One of the things that excited me most about moving back to Fresno was the ability to go on more trips. Fresno’s central location is one of its greatest perks, providing endless opportunities for day trips and weekend getaways. I moved back in July (see my post about it here) and it was only a matter of weeks before my boyfriend and I spontaneously decided to go on a day trip to Santa Cruz. Being just under three hours from Fresno, Santa Cruz is the perfect spot for a mini getaway.
The first thing we did after arriving in Santa Cruz was make our way downtown to eat at Saturn Cafe, one of the OGs in the veg food scene. Saturn serves classic diner food in a classic diner environment, but with a vegetarian/vegan twist. But trust me, you don’t have to be an herbivore to love Saturn.
After filling up on nacho fries (yeah that’s right, I said nacho fries) and burgers, we headed to the boardwalk. Summer just wouldn’t be summer without a trip to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk…in the warm California sun…BOARDWALK! Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. If you grew up anywhere in Central California you know the song. If you have no idea what I’m talking about then just disregard the whole thing. So as I was saying, summer wouldn’t be summer without visiting the boardwalk, and the boardwalk wouldn’t be the boardwalk without at least one ride on the classic Giant Dipper (the boardwalk’s original rollercoaster).
Parking was crazy when we arrived, so we ended up parking in a nearby neighborhood and walking over to the boardwalk. In order to get there we had to (got to?) walk over what’s known as Lost Boys Bridge. Apparently the famous scene in Lost Boys where the vampires are hanging from the bridge was actually filmed on a different bridge outside of Santa Cruz, but since the movie takes place in Santa Cruz, the bridge by the boardwalk is known as Lost Boys Bridge. The bridge used to be used as a railroad track way back in the day and is usually closed off so people can’t get onto it. But for some reason it’s open now and people can walk across it. I was excited about this opportunity until we actually got on the bridge and I realized how high up we were and how easy it would be to slip through the cracks of the railroad tracks and fall into the water below. Needless to say, if you’re scared of heights or have small children, you should opt to take the walkway to the side of the bridge instead of walking over the terrifying railroad portion of the bridge.
After getting our Giant Dipper fix, we made the treacherous walk back over the bridge and then drove to UC Santa Cruz to check out the campus before heading home. We wanted a treat for the drive home so we stopped back at Saturn to get a vegan milkshake. I’m going to yell at you for a second, but what I have to say is very important. DO NOT LEAVE SANTA CRUZ WITHOUT GETTING A VEGAN CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER MILKSHAKE FROM SATURN CAFE. You can thank me later.
That was our quick, but very fun, getaway to Santa Cruz. It’s now October and this trip was in July, so clearly I’m a little behind on posting. But I hope you’ve enjoyed the pictures and that you’ll be inspired to take a summer trip to Santa Cruz in the future.
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