santa cruise

Today is the first day of school, but I'd like to stay in the last days of summer for just ten more minutes.

On Thursday, Jordan went off the map and drove us to Santa Cruz on the end of a back-to-school shopping trip to The Great Mall (next post. next post.). If you've never had the pleasure of visiting this strange little place, I'd highly recommend it for a day trip.  It's the quintessential beach town - one good street, more seagulls than people, and a lot of tourists - but is also home to UC Santa Cruz, so there's a ridiculous amount of hipster college students everywhere. This one-off combination has led to a place that is home to sock shops, a pizza joint whose shirts are collected around the world, and three all-you-can-eat vegetarian Indian buffets. Jordan says there's more to it than that, but honestly, those are the best bits.

The Boardwalk is the crown jewel though, and for good reason - it's the one of the last places around where you're allowed to get on blatantly unsafe rides. All in the name of the kind of sheer terror that is a cornerstone of incredible fun. You may think I'm joking, but most of those things start shaking suspiciously when someone sneezes too hard. It's great. The whole places is covered in a fine layer of sand as well. Tastes incredible on a hotdog or chili cheese fries, and the lightly sanded Bavarian Almonds are a must. Absolute pinnacle of culinary art. 

All jokes aside, the Boardwalk is a cultural icon not because of its creaky boards, or impressive sunsets, or even its typical California beach. It's weathered millions of tourists and gallons of saltwater and remained a place that undeniably feels like summer. The bright, cracking paint, and the top 50 hits piped out of speakers that sound older than the artists performing through them, those are accoutrements of this cotton candy scented time freeze. Even on a cloudy Thursday, at 60 degrees with a cold breeze coming off the Pacific, it felt like the right place to spend the summer with your friends. If you have those.

It was the perfect way to close off what has truly been a whirling and sunburnt summer. But now it's time to pack it in, and pretend that fall has arrived, so that it won't seem so sad to spend the next 16 weeks in a classroom.

Summer '16,
you did good.

x Justina



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