17 Sep A Perfect Californian Day in Santa Cruz

When a Brit thinks of California they are ultimately drawn to images of the sand, sea and sun – three things England is not able to offer us on the regular. I personally dreamt of the Californian kind of warm weather that my home Northern city, Leeds, brings only once – twice if we’re lucky – a year. So, naturally, when the weather app informed us that the Bay Area would be reaching highs of 28C on a September Saturday, four of us English girls, accompanied by our tour guide and local resident Californian girl, thought of only one thing; beach!

We headed to Santa Cruz, just over an hour and a half away from the city, and camped down at a gorgeous, untouched and sheltered spot, ‘Panther Beach.’ If you’re liking the sound of this day trip then heads up for my top tips; number one, pack SUNSCREEN (yes, typical brits, one member of our party got sunburnt :/). Would also recommend bringing jumpers – the wind picked up as the evening drew near, bikinis (definitely warm enough to brave the waves), water to keep hydrated, a speaker and a phone or camera to snap some seriously beautiful scenery.

Noah’s Bagels was our first stop of the road trip, we grabbed a selection of cream cheese, salmon, peanut butter and sesame seed bagels and hit the road – for sure made the journey go quicker. We also hit up Safeway, just a ten-minute drive from the beach, to grab chips, fruit and drinks before parking, clambering down the slightly rocky path and laying down our blankets on the sand and catching the rays. A final tip, and probably my favorite part of the day, would be to head back around 7pm and stop to see the sun as it sets over the sea! A perfect Cali day for four fortunate brits!