About Santa Cruz's Yacht Harbor

It was 5:45 mid-week. A beautiful day on the coast (there aren't many that aren't - not bragging, it's just the way it is in Santa Cruz County). Anyway, I asked my little rescue pooch if he wanted to go for a walk . . . I knew I wanted to go to the beach, but which beach? Seacliff? A really long walk if you go left or right . . . no, Capitola? . . . too many tourists still . . . How about Twin Lakes & the Yacht Harbor? Yeah that's the ticket . . . The short drive was worth the effort. I parked in front of Twin Lakes Beach - the weather was still warm. We walked down to the Yacht Harbor, and outside the restaurants, a group of "oldies" were playing music and singing oldies.

The volleyball courts were going full steam, and there was a sail boat race! Twin Lakes is one of the few beaches in Santa Cruz County that still allows bonfires, and some people were getting them started early. Families were down by the jetty with toddlers spashing in the waves. Young boys were skim boarding and boogy-boarding on medium sized waves.

Upper Yacht Harbor, Santa Cruz Just Before Dusk, October 2007 (c)

Another walk with my friend on a warm October early evening . . . we started at the Upper Yacht Harbor off of 7th Avenue in Santa Cruz. We quickly climbed into another world - the natural habitat known as Arana Gulch in the city of Santa Cruz. It is amazing that on the ocean side you have the busy Yacht Harbor, and behind it lies the natural Earth . . . no development allowed.

Arana Gulch at Dusk

A totally amazing tree in Arana Gulch