Santa Cruz and beyond

I can proudly say another item is checked off the list of things to do. I've made 2 trips to Santa Cruz and one to San Francisco. There is a pretty big difference in lifestyles between the 2, but they are both great places to check out.

Last weekend was Santa Cruz to check out the surfing and beach atmosphere. It ended up being a lot longer of a trip then planned for a Sunday drive. Andrew, Angela, Christine and I headed out of San Jose area around 2pm. The day was dark and gloomy, but it had already been so long living here without checking out the world famous surfing area. We decided to take the long road there. Highway 9 goes up over the top and through what seems to be a rain forest full of huge trees and steep hills with only one lane to spare. It seemed like there were village cults out there. A few places there would be about 10 mail boxes lined up and a mini road taking off over the cliffs. The voyage took about an hour longer but it was worth the adventure and queasy feeling in the end. We found the nearest gas station for the girls and got some much needed fresh air. Eventually we got to Santa Cruz, parked on the wharf and walked around for a while. The wharf goes out about 1/4 mile and has parking, pay binoculars, surf shops, seafood restaurants, and souvenir shops. Unfortunately, as we were making the short 40 minute journey back to San Jose, a 6 car pileup occured not to far in front of us. Shortly after, cars started turning around on the seperated highway and drove back on the shoulder, or reversed, or got out of there however they could. It was pretty hectic for a bit. Being tourists we weren't too sure what we should do, so we went to a pizza shop and tried waiting it out. Still, an hour later the traffic was at the exact same spot we decided to turn around. We held out in traffic for about 1.5 hours and finally made it through. To sum up Santa Cruz, it is a busy mini city full outdoor adventurers, everyone owns a surfboard there, and all the locals seemed to know each other. Fact: Surfers all talk like they do in the movies.


San Francisco is hard to explain. It has a little of everything. Being the GLBT capital of the world it is no wonder the city is very diverse. There are tons of sights to see. The buildings are amazing. Around every corner there is another unique view of the city and Ocean. Maybe this is just because i've never been there before. It just seems like the most obsure layout of a city i've ever seen. Pictures of European cities remind me of how the city looks. The brick apartments and townhouses hanging on the sides of hills in every direction you look with crazy monuments sticking out to catch your eye. It isn't like Calgary or Vancouver where all you see is the roofs of a block of houses. I am uploading all the pictures I took of San Francisco to my picasa picture gallery. (click here or on the pictures on the left) I ended up going with my friend Christine. She had already been there before and was happy to be my tour guide for the day. You'll see the famous union square, golden gate bridge, bay bridge, pier 39(fishermans wharf), and other random stuff in the pictures.

It is getting to be more familiar of a place down here. Coming from a smaller city, it will always amaze me how close in proximity all these metropolis's are. I have San Francisco, Oakland and Sacremento very close to me here in San Jose. In between the major cities are a bunch of mini-cities. They all have colleges, universities, major business districts and shopping malls. No matter how much those cities have in them for the people, everyone still commutes everywhere. When i was leaving San Francisco at 6pm Saturday night I was surprised to see hundreds of brake lights ahead of me trying to get out and get back to wherever they came from. For me, San Francisco will more than likely stay a rarity. I'll go when people come visit me down here, but otherwise there is no reason to go there. Santa Cruz will be my second home. Now, the time has come to get back in shape so i can actually do some surfing.