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Santa Cruz

I had a quick trip out to Santa Cruz for work. Early flight out to the San Francisco airport one day, drive down to Santa Cruz via Highway 1. Then the next day set up a system, get a tour of Santa Cruz and take the red-eye flight back. Then take a day to recover. This was July 28-29, 2016 (technically, I arrived back in Ithaca the morning of July 30).

Displaying all 61 pictures


The Ordeal of Getting the Rental Car

I spent a about an hour and a quarter waiting in line to get my car at Budget at the San Francisco airport. It was crazy. The line went out of the room, out the door, to the garage and then turned back. The group around me had a good sense of humor which helped. When I got to the front of the line, I asked if there was something unusual going on. The attendant said no and that it's not unusual for the wait to be two hours! that

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This is the line from the doorway that enters the room with the rental car...(more)

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This is a blurry picture I took using the live view mode. The sign says "It all...(more)


Highway 1 Near Half-Moon Bay

I drove from SFO to Santa Cruz via Highway 1. It's a scenic road that hugs the coast. There are various pull-offs as well as a few state beaches and parks. I stopped a few times along the way.

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Coastal fog obscurs half the mountains at a beach by Half-Moon Bay.

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A view of the water and the fog beyond the fenced grassy area by Half-Moon Bay.

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Pescadero State Beach

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Views of the Ocean from Pescadero State Beach

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A trail heading down to the ocean.

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Water from the Pacific Ocean breaking over the rocks beyond the beach.

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A family fishes and hangs out near the beach. One person is climbing the rocks...(more)

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Steps leading down to the beach.

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A path that goes to the rocks over the beach.

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A view from on top of the rocks. The fishing pole and a bit of a blanket from...(more)

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A nice view of the beach, ocean, and hillside.

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A wooden thingy on the beach. I have no idea what it is.

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The making of a picture. Later, I offered to take a picture of the two of them...(more)

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Later on, I stopped at (but did not go in to) a lighthouse just off of Hightway...(more)

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The water by the lighthouse looked incredibly blue.


UCSC

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A woman was sitting on a bench looking out into the foggy haze that was the...(more)


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Panoramic view looking west to Santa Cruz and the ocean from a hillside...(more)



Santa Cruz Wharf

I had lunch on Friday at the Santa Cruz wharf. It's the size of a city street, with stores and restaurants on it. It feels like you're on land and not on a big, long, wide dock. Also, there are seals around and under it.

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Looking out towards the end of the wharf. The clouds in the distance might be...(more)

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Looking straight out.

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The Santa Cruz Boardwalk with an amusement park.

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Looking back down the wharf towards the amusement park.

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Sea gull and boats.

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Mysterious fog.

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Another view of the amusement park.

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The other side of the wharf (facing north/west-ish)

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A wharf seal!

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Another shot of a seal under the wharf.


A Quick Tour of the Town

I got a quick tour of the area from a co-worker who lives there.

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Public beach.

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Downtown area.

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More downtown, but I like the "fall off bike zone" sign.

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Crossing a bridge over one of the rivers by a marina.

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Public beach.

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Surfing is popular in Santa Cruz. We saw a bunch of people in wetsuits...(more)

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A not-public beach (otherwise known as private).


Wilder Ranch State Park

Wilder Ranch is not, in fact, measurably more wild than some of the other ranches in the area, but rather the land was originally purchased by Deloss D. Wilder (who may very well have been wilder than other ranchers for all I know), in 1871, hence the name. California turned it into a state park in 1974. All this I got from the photo I took of the information board and map. I walked on the Old Cove Landing Trial to the bluffs, but only walked for maybe 20 minutes before turning back, since I needed to get dinner at a reasonable time and get to the SFO airport in a reasonable time.

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Everything I know (and more) about about the Wilder Ranch

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The path I took crossed railroad tracks.

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A picture looking down the tracks one way.

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And another shot, looking the other direction, with a lower point of view,...(more)

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The path wound towards the ocean to the right, but there were scenic...(more)

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Some wildflowers adding a little white and yellow to the green base.

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A bright purple plant (something bur-like?).

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More purple flower things.


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A panorama of the Wilder Ranch State Park. The trail I was on is at the far...(more)



More Ocean Views from Highway 1

On the way to the airport, I drove back along Highway 1. This time it was a bit foggier.

Here's are two animated GIFs of waves.


Wave 1


Wave 2

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The highway looked cool, hugging the coast and fading into the fog.


The San Francisco Airport

I got to the airport around 9:30 or so at night. I had a midngiht (12:30 actually) flight back home.

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The control tower at night at SFO.

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The view of the SFO airport and its ground lights from the airtrain that goes...(more)




This page last modified Aug 06, 2016.
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