Santa Cruz, California

More than any other place in California, Santa Cruz has become the town where I feel most at home. This is the way I always imagined California to be, full of colourful 'arty' ethnic stores; wonderful bookshops; students and musicians frequenting the bustling coffee shops; petitions to be signed against war, the inhumane treatment of animals and other red-hot topics; a sense of openness and freedom in dress, attitude and conversation. And just around the corner, all this is topped off with fabulous redwood forests, spectacular mountains, and the most magnificent sandy beaches that stretch for miles along the coast.

Bob first brought me to Santa Cruz one rainy day in October when we'd known each other all of eight days. I was enchanted on that first day, driving through the rain-soaked hills, listening to the Beatles on K-Pig radio, then arriving in this little glistening '60s town that time had somehow forgotten. That same sense of captivation has never left me, though I must have retraced that route a hundred times by now.

The drive out of Silicon Valley and into the Santa Cruz Hills is like crossing into another dimension. The super competitive world of silicon hi-tech start-ups is instantly left behind, the smog suddenly lifts, and the air and the surrounding hills take on a new freshness and vitality. There are many routes to choose from to get to Santa Cruz. From 880 it's a straight run to Los Gatos, a small hip town where shop windows dazzle with overpriced goods, and the beautiful people assemble to preen and parade. We often stop here for a coffee in the Los Gatos Roasting Company. God, the coffee is only marvellous, and the Posh Bagel next-door makes the nicest toasted cream-cheese bagels on the west coast!

From Los Gatos it's onto Highway17, a very busy, twisty highway that leads to Santa Cruz. We usually take the more scenic route, turning right on Bear Creek Road, and then onto the Old Santa Cruz Highway. This leads to Summit Road, a lovely ridge top back road. We often stop off here at the Summit Store, an old grocery shop that sells scrumptious sandwiches, Rebecca's mighty muffins, and great coffee. There's a little picnic area out front, and this is where you will meet all kinds of interesting people who live in the Santa Cruz hills. Several guys I spoke to over the years were Vietnam veterans, now eking out some kind of existence. Considering that this is one of the prime locations in California to live, it's hard to imagine how these people survive. Perhaps they share family homes that were bought for a pittance before house prices exploded in the '70s.

From Summit Road we usually drive through Highland Way. This is all redwood forest, with tiny creeks dripping down the mountainside, scary cliffs, and incredible canyon views south and west towards the ocean. Bob knows this whole area inside out as he lived in Santa Cruz for a few years when he first moved to California from Boston. This whole area is a paradise for hikers and cyclists. We've gone for a hike a few times in Nicene Marks State Park, just off Highland Way. Bob does an annual solitary walk of Highland Way every October of over twenty miles. At nighttime it's wonderful to drive this forest road, to pull over for a moment and just sit there in the darkness, gazing at the stars.

Eventually Highland Way leads to Corralitos, a very agricultural area where all kinds of crops and vegetables are grown. Bob loves the Correlitos Market for hot dog sandwiches. My favourite is Gizdich Ranch, a real working ranch where they make fresh apple and berry pies, and serve unusual juices and herbal teas. We then drive onto the small village of Aptos, just five minutes from Seascape beach. Bob used to have a friend, Alan, who lived here. Many a fun weekend we had with Alan, soaking up the sun and sea in the morning, browsing around Santa Cruz in the afternoon, then driving to Monterey or Moss Landing for dinner and some pub life in the evening.

There are so many beaches in this area: Seacliff, Natural Bridges, Del Mar, and La Selva, but Seascape in Aptos is always our favourite. The water in California is never warm, unless you go really far south to Los Angeles. The surf here is great and many guys, including Bob, love to go surfing. We often play Frisbee, or just sit and read. Seascape is rarely crowded, and is frequented by a rich assortment of humanity. Most people who come to Seascape are staying in the lovely resort that overlooks the beach. A special resort car takes residents down the hill to the beach, and returns later to escort them back to the bar or restaurant.

In the late afternoon it's time to head to Santa Cruz. Pacific Street is the main shopping area. I love to spend time browsing in Bookshop Santa Cruz, or at Borders bookstore. Both bookshops have bargain sections where you can always pick up something of interest at rock-bottom prices. Then there are the fun stores: bead shops, art stores selling stunning handmade paper, stores like East Meets West that sells tie-dyed clothing and long print dresses. Then there's Bunny's distinctive shoe store, shops that sell Indian rugs, Thai silks, embroidered Bali bags, and Mexican silver. There are also a few new-age bookstores selling crystals and incense, where resident psychics await the unveiling of your destiny. Every May there's an arts and craft festival held in the streets, and the most fabulous scarves, paintings, glassware, and jewellery are on sale. Then there are the great little cafes, like the Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Company or Lulu Carpenters where you can sit and chat with a cup of dark-roast coffee or hot chocolate.

We invariably end up at Java House. This is a real student café, with ample sofas and tables where you can read, study, or chat with the local clientele. This is where writers and artists, 'lefties' and Silicon Valley dropouts come to unwind, to share their experiences and mingle with fellow seekers. Sometimes there is live music here. One night we dropped in on a packed audience who were clapping along to the exotic gyrations of a beautiful, dark bellydancer. Another night there was a guy from Chile who set up table and gave free medicine-card readings to customers. We usually play scrabble there, and certainly that's another way to meet some very interesting characters.

The variety of restaurants in Santa Cruz is also astonishing. You can eat Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Italian, Thai, Mexican-there's even an Irish pub, Rosie McCann's, that serves traditional Irish fare. There's also real budget cuisine, such as Pizza My Heart, where you can buy a huge slice of pizza for $2.50. The greatest bakery has got to be Gayles on Bay Avenue in Capitola, about six miles from Santa Cruz. Here you can sample key lime pie, hot apple slices, dark chocolate cake, or 'melt in your mouth' lemon cookies. And as for luxury items, there's a small hand-made chocolate store, called Donnelly's on Mission Street. This sells the most incredible chocolates, such as rose-flavoured milk and dark lavender truffles, all for the princely sum of $4 each!

There's no shortage of culture and entertainment in Santa Cruz. There are four movie theatres in town: the Nickelodeon on Lincoln and Cedar, the Riverfront Stadium Twin on River street, the Del Mar theatre, and the Santa Cruz Cinema on Pacific. There's an annual Pacific Rim film festival that shows interesting Japanese and Asian films for free at the Del Mar theatre. The Del Mar also shows independent films, and this makes a pleasant change from attending Hollywood box-office hits. There's also a great concert venue called the Catalyst. You can see all kinds of old rock groups, country and blues singers performing there. One evening we went to see Lucinda Williams and it was a really great concert. Sometimes we go to the University of Santa Cruz campus. This has the most wonderful forest grounds and a fantastic library. It would be great to take a class there sometime, or to attend one of their Shakespearean festivals.

Invariably time ticks by and we set out once again for Highway 17 and Santa Clara. It takes about fifty-minutes to drive home taking this route. Maybe we'll come back to Santa Cruz tomorrow. At the very least there's always next weekend.