The Boardwalk of Santa Cruz

The Boardwalk of Santa Cruz

"Keifer Sutherland blockbuster Lost Boys filmed on this spot," proclaimed

the self-important plaque. It was mounted on a wall along a long flight of

log stairs. As I looked back, miles of beach stretched out before me and,

across the bay, I could see red, blue, orange lights whirling high above the

crowds upon a huge wheel. We made our way back to where the steps met back up

with the sidewalk alongside the highway. We were hit by the smell of the

city, of the freeways, re-invading our senses. I took one final look back

and studied once more the long progression of wooden planks stretching off

into the distance. It had been like no place I'd ever experienced. The

Boardwalk. Santa Cruz.

It was the summer of 2000 and I had moved in with my sister Jana in Santa

Cruz, California for the summer. I had taken a 32-hour bus ride to get

there and was completely exhausted from it, but Jana wanted to show off her

city, so the next day she gave me a tour. She had an apartment right on the

beach, and we could go swimming anytime. We went downtown and I took in

this unfamiliar environment. The people were so much more diverse than I

was used to. Growing up in a town of 280 people in western Colorado does

not exactly allow one to experience many types of people. In one glimpse

down a street in Santa Cruz, I could see a sampling of the world. People of

all colors and creeds wearing turbans, sarongs, and other exotic clothes

mixed right in with the type of people I had grown up with. California

does not have mental institutions, so most mental patients end up homeless

in the streets--another wrinkle to the cloak of humanity of this particular

street. I witnessed one man...

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...s and blocks of shops, restaurants,

bowling alleys, bars and emergency medical stations for those who needed

assistance, such as having their stomachs pumped, after a night on the

Boardwalk. The people milling about were just as varied as those downtown,

if decidedly younger. The beach was filled with rides and volleyball nets

all along the coast. We started out in a bowling alley and progressed on to

numerous other establishments, including a Falafel place where none of the

employees spoke anything but Farsi. As the night wore on and the bars

became less and less selective, the night became hazier and hazier. One of

the memories that remained in my addled brain the next morning was riding

the Ferris wheel high above the crowds and feeling the wondrous ocean breeze

coming in. It was one of the most fun nights I had while I was in

California.