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SURFA € ™ s in Santa Cruz

The city of Santa Cruz, originally called San Lorenzo, was discovered in 1769 by Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola. The city continued to grow and became known as Santa Cruz, which means â € € œHoly Crossa, in honor of the local mission. By the 1820s Mexico had assumed control of the area and the Americans began arriving in large numbers during the next thirty years. California became a state in 1850, and Santa Cruz County was established as one of the twenty-seven original counties.

At the turn of the century, agriculture, logging, lime processing, and commercial fishing industries all prospered in the area. Santa Cruz also became a major tourist community because of its scenic beauty and mild climate, and today is well known for watersports such as surfing, kayaking, sailing, diving and swimming. This is the site of the first surfing in California, when, in 1885, three Princes of Hawaii - David Prince, Prince Edward and Prince Jonah Kalanianaâ € ™ ole - Navigating local boards Redwood milled at the mouth of St. Lawrence River. Santa Cruz has 11 world-class surf breaks, including the point breaks over rock bottom, near Steamer Lane and Pleasure Point, creating some of the best waves for surfing in the world.

Santa Cruz also has a Surfing Museum at Steamer Lane, which is still composed of the first pioneers of surfing as Harry Mayo and others who have surfed the waves of Santa Cruz since 1930. It hosts several surf contests drawing international participants each year, including the International Association Longboard contest and the O'Neill Cold Water Classic.

Santa Cruz is also famous for the Derby skate park, the first public skate park in the U.S., and the brand new Mike Fox Skate Park, which contains both shallow and deep pools and skating ramps, located along the dikes of the rover in San Lorenzo.

For those seeking an alternative to surfing or skating, outdoor sports like cycling, camping, hiking and rock climbing are also popular in the area. The Santa Cruz Wharf is known for fishing, marine mammal watching and other recreational activities. The city offers many opportunities to observe butterflies and bird watching. Santa Cruz also has the Historic Center retail district, with numerous theaters, galleries, shops and boutiques.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is californiae € ™ s oldest amusement park and a designated State Historic Landmark. It has one of the oldest wooden coasters still in use in the U.S. as well as numerous modern attractions. It was owned and operated by the Santa Cruz Beach Company since 1915. Entrance to the Beach Boardwalk is free, but rides cost between $ 2 - $ 4.

Winemaking is an important part of economic and cultural life of Santa Cruz County, from growing grapes for ventilation. The Santa Cruz Mountains are home to some of the oldest and well renowned wineries in California, producing fine Zinfandels, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as ports, Pinot Noirs and other varieties and blends. The wines of Ridge Vineyards and David Bruce Winery were selected for the tasting at the wine tasting in Paris in 1976.

To get to Santa Cruz, visitors can take advantage of flights to San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland or international airports, and from there organize or take private transfer to the airport scheduled for its final destination. Booking a hotel Santa Cruz can easily be done online and from there visitors can experience all of Santa Cruz has to offer.

About the Author

Paul McIndoe is an online, freelance journalist and keen hillwalker. He lives in Edinburgh with his two dogs.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 1:37 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.