Brent Gilmore

We spent the New Years holiday break in Santa Cruz.

We took Highway 1 rather than the 101 from So Cal.

Books

One of the first places we visited was Logos bookstore in downtown Santa Cruz.  It rocks!  It is almost as good as Powell’s in Portland, although I have to say that Powell’s is larger.  Even so, for a city the size of Santa Cruz, it is lucky to have Logos, which is two stories, and loaded with books.

Two stories of goodness!

The Literary Guillotine is another great used bookstore in downtown Santa Cruz.

Besides Logos and Literary Guillotine, there is also Bookshop Santa Cruz, which is large and sells new books, and many other smaller bookshops.  For someone who is passionate about books (like me), these are some wonderful independent stores.

Of course, we had to visit the Santa Cruz Public Library, and I was impressed.  It is good sized, well stocked library, with lots of room to get lost and read.

Natural Food Stores

Besides books, I really enjoy fresh organic vegetables.  There are some great farmers markets in Santa Cruz, and some great independent natural food stores.

While checking out Shoppers Corner (founded in 1938), Ron stumbled on a new tonic called Q Tonic, sweetened with organic agave nectar rather than high fructose corn syrup.  He was *slightly* excited.  I have been interested to find out if Q Tonic is related to Quintessential Gin, which has a large Q on the bottle.

This stuff is not cheap at $8 for four small bottles.  Needless to say, we returned a few days later for a second four pack.  We also bought some Santa Cruz (local) Gin.

We visited by the shop where Sarticious Gin is made, off Swift Ave, a few blocks from the beach.

We also visited the Staff of Life Market, which is considered similar in size and amenities to a Whole Foods, but is independent and local to Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz has tons of natural food stores including New Leaf, Shoppers Corner, Food Bin, and Staff of Life.  Whole Foods is finally entering the market, on Soquel between Shoppers Corner and Staff of Life.  Whole Foods is taking a huge amount of space, so it is going to be a big store. It will be interesting if Staff of Life makes it.  Staff of Life is considered the best, but I personally like the small New Leaf chain.  They have a great store downtown, and another in Felton.

There is a great local kombucha made in Santa Cruz called Kombucha Botanica.  After trying a few flavors, I preferred pomegranate.

The Food Bin is closer to UCSC.  It is small, but has a great feel, and you can pretty much find most of what you might need to make dinner.

This is my kind of store.  It is locally owned, lots of organic food and produce, and everyone seems to know each other. Lots of bulk foods, and very tall shelves.

The Herb Room is right next to the Food Bin.  The Herb Room is basically the vitamin/herb section of the store, but it is in a different building (and is tiny).

The Herb Room sells bulk supplies (shampoo, conditioner, dish detergent, laundry detergent), which is  very green!

University of California Santa Cruz

We spent almost two days touring the UC Santa Cruz campus.  With 2,000 acres, and much of it “wild”, it takes some time.  We did not make it to the “outback”.

People who study or work on this campus are very lucky.  It is amazing.  Some of it feels like it is on the coast and other parts feel like it is in the deep forest.

One of the schools we visited was Kresge College, which feels like it is deep in the forest.

Kresge runs a small food coop.

The tree bark is amazing.  It has great texture and a warm color.

Later, we visited Oakes College, and found grand peaceful open spaces with panoramic views of the ocean.

Of course, from the other side of campus, at Cowell College, they have an equally great view of Monterey Bay.  (I felt like I was in some small village near the ocean in England).

You can also view the city from  the campus.

Cowell College has a very interesting fountain.

The UCSC mascot is a Banana Slug.

It is therefore appropriate that they have a cafe that bears the name.

The campus has a beautiful central library right in the middle of campus, in the redwoods.

We also visited the “Farm”, which is formaly the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems.  They run a full farm on the UCSC campus.  There are actually two different gardens, one toward the south of campus, and another up by Merril College, on the north-east side.

The Farm is pretty cool.

One of the compost heaps was a bit disturbing.

We visited the Upper Quarry.  Although Ron was awarded his degree from UC San Diego, he graduated (walked) at UCSC, and this is where he walked.  A great location.

Some of the staff at UC Santa Cruz work down near the water, by Natural Bridges State Beach.

The building does not look like much, but is it adjacent to a lagoon, and walking distance to the Natural Bridges State Beach. Here is the trail to the beach.

To the west, is the Seymour Marine Discovery Center.

There is a full skeleton of a blue wale.

After the Marine Discovery Center, we went to Wilder Ranch State Park.  They have a working ranch that you can visit.

There is a 2 mile trail that leads you to a the Wilder Beach.

Ron is standing in the picture below, in the center, on the cliff. He is just a spec in the picture.

Here he is close-up, taking it all in.

Downtown Santa Cruz Beach

We spent all morning walking around downtown, visiting the boardwalk, and walking the pier.

There are many Victorian era houses that survived earthquakes.

Santa Cruz has a Squid Row that takes you to a shop called Rivendell, where you can buy prepared tea.  They have a deal of which you spend $7 for the day, and you can come in all day for tea.

We also visited Aptos, Soquel, Capitola, Felton, Bed Lomond, Scotts Valley, Live Oak, Davonport, and Watsonville during the week we spent in Santa Cruz.  All of the neighborhoods had their own character and great amentities.

It was a bit sad to leave Santa Cruz.  It is a beautiful city.

On the drive home, we stopped in at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas.

Here is the house that John Steinbeck grew up in.

Ron and I visited Bernie and Tybie last weekend in Santa Barbara with Louis and Bertha.  We had a wonderful time.  Tybie gave us her 50 cent tour of Santa Barbara which was just the right amount of time.  We had lunch in downtown Santa Barbara, drove by the mission, and then visited UC Santa Barbara.  The beach was beautiful.  I love the fog and the mountain range.  Bernie took us on a tour of Isla Vista, which was teaming with students.  There are lots of bikes at that campus and a great bike path.

We returned to Bernie and Tybie’s house, had appetizers and drinks.  Bernie gave us a tour of the property, including the huge backyard and all of the fruit tree’s.  The house is very elegant and comfortable.

We then went out to dinner at the Montecito Inn, built by Charlie Chaplin in 1928.  The food was fantastic.

On Sunday morning, Tybie fixed breakfast for us, Lox, Bagels, Blintzes, and fruit, and wonderful coffee, and then we headed back to L.A.

It was a great visit.