Just a hop, skip and jump from 5-Star(fish)
Seabright
Beach voted "Best Beach in Santa Cruz" by Good
Times Magazine and local residents
The 100-year-old Santa Cruz Beach
Boardwalk was voted the "best
seaside park in North America" by The Los Angeles Times.
El Palomar
Margaritas have been voted "Best Margarita" in
Santa Cruz multiple times.
Club Ed International Surf School and Camps
was voted "best surf
school in Santa Cruz" by the Good Times Readers Poll. Also,
the Club Ed Surf School was featured on the Disney Channel.
Seabright Beach
There is a lot to do within walking distance of 5-Star(fish). One
of the best beaches in California is right outside your doorstep.
Seabright beach has been named the best beach in Santa Cruz year-after-year.
Seabright Beach, called "Castle Beach" by locals, is a great
family beach because of its easy access, flat stretches of white sand
and gentle surf. You can swim, bodysurf, beach comb and picnic on the
beach. Lifeguards are stationed on Seabright Beach during the summer
season. Enjoy volleyball courts on the sand, and at night, fires are
allowed on the beach. Did anyone say S'mores. It's an easy
¾ mile walk on the beach to Walton
Lighthouse and the Santa
Cruz Yacht Harbor.
The Seabright Neighborhood?
5-Star(fish) is located in Seabright. The Seabright Neighborhood
itself is an attraction. This area is a unique place to enjoy walks,
bike rides or take in all the quaint beach cottages. Locals consider
Seabright the most desirable neighborhood Santa Cruz to live in.
Just steps from the house, is The Point , a wall of limestone between
the San Lorenzo River and Seabright Beach. Walk out to the end
and you'll see a beautiful view of the Boardwalk, Seabright Beach,
the Santa Cruz Wharf, the mountains and the two lighthouses here
in Santa Cruz. Walk to the small shops and casual restaurants on
Seabright Avenue.
Seabright Restaurants
You'll find many great restaurants from fine dining to casual,
a short walk from the house. A few of my favorite are listed below.
Seabright Brewery-
(831) 426-2739
Seabright Bar & Lounge- (831) 425-2900
Engfer Pizza Works-
(831) 429-1856
La Posta- (831)
457-2782
Linda's Seabreeze Cafe-
(831) 427-9713
Real Thai Kitchen- (831) 427-255
Lavarock Internet Cafe-
(831) 427-528
Betty Burgers- (831)
423-8190
Drunk Monkeys-
(831) 713-5195
Java Junction Coffee
Roasting- (831) 423-5282
Aldo's - (831) 426-3736?
Johnny's Harborside -
(831) 479-3430
Crow's Nest Restaurant-
(831) 476-4560
El Palomar Restaurant -
(831) 425-7575
And, you'll find 20+ more restaurants across the street at the Boardwalk!
The Yacht
Harbor
The harbor is less than a ten-minute stroll from the house. Enjoy
the beautiful scenery of more than a thousand sailboats and the Walton
Lighthouse while having breakfast on the terrace at Aldo's restaurant.
There is so much to do at the Harbor - take a sunset cruise, go kayaking,
Go deep sea fishing, take sailing lessons, visit the Marine Sanctuary
Center, watch the Wednesday night sailboat races when dozens of sailboats
brighten the bay, circle the trail around the harbor on bicycles.
During the high summer season, take the Free Ride water taxi and
you'll get to the Crow's Nest restaurant and the many other businesses
and activities on the east side of the Harbor.
Santa Cruz
Boardwalk
Bring you binoculars, because from 5-Star(fish) you can see your
kids panicked faces as they ride The Giant Dipper. If your too busy
sunning yourself, they can bring home a souvenir photo of their ride. My
husband and I get a souvenir photo every year. (It's fun to
see the progression). You'll find the Trestle Bridge to the Boardwalk,
right across the street from the house. Walk, run or ride across
the bridge (about 100 yards) and you'll find yourself at one of the
last beach side amusement parks in California. Don't miss the 1924
Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster and the vintage 1911 Looff Carousel
or the newest ride, the 125 foot tall Double Shot. Every Friday night
the Boardwalk features free summer concerts.Ê Some well-known
bands perform two shows nightly. Check their website for concert
schedule and other details.
Bowling, Arcade, Laser
Tag, Mini
Golf and endless
fun
For hours of fun and entertainment, just walk over the Trestle Bridge
right across the street from the house. You find all the healthy
food you'd expect at an amusement park. Snack on Garlic Fries, Hot
Dogs, Hamburgers Fried Chokes, Pizza, Nachos, Tacos, Chicken Nuggets,
Funnel Cakes, Cotton Candy, Kettle Corn, Dip n' Dots, Carmel Apples,
Ice Cream, Malts & Sundae's and Saltwater Taffy. It's endless.
Eat up, what the heck, you're on vacation!
Pacific
Edge Climbing Gym
Just 4 blocks from the house (about ½ mile) you'll find one of the
finest climbing gyms in the world! Kids and adults, ages 6 and up,
can participate in free climbing clinics, take climbing lessons and
climb the many 50 foot walls inside this enormous gym. No matter
what your skill level, it's a fun time. If you're afraid of heights,
don't worry, they also offer Yoga and Pilates mat classes.
Ken
Wormhoudt Skateboard Park
Just a 3-minute walk (or skate) down the street you'll find a 15,000
square foot skateboard park featuring full pipe, two bowls with pool
coping and tile, practice bowl and street course with steps, hubba
ledges, wall-rides and metal rails. You'll need to brush up on the
Backside, Fakie, Goofy-Foot, Kingpin, Mongo-foot, Noseslide, Ollie,
Shuv-it and the Laser flip, so you can converse with the locals.
Open 9am to Sunset daily.
The Museum
of Natural History and Tyrell Park?
This small museum is just 3 blocks from the house. The museum is
a gem for the children as there are touch exhibits that will teach
them about our unique underwater geography we can't see. The museum
is part of Tyrell Park, a long narrow park that is bordered by Pilkington
St. to the west and Brook St. to the east. There are great peek views
of the Walton Lighthouse, Seabright Beach and the Monterey Bay from
many points in the park. In front of the Museum is a big as life
artist replica of a gray whale. Children love climbing on and playing
around the whale exhibit. Bring your camera!
Seabright Avenue
Take a five-minute stroll to the lower Seabright. There you will
find a small grocery store, many restaurants and a couple of coffee
shops. Seabreeze
Cafe, (AKA Linda's, if you're in the know), is the locals favorite
breakfast spot. There's always a wait, but it's worth it. Yum!
The Beach Train and Roaring
Camp Railroad
Just yards from the house, board the Big Trees & Pacific vintage
steam train for a 3-hour (roundtrip) ride through the redwoods up
to Roaring Camp Railroad. After enjoying all the activities at Roaring
Camp Railroad then return back to the Boardwalk. The Beach Trains
travel through the Redwood Forests of Henry
Cowell Redwoods State Park, down the scenic San Lorenzo River
Gorge, across a 1909 steel Trestle Bridge (the one across from the
house!), and through an 1875 tunnel before arriving at the Santa
Cruz Beach Boardwalk. They make two roundtrips daily. Check the website
for times and special events, like when Thomas the Train visits.
Santa
Cruz City Wharf?
The Santa Cruz Wharf is about a ¾ mile walk from the house just past
the Boardwalk. It is lined with restaurants and shops. Built in 1914,
the Wharf is a ptty place for a stroll and an up-close view of crabbers
and bait fishermen. You can even attempt to catch your own dinner!
Enjoy shopping at the many stores and fresh fish markets and family
owned restaurants. The Wharf is the place to go for seafood with
a view. Kids love to see the hundreds of noisy Sea Lions lounging
around under the Wharf.
Within A Short drive from the house
Natural
Bridges State Park
On the north end of West Cliff Drive, a scenic, five mile drive,
is Natural
Bridges State Park, named after the archways carved into the
rock formations by ocean waves. The beach is popular with surfers,
wind surfers, tide-pool trekkers, sunbathers, and fans of the 100,000
migrating monarch butterflies that roost in the nearby eucalyptus
grove from late October through February. This beach is not as family
friendly as Seabright Beach as you have to navigate the large cliffs
to get down to the beach. You'll find gigantic surf (not for the
novice swimmer) and hundreds of surfers have taken staked out their
spots. Instead of going for a swim, check out the Tide Pools and
join a free docent lead tour. (www.thatsmypark.org/naturalBridges.php)
Monterey Bay
National Marine Sanctuary and Seymore
Marine Discovery Center
Santa Cruz is located on the Monterey
Bay National Marine Sanctuary, one of the largest protected marine
areas in the world. The Bay is home to 26 species of marine mammals,
96 species of seabirds, 345 species of fish, and 4 species of turtle.
Watch otters, harbor seals and other sea life play in the waves as
you walk the shoreline, or venture onto the Bay for a closer look.
Check out an 87-foot blue whale skeleton, decorator crabs, eels and
sea stars at the newly constructed Seymore
Marine Discovery Center. In addition to the center's exhibit
galleries and aquariums, you'll enjoy superb views of the Bay. If
you're visiting between December and April, don't forget to watch
the coastline for migrating whales. West Cliff Drive is a good viewing
point for spotting pods of whales en route between their winter calving
grounds in Mexico and summer feeding grounds off Alaska.
Santa
Cruz Surfing Museum
Housed in the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse, the Santa Cruz Surfing
Museum traces over 100 years of surfing history in Santa Cruz. Visitors
to the museum will enjoy a spectacular view of Santa Cruz and the
Monterey Bay while overlooking Steamer
Lane , an internationally known surfing site. Museum displays
include surf boards ranging from redwood "planks" to modern
high-tech designs, early wetsuits, photographs showing Santa Cruz
surfers and wave riding from the 1930s through today, continuous
surf videos, and a gift shop with books, T-shirts, sweatshirts, posters,
and more.
Downtown
Santa Cruz
A short walk from the house, downtown Santa Cruz is a must see. Pacific
Avenue is the Main Street of Santa Cruz. Students, tourists, local
people, hippies and surfers stroll along, drink coffee, shop and
just hang out. You'll find some of Santa Cruz's most lively residents
performing on the street. Look for Pink Richard in full make-up and
wearing his pink tutu. (Usually near Starbucks.) The atmosphere is
extremely peaceful and relaxed with many sidewalk coffee shops, bakeries
and restaurants. Several book stores and independent movie theaters
add to the sophisticated atmosphere. Major retailers like The Gap
and Starbucks have settled in alongside surf shops, upscale boutiques,
vintage clothing shops, antique stores, independent bookstores and
a farmers' market (www.santacruzfarmersmarket.org),
featuring organically grown produce. A walking tour will take you
past public murals, sculptures, art-deco inspired buildings, and
over a dozen galleries featuring work by local artists. For more
art, visit the downtown Museum of Art and History (www.santacruzmah.org).
If you like crafts or cooking, check out the classes at The Crafters'
Studio and The Culinary Center of Santa Cruz where kids are welcome!
(http://thecraftersstudio.com or www.culinarycenterofsantacruz.com)
Wine Tasting
Visit the many boutique wineries the Santa Cruz Mountains, consistently
recognized as a pmium wine producing region. There are more than
65 wineries in the area, producing some superb pinot noirs, zinfandels,
cabernets and estate-grown chardonnays. There are many events and
wine festivals throughout the year. Check the link for dates. Shopper's
Corner on Soquel carries a good selection of local wines. After all,
you have an ocean view deck to enjoy them on.
|
