We needed a destination for our Saturday, and had recently gone to the city; since we regularly visited downtown Santa Cruz, my wife decided on a day by the shore at Capitola.
Driving over the hill on 17 was often a bit of a grind, and today, though we got an early start, was stupendously bad. The first half of the forty minute distance took us over half an hour, but once we got to the Sugar Loaf turnoff, things started moving normally.
The parking at Capitola is pretty darn good. We typically pay about forty bucks to park in San Francisco, but the lot in Capitola cost less than five bucks for the whole day. There isn’t that much to do there, but I was loving the bargain.
We strolled into town, having made a pit stop at the City Hall restrooms by the parking lot, and sauntered into Zelda’s on the Beach for lunch. It took almost half an hour to get a table, so my wife got us drinks from the bar, and we sat outdoors in chairs with no tables, at the back of the restaurant, along the shore.
Someone was playfully enjoying Salsa music on the beach while people drank, ate, read, and people watched.
When seated, we had a nice two-top by the sand, and our dog nestled herself behind my wife’s chair. I ordered the burger, with gorgonzola and grilled onions. She had a burrito.
The burger was good, but I found myself wishing it was not so heavy; I ought to have had the impossible patty instead. Still, the food was very well prepared, and tasty.
We then walked along the promenade, and stared as a surfing class cruised repeatedly to the shore. Our dog loved the heat of the warm ground, but tried to find the softer surfaces to lay on when she could.
There was a guy standing on the stone beach fence playing saxaphone improv, with bits of Coltrane and Gillespie meeting original riffs. He was very good.
I wanted to sit down, so we headed to Mr. Toots coffeehouse, for some reclining and some pastries, but my wife wanted ice cream instead. I was also partial to that delicious goodness, so she found a bench outside where we could relax, and I went to fill her sugary order.
Walking across the street, I waited for ten minutes or so, in a not unreasonable line at Polar Bear Ice Cream on Stockton Avenue. With flavors like Makapuno, Horchata and Honey Lavender, they corner the local market on unique.
I went standard with a double scoop waffle cone featuring pistachio and thin mint flavors, and the portion was generous. Carefully shepherding the tasty treats across the street to our bench, I enjoyed the creamy concoction immensely.
With a walk by Soquel Creek to wrap up our visit, we ended back at the parking lot. Traveling home was thankfully uneventful, the traffic accommodating and light.
Back home, it was ninety-eight degrees, versus seventy-three in Capitola, but our swamp cooler and fans made it quite tolerable.
Capitola was a success.
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