Boulder Creek / Santa Cruz

From San Francisco, we continued to Boulder Creek in the hilly Redwood forests. The road there again reminded me of a Swiss pass, but fortunately with significantly less traffic than in Sequoia 😉

Our campsite was nestled among enormous Redwood trees, which by the way only grow here - on the hills of the East Coast. These trees require an extreme amount of water, which is why the fog that forms at night, especially in the warmer season, is vital for their survival. Rain only occurs here in winter.

We’ll learn even more exciting things about these giants (they can actually grow much taller than Sequoias - up to 116m!) the next day on a ride with the historic narrow-gauge railway. The small steam locomotive (which runs not on coal, but on recycled motor oil!) puffs up the hill for about 45 minutes while the 'conductor' shares interesting facts about the Redwoods. The name comes from the fact that their wood, or rather their trunk, actually has a slight red tint. At the steep curves, the train even has to 'turn around' so that the locomotive can push instead of pull - the boys are fascinated. After 45 minutes and a short break, we head back down the hill - a great trip.

Then we continue to Santa Cruz, the (unofficial) surfing capital of California. Our 'campsite' (actually just a parking lot with water/electricity) is right by the harbor. I chose this one because it seemed to be the only one within (somewhat) walking distance. Well, it was almost a 20-minute walk to the sea and 35 minutes to the 'Boardwalk' (amusement park). But: We walked both days (almost) without complaints since after all, the waves were waiting 😉🌊 The boys enjoyed themselves in the water, and we watched sea lions, pelicans, and even dolphins from the beach - how great 😍

We had a bit of bad luck with the 'Boardwalk'; unfortunately, we didn't know it is only open Thursday to Sunday, and we wanted to go 'properly' on Monday.. 🙈 Well, at least the arcade next door was open, so we spent a few dollars there 😉

Santa Cruz is a charming little harbor town, but there aren't too many attractions besides the Boardwalk. However, it doesn't really need them, as the boys could spend all day playing at/in the sea 🥰