Quite by random, we arrived in Santa Cruz just in time to witness the final leg of the Tour of California cycle race, quite a spectacle. You’ll be pleased to know that a guy from the Isle of Man was leading initially (though in true British style burnt out way before the finish).
We liked Santa Cruz for a number of reasons. Firstly, it had a great ‘point break’ suitable for novice surfers like us. We spent a couple of days playing in the ocean, finally managing to catch some green waves (ie. ones that are yet to break, meaning faster and longer rides). Secondly (and perhaps more importantly) it was actually warm enough to get the shorts out. California in May is surprisingly chilly. Thirdly, we shipped a whole heap of stuff back home for much less cash than expected. Bonus.
Our next stop down the coast was Monterey, immortalised by John Steinbeck in his novel Cannery Row. It’s very much a tourist town now, but used to be home to a thriving sardine canning industry. We spent a few happy hours hanging out at the aquarium – totally worth the seemingly extortionate $30 entrance fee.
Following Highway 1 on from Monterey we hit the stretch of coast known as ‘Big Sur’. Countless artists and writers have waxed lyrical about this place, from Henry Miller and Jack Kerouac to (less convincingly and recently) the Thrills. To be honest, we were expecting it to be a bit of an anti-climax, but it proved to be every bit as spectacular as they’d made out. One down-side of it’s special-ness was that every campsite within a hundred mile radius was booked up. We ended up driving for an hour (in the fading light) up a hair-pin heavy one track road with vague directions to a resting place near a reservoir. We were pretty relieved to find it, even more so that other intrepid folk had also made the trip up!
On the whole the Southern Californians are a more aloof bunch than their Northern neighbours. We’ve found them a bit too cool for school on the whole (though with a couple of notable exceptions). For all their eccentricities the Nor-cal crew are a lot more welcoming, though So-cal does have the advantage of significantly more sun. It’s a tough one to call. We will ponder it some more as we head East to the deserts of Nevada and the temptations of Las Vegas. Here comes trouble….
Susie and Phil xxx
