Santa Cruz..not that far.

Kite Surfers on the Beach
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We loved Santa Cruz - it was really laid back and had a really good atmosphere. It was the stereotypical Calafornian beach town you'd imagine, with the waves crashing to the sandy beach which had volley ball competitions on it - complete with commentator. Skateboarders, skaters, millions of aged hippies, good looking tanned people in swimsuits and tourists all wandering about. Our first night there (we stayed two nights cause we liked it so much) we took a stroll up the boardwalk & got to see pelicans diving for dinner & some seals playing in the water. The main strip is called Pacific Avenue & the nightlife was busy cause we were there for a Friday & Saturday night. We managed to be refused to a pub which didn't accept passports or drivers licences as forms of ID's (we were either too drunk or weren't cool enough, I chose to believe it was the first!)

Beach at night
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We visited the 'Mystery Spot' which is a place where the laws of physics, gravity, nature etc. don't work, balls roll up hill. Really! It was like a Father Ted episode! It was class! People lose & gain inches in height depending which part of mystery spot they are in. Compass' stop pointing north. Everyone leans inexplicably all the same direction like Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal video! All the trees grow inwards towards the centre of mystery spot & pool balls & batteries roll uphill. We have the video evidence people! One theory is that an alien space ship crashed into the hill centuries ago & the engine is still on & is exerting this strange force on the place. Mark felt light headed & 'weird' in the centre of Mystery Spot. It was brilliant!

a place where the laws of physics, gravity, nature etc. don't work, balls roll up hill. Really!

Oldest rollercoaster in US after Coney Island
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We stupidly forgot to take many pictures while we were there, which is a pity cause I'd have loved some of the many, many aging hippies - they were one of the funniest thing about Santa Cruz.