Comparing Two Coasts: Travel Report from Santa Cruz, California and home

This past week we have been away, which is why I haven't been posting.

Our family flew out to San Jose, CA, to see my one and only brother graduate with a PhD in Transpersonal Psychology. In the week we were there, we were able to explore Santa Cruz, see some gorgeous old growth redwoods and take a dip in the Pacific Ocean in addition to the San Lorenzo River. The river tumbles from the redwood covered hills down to Santa Cruz and flows into the sea right beside the Boardwalk (a permanent amusement park there). Santa Cruz, being right beside the 57 degree water, is frequently foggy and cool. It's also well known to surfers and beach bum types.:)

My kids sampled the water where the river flows into the ocean beside the boardwalk, as well as up in the cool redwood forest. They also went in the water on the beach in Santa Cruz on a day when the fog had rolled in. The fog advances and recedes in an almost unpredictable way and the temperature can go from sunny and hot to cold and windy in minutes. Each time they went in the water determined and came out happy but shivering. Needless to say, this grownup wasn't going in, no sir.

Guess I must have turned into an old fart.



Here's a picture of Uncle Sean in his wetsuit waving to the kids (egging them on?).:)













At the beach I found a super long piece of washed-up kelp (12 feet?) and we played jump-kelp for a bit!

Also to be seen down near the Wharf are some sea lions that were very conveniently hauled out on a platform. A walkway lets tourists come within a few feet of these huge pinnipeds. They were really fun to watch as they sunned themselves and fought and jostled for space. The difference in size between the smallest and biggest must have been 200lbs! They can also move surprisingly fast. I was a little nervous about the kids standing on the railing. Falling over into these guys would not have been a happy thing. They were fascinating though. We watched them for quite a while.

The old growth redwood forest was magnificent, and we saw it both walking and from the Roaring Camp train, which took us down to Santa Cruz. Many of those tress are 2,000 years old. I would also definitely recommend the train. Not only do you get a great ride through the redwoods and along the river, it ends up on the Boardwalk and then takes you back up to the hills again when you are done.

Upon returning home, the hot humid air hit us and we were reminded of summer in North Carolina. Not quite swimming through the air as you do in Florida, but close enough!

 Still jet-lagged, we found ourselves a couple of days later on the Eno River enjoying a little good old-fashioned stream-stomping with some fellow homeschool friends. The Eno at Few's Ford is just perfect for kids. There are some deeper holes to swim in and some really shallow sections, and it's very easy access. The water flows, but not too fast. Upstream just a little way is a small series of waterfalls and rocks they all had fun climbing over and sliding down (I don't have pictures of this as I forgot the camera downstream.). Needless to say, the water was a bit warmer than the west coast!

My kids were born in the area of San Jose, CA, and my husband works for a company there, so we are often comparing and wondering if we should move back. As much as I love to visit, and miss my family and friends out there, I still love North Carolina. Even with it's bugs and summer heat, there is just something about the forests and streams of the East Coast that call to me in a way that the drier West never did. Maybe it was our hikes through the Appalachians as college students, I'm not sure, but I think we'll stay.

(Jessi is holding her little friend Cory in this picture.)