Before I retired from teaching, I thought of Santa Cruz as a place to go for the day, but never as a place to live.  Whenever the subject of Santa Cruz came up it seemed that someone would quip “That’s the town that’s still living in the 60s.” My friends tried to convince me that when I got here I would find nothing but hippies and stoners, nuts and fruit.

Ok, so they were wrong.  First of all, I’m an old hippie, so I wouldn’t have had a problem if everyone else was too, but in actual fact Santa Cruz people are a remarkably diverse group.

Now that I live here, and have met many long time residents as well as a few other newcomers, I have found many reasons to love Santa Cruz.   Today I will share five of them.

Grey Haired People at the Gym

I joined three different gyms in succession while I was working, but hardly ever worked out.  I was always sure I was the least fit person there, and I was definitely the oldest.  Large plate glass windows afforded passers by a good view of my lumpy body, usually surrounded by buff young athletes in spandex.  It took all my courage to undress in the locker room, and I usually talked myself out of going to the gym at all. But after a lifetime of sitting at a desk, I was seriously out of shape.  I couldn’t lift a suitcase into the overhead compartment on a plane.  If I lay down on a yoga mat, it would take several painful minutes to get back up again. And my joints hurt all the time.

After I moved into my new little house and discovered a funky gym called Toadal Fitness a short walk down the road, I knew right away that fitness was now a possibility.  The trainers were kind and thorough. The classes were inviting and friendly.  They even had a children’s playroom with scooters, hula hoops, balls and a trampoline so my granddaughter Bean could come and work out with me. .

Toadal Fitness

People wear ordinary clothes to work out at Toadal Fitness.  The staff is friendly and helpful. Hardly anyone grunts, and when you look around the walls of the building, there is that silly toad, grinning at you.  It’s hard to take yourself too seriously.  Oh, and lots of regulars have grey hair, and there are classes specially designed for our aging bodies.  But there are lots of young people too, and they don’t seem to mind having their parents’ generation exercising right beside them. I felt welcome on the first day I visited, and now, two years later, I am able to hoist my suitcase into the overhead bin and play on the floor with Bean without worrying about getting back up again.  A group of women in my circuit class go for coffee every Monday, and sometimes we meet for lunch in someone’s home.  We call ourselves The Silver Toads.  And you should see our cool shoes!

Walking in Lighthouse Field

Lighthouse Field State Park, its grasses now golden brown after three years of drought, consists of a 38-acre habitat in which Monarch butterflies overwinter, Black Swifts dash across the sky on scythe-like wings, and dog lovers walk its paths. It’s a wonderful place.

My Border Collie, Kismet, and I start and end each day in Lighthouse Field. The many paths criss-cross the fields, winding under oaks and big cone pines, across picturesque bridges and back out into the sunshine.  Wooden benches carved with the names of their donors are placed randomly  – perfect for sitting and listening to the sea lions who frequent the nearby bay.  Once an off-leash park, today most Lighthouse Field canines are leashed and dogs now share the park with bicycles, scooters, and kite flyers.  It works well for me and Kismet, and Bean often scooters ahead of us, so I guess it works well for her too.  Walking in Lighthouse Field is my daily meditation.

Exploring Creative Pursuits

Most communities provide access to recreation programs and college or university extension classes, but I’ve never encountered so many different opportunities for creative expression as I have here.  Since arriving I have joined a knitting guild, a writing group, taken water color journaling and sketching classes, engaged a fiddle teacher, and attended acoustic house concerts that spotlighted local talent.  Through all of these, I have been welcomed into a generous, friendly, and talented community of creative people.

Carolyn Fitz and her Wednesday Sketchers

As I talk with people I meet in these classes and workshops, many of whom are also grandmothers, invitations come to attend open studio events, join painting or sketching groups, volunteer at musical performances, and practice my new skills. (In an interesting juxtaposition of events, a man I met in an art class last week said hi to me this morning at the gym.)  I never thought of myself as an artist, or even creative, but look at me – here I am, making art.  Bean is beside herself with glee at all the new art supplies I’ve purchased, and we spend lots of time exploring them together.

Working at the UCSC Life Lab

In an earlier post I described a day in the fall when I visited the children’s Life Lab garden classroom on the University of California Santa Cruz campus. Since then, I have spent much more time on that hill, as a Friends of the Farm & Garden board member.  And this month I am working as a volunteer aide while Bean attends Garden Sprouts – a nature camp for preschoolers.  It’s delightful to see the children harvesting (and eating!) fresh vegetables directly from the soil, and to listen to their happy sounds as they sing about frogs and bees and chickens.

Teacher Kim and Garden Sprouts

We are fortunate to have so many gardening resources literally in our back yard. On the UCSC campus alone are the Arboretum, Life Lab, Food What!, the Farm & Garden, and the Chadwick Garden, all under the umbrella of the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.  And it’s heartwarming to work with the staff and other volunteers who keep these programs alive, and to see up close how committed they are to developing and expanding sustainable agriculture.

Waking Up to Beauty Each Day

Ok, I’ll admit this one’s personal.  You’ll never find it in a Santa Cruz guidebook. I love waking up in the morning and looking out the window.  This is what I see:

The view from my bedroom

The fence separates Bean and other small children from the waterfall and fountain off to the left, and the falling water is soothing and refreshing all at the same time.  In front of the fence is an herb garden hiding a tiny fairy garden, a small square lawn surrounded by tiles, and a perimeter garden designed by Kate Purcell of Kate’s Kitchen Gardens.  None of the plants are poisonous to dogs or children, and many of them can be harvested for our meals.  Right now we’re picking salad herbs, leeks, lettuce, fennel, blueberries and tomatoes. Kate included several plants in her design for their sensory appeal, such as lavender, sage, stevia, and lambs ears, and Bean loves selecting leaves from them to make salads for her dolls and stuffed animal buddies.

This tiny piece of paradise includes a two person hot tub inside a pergola, and I am grateful for the mild climate such as we have in Santa Cruz that makes it possible to soak in it daily.  Waking up in my beautiful garden really helps to start each day well.

Look Around Your Town

Ok, I’m through bragging.  Now I invite you to look around your own town and seek out the richness and enjoyment that it holds for you.  I suspect that the reason I found so many delights in Santa Cruz is that I now have the time to explore new pursuits, browse the internet for events and activities that may get mentioned in passing and, in another life, would have been ignored.

So take some time, see what you can find, then come back and tell us 5 Things You Love About Your Town.

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