - It's a fairly decent arcade. The virtual roller coaster stinks. It looks cool from the outside, but it's not as fun as it looks. The Laser tag arena is absolutely awesome. Just watch out for little kids in there; they often like to cheat. If you want to go for prizes, look for the game that has lights spinning around the edge. It is pretty easy to hit the jackpot. You just need to anticipate a little.


• Neptune's Kingdom - Mini-golf, mini-arcade, full-sized pool tables and air hockey tables... what more could you want. There used to be an air hockey table that was free. Only a few people knew about it. Eventually the management caught on and they got a new table in there. The mini-golf is pretty good. It has a pirate theme.


• Marini's - The greatest candy store on the face of the Earth. Marini's once had a customer come all the way from Australia just to get the salt-water taffy¹ that they made. Marini's also has awesome fudge.

Things to Do

Just a list of some activities or places to visit in Santa Cruz that hasn't already been mentioned.

• Mystery Spot - Warning: This is a tourist trap. Even though it is a tourist trap, everybody should at least check it out. It is all optical illusions, but they do a rather good job with it.


• Hike - There are many trails going through some magnificent scenery. Pogonip is a great trail just outside of UCSC.


• UCSC - Stands for University of California, Santa Cruz. It's one of the many braches of the California University System. The University of California System has branches in San Diego, Davis, Berkeley, San Francisco, Riverside, and many others. The University is on a hill, looking out over Santa Cruz. From Cowell College, you can see all of Santa Cruz, except when it is foggy. Then you look over the blanket of fog as if the University is floating above the clouds.


• Bike - Santa Cruz welcomes bikers happily. Bikes are very well accepted. The only problem is that there are a lot of hills. It's not the easiest way across town.


• Downtown - Very nice place. Located mainly on Pacific Ave, it is the home of the homeless and has many great shopping opportunities.


• Shop - Along with downtown, the Capitola Mall and Village are great places to shop.


• Boating - Santa Cruz has boats of all shapes and sizes. In the harbor you can rent a kayak, or get a ticket for the Chardonnay II. The Chardonnay II is a nice sailboat. With the ride, you get a meal and often some wine. The best time to go is the sunset tour. Just remember to bring a jacket.


• Fishing - You don't have to have a license to fish off of the wharf. Just make sure you have a sea fishing pole.


• Drive-in - The drive in is great. It uses your car radio as the speaker. They just put the soundtrack on an FM station. This is especially good because 1) you don't have to use a little speaker that makes the worst sound ever, and 2) you can have the volume at whatever you want.


• Geocache - This is a fantastic way to explore any town. It's like hunting for buried treasure. If you're interested, go to Geocaching.com.