“ A beach house isn’t just real estate. It’s a state of mind.” (Douglas Adams)
Ruth and I have frequently stopped to visit our friends Bobbi and John in the Northern California region of Santa Cruz since the 1980s. Serving now as a popular travel escape for the San Francisco Bay crowd as well a liberal minded college town-surfing cultural hub, Santa Cruz struggles to retain its “laidback” bohemian reputation of former times. It’s major road arteries are simply too congested now to drive amid growing urban sprawl surroundings. So on our road trip visit to Santa Cruz this past weekend, we seemed fortunate to witness glimpses of this historic town’s historic, pedestrian friendly past with a post 4th of July walk with John along the mansion lined corridor of West Cliff Drive.
Imagine then the direct conflict of public vs. private land use values that we observed along our hike today. On the inland side of West Cliff, one could imagine a multimillion dollar sales figure exclusively for the wealthy buyer to purchase one of these estates. While a casual glance to the adjacent beach side would reveal in direct opposition a sustained public commitment to provide free and open access to “Mother Nature” for all. So as you observe the following photograph set, ask yourself to what extent do you feel the need to protect and preserve America’s coastal beachfront lands for future public enjoyment?
Snippets of a Traveling Mind 
Lovely… Bask in the beauty of the Pacific and enjoy time with friends. 🙂 Our family spent time at Santa Cruz Beach when I was a young child.
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What do you remember about Santa Cruz, Bette? It’s quite a historic place.
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Back in the day (late 1940s & early 1950s) there were no super highways. The drive from Santa Clara to Santa Cruz led us through canyons and over narrow coastal roads seemed to take forever. Pacific Ocean and sand beach where we spent the day was the prize. Perhaps that’s why I’ve always been an ocean gal… Mom was a Californian and Dad a New Yorker. I was born in Suffren, NY and arrived in CA at the age of 14 month after a cross county road trip. We returned to New York (via airplane) in 1959. 🙂 Have fun in the sun, Jim!
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We love it very much on the Calif. coast Bette and are considering establishing part time residency there.. What small coastal towns most interest you from those days, if I might ask?
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Incredible coastal scenery and gorgeous blue sky! Looks like a fantastic place to explore and get away from it all. Thanks for sharing and have a good day 😀 Aiva
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Yes it is quite beautiful on the west coast here and might provide glimpses of your pristine Irish coast as well.
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