"Some Sun In Santa Cruz" a Santa Cruz Travel Page by MDH

For ages, Santa Cruz has been a mecca for all that don't feel like they fit into the Bay Area's largely liberal norms. Today, that crazy place of my birth makes a name for itself by having that kind of attitude. Although Santa Cruz was a tourist hub during Victorian times for San Franciscans who needed a break from foggy days and rain, the city is now a haven for those escaping San Jose and the Silicon Valley--computer nerds and business tycoons alike all trying to get a piece of the beach, the Boardwalk and Downtown.

If you thought San Francisco was left-wing, then Santa Cruz will prove to be just a bit more...well, really, a lot more. Here you'll find the fabled activist-minded UCSC in the hilltops around the north end of town, plus an active surf-punk scene in Aptos, the conservatives in Capitola, the large Mexican-American population 15 miles south in Watsonville, and not to forget a the New Age, hippie-minded, and often redneck San Lorenzo Valley 10 minutes north. Put these factors together in Santa Cruz's streets and beaches. It makes for an interesting walk through Pacific Ave, the heart of the city.