Having dropped off my equipment in a suburb of San Francisco (sorry, no pictures), I headed down to Santa Cruz. I arrived in Santa Cruz very early, perhaps around sunrise, and was extremely surprised to see middle-aged businessmen in wet suits preparing to surf. What a place! As I sat in the cliff-side parking lot and looked out over the bay, more and more people, both young and old, showed up to go surfing. Evidently a lot of people drag their boards out before work to go ride the waves.

One thing that caught my eye as I surveyed the coastline, were the private little memorials to dead surfers (I assume) that loved ones had placed at the entrance to the stairwell. There were several of these, with names carved into the wooden railings. One shrine had photos and a personal handwritten message, in addition to the flowers and momentos. Quite heartfelt stuff.

While in Santa Cruz, I took a side trip up to the University of California campus, which is quite nice, to try and locate an acquaintence. Unfortunately I found his office, but not him.