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A trip to San Francisco is never complete without the obligatory trip to Pier 39 on the Embarcadero. And a trip to Pier 39 is never complete without feeding your gob full of hot buttered garlic crab served on a vast piping hot platter at the legendary Crab House. The food is one of THE BEST things about San Francisco and the Crab House has been a favorite of ours for many years. After a slap up lunch we mooched around the pier then strolled past Fisherman's Wharf down to Ghirardelli Square for an ice cream sundae dessert, then, feeling completely stuffed, we watched the turnaround for the cable cars on Beach Street after which we walked up the hill, puffing and panting, to walk down the twisty-turny Lombard Street. Fabulous! On the way back to the trailer, we stopped for more photos of the Golden Gate Bridge from Fort Baker. The pics do all the talking!
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 On the northern tip of Monterey Bay lies the ultra-cool, hip and trendy Santa Cruz, California. We were all excited to explore the laid back seaside city famous for its cultural history of surfing, skateboarding and cycling. And of course, its utterly iconic Boardwalk. We were already familiar with the skateparks in the city as we had visited them back when Kim took his Sabbatical in 2008. Henry wanted to revisit the full pipe looping tunnel at the Ken Wormhoudt Skate Park at Mike Fox Park. While we were in Santa Cruz, Henry later discovered on Instagram that Nyjah Huston had been skating at the park earlier in the week. The last time we saw Nyjah Huston was when he was competing as a teenager in the X Games in LA and we were sorry to have missed him. Skateboarding is legendary in Santa Cruz and boardshops are everywhere.  Our adventures began on Santa Cruz Wharf, the longest wharf in America at 2,745 feet in length, roughly about half a mile, extending out into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Really it is a very long pier but it was misnamed as a wharf due to a naming error written in to the bond measure. Typically, a wharf runs parallel to the water's edge, while a pier juts out, perpendicular to the water's edge. Santa Cruz Wharf is definitely a pier! 
We strolled past small shacks advertising fishing tours, whale watching tours, cycle tours and more. Then we hit the restaurants over looking the ocean with all the seafood options you might expect. Oysters, shrimp, scallops, clams, lobsters in tanks and the fresh aroma of salt, lemon, seafood and a hint of white wine hit the senses. We were all slavering! Then we were distracted by the barking of sea lions that drew us further down the wharf. They were loud as their cheerful chatter echoed beneath the wharf as they sat and jostled for space on the wooden frame below. They were comical as they plopped and flopped into the water then scrambled to get back up again to bask in the sunshine. We stayed and watched for a good long while. We mooched around the surf and skate shops, and we decided we had to buy souvenir t-shirts with the Santa Cruz logo from Nolands to support the local business.
Later we ambled over to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Before we got anywhere near it, we could hear the delighted screams of the thrill riders on the Typhoon, Cyclone, Fireball and of course the star of the Boardwalk, the old "woodie" roller coaster, the Giant Dipper. The Boardwalk was a heaving mass of families having a whale of a time. The gorgeous ice cream pastels of the Sky Gliders leisurely passed over our heads as we were happily assaulted by the vibrant sights and delicious smells of fairground food; cruzin' crepes, sweet and salty kettle corn, ocean blue slushies with bendy straws, powdered funnel cakes, deep fried Twinkies and Oreos, beach tacos, chowders, churros and floats, cotton candy clouds, soft serve ice cream "SANDaes", tater twists, walkin' waffles and so much more. Of course I could not help but to think back to one of my favorite 80's movies, The Lost Boys, that was filmed on the Boardwalk. Do you remember that fabulous soundtrack? I loved the remake of The Doors "People Are Strange" the best. 
We finished the afternoon with a lazy cuppa at Steamer Lane, watching the surfers dodge the currents and the cliffs at Point Santa Cruz and ambling around the Santa Cruz Lighthouse then up the coast a little to see the natural bridges jutting out from the cliffs. The Californian brown pelicans kept us company. Lovely lazy day. Sigh. 
From the pier at Cayucos, CA, looking back towards Morro Bay, we were lucky enough to spot some grey whales passing through on their migratory route to Alaska. The shoreline was scattered with debris and drift wood due to the high tides at the Spring Equinox.
We almost stumbled on a nudist beach at Pirate's Cove, our first stop of the day in San Luis Obispo Bay, but due to the wet, windy and slippery (arrrr, me hearties, that's what she said) conditions, the path was closed. We did see some disappointed nudists arrive and then depart. We drove in the rain to Avila Beach, splashed along the shoreline and then when our teeth began chattering we stopped to warm up with a lovely cuppa coffee from The Kraken.
We traveled straight to the Pacific Dunes Ranch RV Park just outside Pismo Beach from the Visalia KOA. The California Poppies were in full super bloom, lavishly spread over the lush green hills. They were dancing the flamenco, flamboyantly spreading their vivid orange dresses in joy, waving and winking at us the whole journey. It was a fiesta! On the way we drove past the intersection where James Dean crashed his Porsche in Cholame, CA, in 1955. He was only 24 years old. So young. So sad. Rebel Without A Cause immortalized. We arrived to more wet weather, flood warnings and high winds. And so we set off to explore. Our intention was to hire beach buggies to race around in the dunes, but unfortunately, the weather did not allow for that. The dunes may have been wet but they did not disappoint!     |
AuthorLaura Barnes is a retired educator. Mostly she loves books, travels and mischief. She dabbles in writing. 
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