Uh - Oh Veronique! (NYT: Santa Cruz For Kids)
Gregory Morrow
http://travel2.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/travel/11kids.html
December 11, 2005
Weekend With the Kids
Santa Cruz: A Beach Town That Doesn't Shut Down
By TERRY TRUCCO
"YOU won't need to coax your kids to visit Santa Cruz, a laid-back
California beach town, 70 miles south of San Francisco. With miles of public
beaches, Santa Cruz is sand castle heaven. And the Boardwalk, open since
1907, promises a classic amusement park and all the salt water taffy you can
eat.
But what can a town that embodies a Beach Boys record offer when summer is
just a memory? Plenty.
Santa Cruz is a flourishing college town, thanks to an outpost of the
University of California, and attractions that are likely to satisfy all
family members include the university's Arboretum (on the campus, on High
Street just west of Bay Street; 831-427-2998; www2.ucsc.edu/arboretum).
Admission is free to this glorious collection of gardens, which are magnets
for hummingbirds.
Pacific Avenue, the heart of downtown, makes a pleasing family stroll past
restaurants, coffee houses, crafts shops and bookstores, many with a whiff
of Woodstock Nation. And when the fog rolls in, pile the young beachcombers
into the car and head for the Skyview (2260 Soquel Drive, 831-475-3405,
skyviewsantacruz.com). One of the last drive-in movie theaters in the state,
it is free for kids under 12, has two big screens - and car heaters.
OCEAN
Ms. Blue, the massive blue whale skeleton whose blanched bones, carefully
pieced together, provides a dramatic welcome to the Seymour Marine Discovery
Center (100 Shaffer Road, at Delaware Avenue past Natural Bridges State
Beach; 831-459-3800; $6; children ages 4 to 16, $4). Operated by the
university, this superb small aquarium offers a peek at Monterey Bay's
exotic animals. Let little ones gaze at the funny flat fish, visit the art
room and dip their hands into the well-stocked touch tank (sea stars are a
big hit). Don't miss the free afternoon tours, which visit the otters and
dolphins.
Nearly every detail of Santa Cruz's 100-year history as a surf city is on
view at the minute but charming Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, billeted in a
historic lighthouse (701 West Cliff Drive; 831-420-6289;
www.santacruzsurfingmuseum.org; suggested admission $1). It lays out the
evolution of the surfboard from a heavy redwood plank to today's high-tech
boards and the history of the wet suit.
OUTDOORS
Tired of the ocean? Visit the big trees. Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
(831-438-777, www.parks.ca.gov), six miles north of Santa Cruz in Felton, is
a pristine sequoia forest with 20 miles of trails. (There are guided walks
at 1 p.m. on weekends.) Be sure to visit the gigantic trunk once used as a
hotel room; it's on the old growth loop trail off the parking lot.
You can drive to the park, but it's more fun to take the Beach Train, a
diesel that chugs from the Boardwalk to Felton's Roaring Camp Station
(831-335-4484 and www.roaringcamp.com). You'll cross a 1909 steel truss
bridge, motor through an 1875 tunnel, and if you sit in an open-air car,
you'll almost touch the redwood branches. A round trip (an hour each way)
costs $20 and $15 for ages 3 through 12.
While the Beach Train won't resume regular service until late May, special
holiday trains tour Santa Cruz during December, with hot-spiced cider and
Santa Claus on board. And narrow-gauge steam trains run weekends year round
from Roaring Camp to scenic Bear Mountain, a 75-minute tour ($18 and $12 for
ages 3 through 12).
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (400 Beach Street, 831-426-7433, and
www.beachboardwalk.com) opened in 1903, and though the boards have been
paved over, it's fun, and free. A miniature golf course, bowling alley,
arcade, laser tag arena, snack shops and 35 rides await ($1.95 to $3.90 or
from $14.95 a day). The showpiece is the fabled Giant Dipper, a
scream-inducing wood-frame roller coaster built in 1924.
Kids too little for the 70-foot drop? Take them on the Looff Carousel, a
gorgeous hand-carved brass ring merry-go-round from 1911. Tweens will love
junior versions of the bumper cars and Double Shot, which propels riders
into the air. And don't miss the garlic french fries ($4.75), surprisingly
greaseless. The arcades and bowling alley are open daily all year and the
rides are open daily Dec. 26 through Jan. 1 and weekends January through
March.
DOWNTIME
The two-mile trek along East Cliff Drive, a winding walkway high over the
ocean that starts near the Coast Santa Cruz Hotel and culminates at Natural
Bridges State Park, is a favorite with joggers, bikers and parents pushing
strollers. Walk early in the morning and you'll see surfers.
Rainy day? Visit the children's section at Bookshop Santa Cruz (1520 Pacific
Avenue; 831-423-0900), a terrific independent bookseller. Nearby, Borders
Books, Music & Cafe (1200 Pacific Avenue; 831-466-9644) has an inviting
carpeted kid's section.
WHERE TO EAT
Who can resist a breakfast of French toast with grilled bananas and walnuts?
Not many if the weekend lines outside the Walnut Avenue Cafe (106 Walnut
Avenue; 831-457-2307) are any indication. This informal place, bedecked with
hanging plants, offers breakfast all day and serves up Mighty Mouse pancakes
($2.45), cheesy scramble ($2.75) and French toast ($2.35) for the kids.
When Boardwalk fare loses its appeal, try the contemporary Latin-inflected
menu at Costa Brava (1222 Pacific Avenue; 831-425-7871). Relaxed but
stylish, it feels grown up despite a kid's menu offering Virgin mojitos ($4)
and chicken or veggie tamales with rice and beans ($4.50). Adult specialties
include grilled salmon with rum-allspice-molasses glaze ($17.50).
Since 1947, Shadowbrook (1750 Wharf Road in nearby Capitola; 831-475-1222)
has been the place locals go for birthdays, anniversaries and an old-style
night out. Overlooking a brook , the candle-lit restaurant exudes romance,
but kids are welcomed with Nada Coladas ($3.75) and chicken tenders, prime
rib and grilled salmon ($8.95). Adult fare is pre-fusion: filet mignon
($26.95) and sand dabs with wild rice ($18.95). Bonus: a jaunty funicular
car transports you about 200 feet down the hill to the restaurant.
WHERE TO STAY
The rooms at the Coast Santa Cruz Hotel (175 West Cliff Drive; 800-663-1144
or 831-426-4330; www.coasthotels.com) aren't fancy, but all 163 face the
ocean. And the location is as good as the view: in the backyard is Cowell
Beach, the site of a surfing school for kids each summer. The Boardwalk and
Municipal Wharf, studded with family-friendly fish restaurants, are steps
away. There's a pool, too. Doubles from $159.
In the quiet beach town of Aptos, just a few miles south of Santa Cruz,
Seascape Resort (1 Seascape Resort Drive, Aptos; 800-929-7727;
www.seascaperesort.com) is a playground unto itself. Besides tennis courts,
a health club and a spa, the 285-room resort has three pools, a summer kids
club and a private beach. Most of the spacious rooms come with fireplaces,
ocean views and kitchens. Doubles from $259; one-bedroom villas from $350."
</>
Veronique
Gregory Morrow wrote:
> http://travel2.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/travel/11kids.html
>
> December 11, 2005
>
> Weekend With the Kids
>
> Santa Cruz: A Beach Town That Doesn't Shut Down
>
>
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!!
V., really REALLY cranky now.
--
Veronique Chez Sheep
dalia
Gregory Morrow wrote:
> http://travel2.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/travel/11kids.html
>
> December 11, 2005
>
> Weekend With the Kids
>
> Santa Cruz: A Beach Town That Doesn't Shut Down
>
> By TERRY TRUCCO
>
> "YOU won't need to coax your kids to visit Santa Cruz, a laid-back
> California beach town, 70 miles south of San Francisco. With miles of public
> beaches, Santa Cruz is sand castle heaven. And the Boardwalk, open since
> 1907, promises a classic amusement park and all the salt water taffy you can
> eat.
>
> But what can a town that embodies a Beach Boys record offer when summer is
> just a memory? Plenty.
>
Good GOD! I DON'T EVER want to go to Santa Cruz after reading this. I
bet some of owners of the businesses mentioned in this article are
PISSED OFF. Fucking Trucco going out and checking every thing out with
moo-googles (how can we mess up this nice little place?) and then
reporting it the the Moo York Times. "Oh, go to this restaurant,
Bratley will LOVE the chicken fingers and mac & cheese. Don't bother
tipping the poor waitstaff. Bwahahahahaha"
Spoiled brayat payrunts and sproggen from NY jumping on planes just to
FUCK SANTA CRUZ UP!
The article is absolutely disgusting. You can tell that breeders are
miserable and they really REALLY want to make everyone else miserable.
AAARGGHHH!
-dalia
Veronique
Sing it, sistah. The Shadowbrook is one of the nicest formal
restaurants around, *definitely* not appropriate for fambly-friendlee
fare, nada colada or not. West Cliff Drive is positively dangerous with
strollers added to the mix: imagine a six foot wide tarmac path with
bikes whizzing past, joggers intrepidly jogging, walkers doing their
morning five, and now fucking STROLLERS?
Am amused by the mention of the Lighthouse Surfing Museum: the interior
is about six square feet-- no WAY a stroller could fit inside there.
And the exhibits, while cool, are definitely at adult height and with
adult text-- no blinky-flashy-kiddie-friendly there!
A friend of mine grumbled that Santa Cruz was the worst town she'd ever
been in to amuse her grandchildren. "Doesn't the city know there's
nothing to do with a two-year old here?" Er, exactly.
V.
--
Veronique Chez Sheep
Terry Lomax
>
> Good GOD! I DON'T EVER want to go to Santa Cruz after reading this.
Santa Cruz is a bunch of materialistic breeder-pleasers, with the
merchants begging for breeders and sproggen to keep them afloat.
The reason: most Santa Cruz residents try to force the unique small
businesses out of business, as most Santa Cruz residents only shop at
franchises of large multinational corproations.
Exhibit A: Geoff Miller, a Santa Cruz resident, who about a year ago
tried to refute my anti-Walmart posts by saying it's inevitable the
Walmarts will push the mom-and-pops out of business, and that that's
the way things ought to be.
Exhibit B: Moronique, who does almost all her shopping at Costco (where
she and her fellow cheapskates make themselves even more obese by
chowing down on free samples, which they call "lunch at Costco").
Moronique also hangs out at Starbucks.
The reason the unique establishments seek out-of-town breeders is the
locals are cheapskates who do all their shopping at the Walmart and
McDonalds.
If any breeders follow the advice of the Moo York Times and invade
Santa Cruz, I'll laugh at any Santa Cruz residents who get upset by the
breeders. Ha-ha! Bed-made-lie. Karma. Geoff, Moronique, and REP are
so scummy, they especially deserve the trauma of being invaded by
breeders.
Perhaps the breeders who visit Santa Cruz will use their rental SUVs to
run over some of the cats that plague Santa Cruz; many residents are
irresponsible cat people who let cats run loose.
I would never lower myself to visit Santa Cruz because it's the world
capital of hippies and dykes, so it's fine with me if the breeders
flock there. The more breeders in Santa Cruz, the fewer breeders in
places I might visit.
I've heard the Monterey Canyon is very deep and very cold. If a sprog
falls off a cliff or gets sucked into the water from the beach, odds of
drowining should be high (evil grin).
Rabbit
> A friend of mine grumbled that Santa Cruz was the worst town she'd ever
> been in to amuse her grandchildren. "Doesn't the city know there's
> nothing to do with a two-year old here?" Er, exactly.
> V.
> --
>
There's a big ocean. I'm gettin' ideas.
Rabbit