Recently, my husband and I went to Santa Cruz to see what our son loved about it so much. He often goes with a group of friends, sometimes just for the day, but usually to spend several days at his friend's beach house. I hadn't been to the coastal California town since I was small. We realized what the allure was as soon as we arrived.
As the only remaining major seaside amusement park on the West Coast, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk offers a unique combination of amusement rides, a sandy mile-long beach, and a variety of attractions including arcades. Who wouldn't love a beachside theme park?
The Boardwalk's roots go back to 1865, when a public bathhouse was opened near the mouth of the San Lorenzo River. Other bathhouses followed and scores of tourists began visiting Santa Cruz to enjoy the highly-touted natural medicine of bathing in salt water.
Soon more concessions sprang up including restaurants, curio shops, and photo stands. Toward the end of the century, plans began to develop for a casino and boardwalk, a Coney Island of the West. And amazingly, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is still in operation today, having celebrated it's 100th anniversary in 2007.
It is a teenage playland with junk food galore, all sorts of stomach churing rides, a stage with live bands, arcades and of course, the warm sand and cool waters of the Pacific ocean. What more could a kid ask for?
We wandered over to the pier for a more adult environment and had lunch. We ate some wonderful seafood and had local brews at one of the several restaurants there. Then we drove along the cliff road to see the lighthouses and the wonderful old Victorian mansions and modern homes. I found all sorts of inspiration and captured it with my camera for future use in my art.
One of the two lighthouses is now a museum about surfing and it was interesting to learn about the long boards and how women began to get into the sport. We found a bronze plaque on one of the brick walls inside the tiny structure that had great meaning to us. Read it in the photo and you will understand.
Behind a wrought iron gate, under the lighthouse tower, was the castaway statue. We found some peace just gazing at the beautiful Pacific and hoped that many who had been here before us had found the same.
Beautiful post, Iva. My son loves Santa Cruz, too and spends time there with his friends, as well.
That plaque and those words. Don't you think you were meant to read it? It was your fate, I think, to stumble upon it and I'm sure you felt Brianna reading over your shoulder. Always bittersweet when things like that happen.I hope that added warmth to your afternoon.
XO
D.
Posted by: Donna O. | July 19, 2009 at 09:57 AM
Hi Iva, I also have found memories of visiting Santa Cruz as a child - I haven't been in awhile but we're visiting this weekend on our way down to Carmel to celebrate my parent's 50th Anniversary. They haven't been there since we were kids (many moons ago) so I'm sure it will be interesting for them. Have a lovely weekend and see you at Tinsel and Treasures.
Posted by: Leticia | July 24, 2009 at 11:34 AM
fond memories, not found. I'm still on my first cup of coffee.
Posted by: Leticia | July 24, 2009 at 11:35 AM