Day trip to Santa Cruz: Beach, Mysteries, and Greek Food

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Activity: Mystery Spot Tour and Beach day at the Boardwalk

Rating: 4.2 of 5 stars

Website:

 https://www.mysteryspot.com//  

http://beachboardwalk.com/

Description: The first part of the day we went to the Mystery Spot. The Mystery spot is a place of gravitational quirkiness. You can do a short tour where you go to the stop of the area and watch a few demonstrations of gravitational weirdness- meaning that gravity's effect is the opposite of what you would assume. I won't ruin it by telling you the secrets, but I do recommend taking the tour that is only $6. I suggest booking in advance as tickets the day of may require you to wait. Parking is also available for a fee.

After the Mystery Spot my friend and I went to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and enjoyed a lovely beach day. We even had the chance to see a lot of sea lion's up close which is not a rare occasion for the area as well as kayakers and even a beach wedding. On our way home we went to Greek food that was inexpensive and delicious. The overall vibe of Santa Cruz is very laid back. 

I highly recommend Santa Cruz for a day trip. There are plenty of things to do in this beach town. 

Bucket list item: Bioluminescence Tomales Bay

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Activity: 4 hour night kayaking tour in bioluminescence Tomales Bay

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Website: Bioluminescence Kayaking

Description:  Bioluminescence is defined as:  "the biochemical emission of light by living organisms such as fireflies and deep sea fishes."  There is no easy way to describe the experience except to see it in person. In the meantime I can attest that it is by far one of the coolest things to see in nature. 

First, you arrive at the point of departure for the tour (bundle up!). There are only a few places in the world that have these bioluminescence tours so if you live in the bay area you have no excuse because there is one close by- Tomales Bay/Point Reyes. The other locations include Maldives and Puerto Rico. From pictures these locations are more spectacular because conditions lend themselves to brighter beaches full of bioluminescence, however I still recommend going to Point Reyes for this tour.

Once you arrive at the destination there is a safety and introductory section. Then you and your partner (kayaks are tandem) suit up in jackets, pants, and skirts (that go around the kayak to prevent water from coming in) and start the journey to the beaches. If you go from Point Reyes you will pass Hog Island. As you are kayaking it becomes very dark (this is standard as these tours only go during the summer and into Oct). After a few hours of kayaking, you arrive on a beach to take a break and learn about bioluminescence with some hot chocolate. Once the instructor has described the experience (ours said it would look like "fireworks, diamonds, or glitter!") you get back into the kayaks to go to the cove with the most activity. Once your paddles are in the water again, the area starts to glow. You can put your hand in the water to see it light up and make designs of your own.  There are even fish that swim around in bursts of light. I can not describe how incredibly beautiful and interesting it is to see this in action. 

Recommended: couples, groups of friends, outdoorsy people who are not afraid of the dark

 

Tandem or Double Kayaking?

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Another day, another Groupon. 

The week of Dec 20th (obviously I am referring to the SATURDAY), I went Kayaking with a few friends in Sausalito. I found a Groupon online through SF Kayaks and Adventures. The challenge was that all kayaks were doubles. Sidebar-maybe they are called Tandem kayaks or maybe I just want to refer to it as a "tandem" because I have a soft spot for tandem bicycles since they are the only kind of bicycle I know how to ride. Either way you want to call it- double or tandem- kayaking was fun!

The best parts:

  • Seeing sea lions/seals (different ears/fins) and otters
  • Upper body workout. The instructor claimed that when done properly, kayaking is an abdominal exercise because the way you properly push the paddle into the water is done by turning your upper body rather than lifting your arms. Most beginners quickly forget the proper form and resort to kayaking instinct
  • The location- the weather is relatively predictable which makes kayaking a sport that can be done pretty much year round. We also had a change to explore the floating homes of SF that were started by artists in the 1950s- 1970s (details here)
  • Learning about the Full Moon kayaking they have a few times a month and their annual trip to Baja. Not surprisingly, you can also do the paddle board yoga in Baja (previous post on the blog here).

The worst part

  • Upper body workout- yes I mentioned above as the "best" part.  After 2.5 hours you will most likely agree it is the best and worst part.

Until next time. Stay tuned.