Three Must-Sees in Santa Cruz

krabi

Spanish for Holy Cross, Santa Cruz has long been a magnet for the counter culture who crave an ocean breeze and free-spirited souls.

Sea breeze and sunset strolls
West Cliff Drive

Coastline and cocktails
Capitola Village

Hippies and Hawkers
Downtown Pacific Avenue
No trip to Santa Cruz would be complete without a stroll down Pacific Avenue. Heavily damaged in the 1989 earthquake, the street or “Pacific Garden Mall” as it was once known has been completely restored into a tree-lined promenade. Head down any balmy evening and you’ll find a diverse mix of street people and strollers ranging from families poking around after a day on the beach to aging hippies hoping to relive peace and love from decades past.

Pacific Avenue runs north to south from Water Street/Mission Street to Beach Street (here you’ll find the Municipal Wharf). On any summer evening you’ll find loads of talented street performers, young bohemians in tank tops and frayed shorts and hawkers selling everything from old vinyls to crystal orbs. Homelessness is prevalent along the street so avoid desolate areas after dark.

While many of the landmark buildings were heavily damaged in the earthquake, the ones salvaged are now open as offices or retails spaces offering clothing and artisan glass. The Homeless Garden gift shop is an example of retailers using profit to fund a community cause. O’Neill is here.Founded by the legendary surfer, Jack O’Neill, this place stocks more than 250 surfboards and the largest selection of O’Neill wetsuits in the world.

Keep strolling and you’re bound to pass Palomar Inn, a landmark that houses a longtime Mexican restaurant, Palomar Ballroom Dance Studio and several floors of apartments with low-income housing.

Bookshop Santa Cruz is an institution for books and periodicals and topnotch lectures by authors on tour. There are sidewalk cafes where you can enjoy your latest best-seller while sipping local brew.

Food is often a reason locals head downtown. Laili is beloved for its Mediterranean cuisine. Zachary’s has American fare. Oswald’s is high end and known for keeping ostrich on its menu. 11th Hour Coffee is a quintessential Santa Cruz destination for hanging out over a cuppa and enjoying baked goods in colorful surroundings.

Off Pacific Avenue is McPherson Center and Museum of History and Art, where you can catch rotating exhibits.  The courtyard outside the museum buzzes at sunset when musicians play their tunes until the wee hours of the night. The quirky museum has changing exhibits on a variety of themes. A food court is self serve for snacks or dinner to enjoy on the patio and hang out under the stars.

Fun and Frolic