1/6 Santa Cruz, California

I've been spending the last couple of weeks with my older son and his family in Napa, but since we both have RVs and they have the week after New Year's Day off, they planned a four-day trip to Santa Cruz, CA.  I remember being here once before, way back about 8-9 years ago when we stayed in a campground in the redwoods, took the little train that goes up into the hills, and visited the amusement park at the boardwalk along the beach.  I remember it as being fairly warm and sunny. 

However, if you have been following the news, you know that California has had almost nothing but rain for the past two weeks.  I have had to put aside my shorts and t-shirts and wear the only two pairs of long pants I own with a handful of long-sleeved shirts.  I even traded in my sandals a few days for some real loafers!  Hard to believe how chilly and wet it is around here.  We have been averaging about an inch of rain per day, but one of the days we spent near Santa Cruz ended up having 2.95" of rain.  

The rivers are overflowing, but at least the reservoirs in California are filling up a bit, and the drought has gotten a little better.  It is supposed to keep raining almost every day, at least i n northern and mid-California, for the next couple of week, so that should make farmers and everyone happier. 

This is my campsite.  Son and family are close by. 

When we could, we headed off to Santa Cruz with hopes of walking on the boardwalk.  Unfortunately, it was completely blocked, so all we could do was walk along the roadway on the other side of the concession stands.

This is the pier.  It has some shops and restaurants on it, but it also was closed.  A couple of days later, a similar pier just a mile away, at the beach town of Capitola, was destroyed by the high waves:  https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Capitola-slammed-by-California-storm-staggers-17700677.php 

Luckily, the Santa Cruz pier was not damaged.  Not many people walking about anyway because of the rain and cold weather.

The next day, we drove to a covered bridge in Felton and were able to walk around between rain storms.  This is the river that goes past our campground, so we were lucky it did not get too much beyond its banks or we would have had to evacuate.

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday, our last day there, we went back to the beach and went to an area north of town where we could walk along the roadway to look at the beach.   This photo is looking back at the pier, boardwalk, and amusement park.

 

 

There were a few brave surfers dressed in full wet suits trying out the big waves.

 

 

This was the area along the ocean where we walked.  

 

 

Not sure if these cormorants had given up fishing or had already been successful, but they were hanging onto the cliffs.

 

 

This might look like low tide, but in a few seconds some big waves had come and covered all the sand up. 

We walked a couple of hundred feet along the cliffs on the sidewalk and noticed that the road was closed up ahead with barriers and police cars blocking the area.  What we did not realize until we watched the news that evening that the police had closed the rest of the road along the cliffs because of damage from waves.  Check it out here:  https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2023/01/06/city-reopens-wharf-assess-west-cliff-damage/