If you like watching surfers or just playing on the beach, Santa Cruz is a great bet if you live in the bay area.
If you go to Santa Cruz and head for the lighthouse/surfers museum you are in for a great treat. I loved watching these little kids playing on the beach as the waves came crashing in.
Emma and Monte took time to enjoy the waves. Monte likes running up and playing with the bubbles and running down the beach as the waves come into shore.
But if you go to the lighthouse and go to the end of the rocks you can see some really great surfing, right up close!
These surfers are within feet of you as they pass by and it is fun to watch. It is one of the only places where you can see them this close and its worth looking at.
On this day the waves were ok but I have seen them really large and at those times things really get exciting.
It really interests me the different types that come out here to surf. Young kids to old men. I think this day 1/3 of them had bald heads.
They were probably execs from Silicon Valley taking a breather.
Above is seal rock where you can see harbor seals playing in the sun. The surfers enjoying the sun as they wait for that perfect wave!
As I watch the surfers Emma and Monte play on the lawn in front of the lighthouse. Inside that lighthouse is a great surfers museum, which is free but like donations, here you can see the history of surfing.
Emma, Monte and Me come here a lot. From this point we can play on the beach, enjoy the sun and watch the many people having fun in the sun. There is also a great walkway along this area that you can just walk and enjoy the sea and many beaches along its way. You can even go tide pooling along the rocky areas.
This girl was great! I enjoyed watching her. She made it look very easy and I smiled because she would only wait for the largest waves. It look like she really enjoyed it.
So if you want a really great time on your day off this is one of my best bets for the San Francisco bay area.
Bring a lunch and spend the day and you will remember it for a long time!