Locals Know Best

Keeping in the same fashion, I broke camp early and drove up the coast to Santa Cruz. Being with limited to no cell signal and few people the idea of walking on the boardwalk was no appealing. I drove through Santa Cruz the Wilder Ranch State Park. This was one of the parks the locals mentioned. It is known for its mountain biking trails. The trails are  mixed used. 

I began the day on one of the trails that walks along the bluffs. I was rewarded by seeing a grey whale mother and baby pair. The locals reported the whales were closer to the cliffs than usual. They would be under for quite some time prior to surfacing again. They must have not been diving deeply as they never showed their tails. 

Relying on recent history, I decided to go out on the deserted railroad track and cut back to the bluffs when the sun was out in the afternoon. The tracks were on the far side of a farm. After walking awhile, I saw several surfers cross the tracks heading towards the bluffs. I ran into one and asked if it was three mile beach or four mile beach. The local stated it was three mile beach and proceeded to show me a tiny path down to the beach. He also shared that one could climb the rocks and get to four mile beach. After enjoying the crashing waves on beach level, I climbed over some of the rocks as it was low tide. I did not see how I could get to four mile beach. 

I decided to go back up to the trail and walk to four mile beach. I was close to having this beach to myself as well. After soaking in the views and sounds, I climbed over the rocks to three mile beach. I walked back along the cliffs in the sun. It is amazing how different the colors are when the sun is shining. 

After the hike I took the surfer's advice and drove to Whale City Bakery and Grill in Davenport. It was the place to be. Crawling with people even at 230 pm. I have to give the restaurant props for treating a single patron well. I had a choice of immediate seating at bar or an outside table. I chose outside. I did not feel rushed and had good service. After eating simple, bland backpacker food, the meal tasted delicious. 

I then took the back way up and over the mountains to Santa Cruz Redwoods RV resort. I wound around the curves through the redwoods. I checked in and was given a map for the resort. It was smaller than I thought and truly made for RVs. After driving around the place twice looking for the designated tent area, I spotted a small sign. I set up camp quickly and relaxed.

I friend of mine from when I was working in CA drove to visit. Her and her husband were very kind to drive a couple hours to see me. It was so nice to catch up in person sitting at the base of very tall redwoods.