Santa Cruz Cliff Drive

Walk Review

• We parked near the Surfing Museum and walked down Cliff Dr to the wharf and back.

• The walking was mostly on all concrete sidewalks and there were lots of people. Thankfully, the sidewalk was a wide one, so it wasn’t so bad.

• The views were beautiful, with the water oh-so-blue and there being plenty of things to see, like seals, otters, surfers, dogs, and lots of birds.

• We did not have issues parking, but that’s because we arrived before 10 a.m.

What I Learned

• At the end of the wharf, there were families of seals having a great time. Some were zooming around, some were barking up a storm, and there were dozens that either slept on the wharf itself or in the water.

• We stopped by the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) Exploration Center, which was right across the street from the Wharf. It is a small place for learning about animals that live in the sea and wildlife, but it packs a punch. The highlight was that the kids were able to control a real submersible vehicle!

• We decided to eat on the wharf and went to the second highest rated place—Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery. We thought the food was meh, but the inside was well decorated. What stood out was their food at the bar, which spun in a circle really slowly, so that everyone that sat near the bar could have a chance to look out the window.

Friends

The Saito family joined us for this walk. It was really fun having them there, especially since they brought fishing poles! Unfortunately, there were no fish to be had, but it was still fun!

What Happened?

3.5 miles, 4 hrs 33 mins, 199 ft of ascent

On a beautiful spring day, we wanted to walk near the sea, so we drove to Santa Cruz. While Cassie and I had biked Cliff Drive (and we found out Seri and Ryo had biked Cliff Drive for their honeymoon), the kids had not, so we thought it’d be nice.

We met up near the Surfing Museum, and our day started out with the most important thing in the world—food! Mona was hungry, so we stopped by Steamer Lane Supply, a food stand right next to the parking lot, and we ate the snacks we packed as Mona bit into and finished her BAT (arugula instead of lettuce) sandwich. We then strolled down Cliff Drive and enjoyed the views until we made it down to the MBNMS Exploration Center and spent at least 30 minutes learning and playing.

We then fished on the wharf and saw zero action (either from our fishing pole or others’). Some of us, though, went down to the end of the wharf to watch the ever-interesting seals. This was my highlight as it was so fun watching them play, communicate, and sleep.

We had just-okay Hawaiian food at Makai, then lifted our spirits by getting boba from Ume Tea, which was right across the street from the exploration center. We then meandered back to the car and headed home after a delightful morning with friends.