Santa Cruz, Love This Town!

 This was my changing room on Sunday when I went out SUPing and SUP surfing. My friend came down to try her hand at SUPing again, she'd tried it the day before, but she chickened out due to aggressive waves and her lack of wetsuit.
Which was okay by me, I got a good cruising paddle in, watched some top notch kayak surfing competition action at the Lane and then spent a few hours SUP surfing among the hordes of other noobs.
Yep, I'm a noob and raw and not very good at surfing at all yet. Yet.
Sorry, SUP surfing. I'm planning on getting a surfboard as well but I need to concentrate on getting one new set of skills in the books before jumping into another sport. Maybe. I've got some feelers out for a loaner board to get rolling on.

This next photo was one I took while out for a bike ride last week. Saw this little family all in their wetsuits, all on two SUPs and looking like they were headed out for adventure. I pulled over, snapped a couple of pics and then they "battled" until the girls SUP tipped over and they tumbled in. Victory was declared and they all laughed and it was just another little happy scene in our happy little surf town.

And here we have a tarted up (that's Fenspeak for thrown through Snapseed filters to make it purtier than originally snapped).

This has been my regular stop in spot for the last year on my way to work. I like to take a moment to appreciate the splendor of the area I have chosen to live in.

Many more images on tap, this place is positively over-flowing with photo ops.

Damn, Nature, You're STUNNING!

Seacliff in Aptos, California 10/22/14 Composite HDR

Presented, more or less, without comment.

Sunsets and Foggy Mornings in Santa Cruz

Is it any wonder that this town has so deeply set its hooks into my soul? The two images below are proof of the sheer epic beauty of Santa Cruz and I would put this town's scenery up against any in the world. The two shots are of Its Beach on West Cliff just north of the world famous Steamer Lane surf spot.

Its is especially nice because dogs are welcome to run free and have fun frolicking. There are people and dogs galore in both. 

The pano above is above Seacliff State Beach in Aptos before 8 am from earlier this week when the fog was thick everywhere on the coast except right here. And it was beautiful!

A California Kind of Sunday

There are moments, minutes and hours that, for me, pull together all of the various threads of my life and gather them into one neat bundle. After a busy Saturday with my boys including working on the deck, setting up the tent in the backyard and having a campfire complete with S'mores for the family, Sunday was a bit more low key to start with.