the hood

Gene at Turning the Pages of Life had this idea to post about the area where we live.

"I would like to take a minute and build upon the warming the world through friendship idea that many bloggers recently participated in. We post on our blogs, get replies and post on other people's blogs, and over the course of time start to get to know each other a bit. We can guage the personality of another blogger through the words they type but wouldn't it be nice to get a little insight into what they really see when they look out their wondows?"

...here is a little insight into "my hood"....

Santa Cruz is a small coastal community about an hour south of San Francisco.

Known for our redwoods and rollercoaster we attract the tourists year round.

The locals are a rather bizarre mix…but many of us think of ourselves as either Eastsiders or Westsiders. Unofficially the dividing line is Downtown….but to my way of thinking...it is really the Harbor.

Without a doubt…I am an Eastsider.
I live in the area known as Pleasure Point.

Although surfers come from all over to ride these waves, most of them are local….and they adhere to a very specific hierarchy. If you are not a local…your respect is required. There is the “official” surfing etiquette…and the local surfing etiquette.

At the end of my street is a small eucalyptus grove which boarders the lagoon called Moran Lake.

Moran Lake is filled by both fresh water via a large upstream watershed…and salt water from the Pacific Ocean.

At times Moran is deep enough to row a boat for several miles…and at others it is bone dry.

The water runs back and forth via a small spillway under the road. On the other side of the spillway is a small beach where I have been known to spend some time.

From this beach....if you look off to the right you can see the city of Santa Cruz…

To the left and around that rock is the coast between The Point and The Hook.

A few of these pictures I’ve previously posted…but they are my favorites. They are all within a five to fifteen minute walk from my home. I am very blessed to live in such a beautiful place.