Surf City Sunday

With the first weekend in I dunno how long with no pressing work deadlines, Manuel and I spent an amazingly clear, cool, and beautiful Sunday in one of our favorite places: Santa Cruz. In a state where you can't swing a cat without hitting a marine biologist, I'm a bit of an anomaly. I'm born, bred, and schooled in marine bio on the East Coast and something of a Johnny-come-lately to these revered Pacific shores of Ricketts, Light and Smith, Hand, and Telonicher. As a California friend and fellow marine colleague once remarked when I informed him I studied marine bio in Rhode Island, "Oh, you mean there's an ocean there too?"

And I can see his point. When you consider the amazing diversity of Pacific shores, not to mention the absolute, jaw-dropping wonder of the Monterey Submarine Canyon between Santa Cruz and Monterey Peninsula (think Grand Canyon scale, only underwater and just off-shore) I can see why Pacific Coast marine biologists are a bit smug. But don't believe me, check out the fellows over at Deep-Sea News if you need some convincing (of the coolness of Pacific marine bio, not the smugness).

With no real agenda, just a destination, we kickstarted our Santa Cruz day at our favorite coffee shop, Coffeetopia for some kick-ass Santa Cruz Dark Roast and Manuel's favorite chai. Then off for a swing through the University of California, Santa Cruz campus. If I had to do the whole college-thing all over again knowing what I know now, I'd choose UCSC. Not only do they churn out some top rate marine biologists, but that campus! Coast redwoods, environmentally unobtrusive architecture, wildlife galore, and banana slugs. Need I say more?

After a few deer and quintessential UCSC student sightings on campus, we zoomed down Bay Street and made a bee-line to West Cliff Drive for some sea otter spotting. No otters but surprise, surprise, we were in luck as The Western Surfing Association Hobie Championship Tour was wrapping-up its season today at Steamers Lane, the West Coast mecca for surfers. We caught the women's longboard finals and it was AMAZING to watch these small women making fancy foot work across big boards while negotiating some powerful waves and swell. There was an impressive crowd gathered and I have to admit I was in awe. I've had some serious surf envy most of my adult life. As I mentioned, growing up in Pennsylvania wasn't all that conducive an outlet for my surfing jones (maybe if I was a Jersey boy it would be a different story, but wish in one hand... you know the rest of that saying.) Anyway, I've promised myself every year for the past five years that this year would be the year I don my wetsuit, buy a board, and go all cowabunga. Needless to say, I'm still the voyeur but I've got time. I'm a young 43. And once the spinal stenosis eases up, watch out Kelly Slater. Not that I wouldn't mind just being a voyeur with Mr. Slater. Can you say eye candy?

But back to our adventure. With Manuel looking bored and hungry, we headed to downtown Santa Cruz for fantastic burritos at Planet Fresh. While not a traditional taqueria by any means, they still serve-up creative wraps and variations on the classics with a terrific salsa bar and outstanding horchata. After lunch, we strolled over to Pacific Avenue and popped into O'Neill's Surf Shop (more slaking of my surf fetish). While some of the "whos," "hows," and "whens" are still disputed, what is indisputable is that from a tiny shop selling strange new gear called "wetsuits" off of San Francisco's Great Highway in the 1950's, Jack O'Neill built an empire and put the West Coast on the world surfing map. O'Neill's Surf Shop still sells wetsuits, but now also peddles surfboards, board wear, and all the trappings for those looking for the Après-surf lifestyle.

Pacific Avenue is a trip. Lots of tourists and locals, surfers and skaters, panhandlers and eccentrics of all stripes. The vampire-plagued fictional small California town of Santa Carla in the 1987 movie The Lost Boys was loosely based on Santa Cruz. Despite city council efforts to gentrify the downtown to coincide with its rebuilding following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, local color still abounds and the "Keep Santa Cruz Weird" posters, t-shirts and bumper stickers are everywhere. Probably my favorite Santa Cruz eccentric, and a perennial sighting on any visit, is Robert "Pinky" Valentino. He even has a myspace page with a little bio:

I used to be an engineer in silicon valley. Now I am on a never-ending search... a VisionQuest if you will. I spend my days walking, it's just what I like to do. Maybe someday I'll find something better. But today, I just like walking. Oh, and my name is Robert, call me Robert please.

Robert is the sweetest, strangest, and bravest "out-there" person I've ever run into. He walks up and down Pacific Avenue every day looking absolutely fabulous. Always with a parasol and walking with baby steps, Robert endures rude remarks, stares, and sometimes physical abuse yet still smiles and gives a friendly wink or shrug as you pass on the street. I finally had my camera on this trip and asked him if I could take a picture. A smile, nod, and a pose and he continued up the block. Classic!

Before heading back to San Francisco on Death Alley, also known as CA Highway 17, I talked Manuel into stopping by UCSC's Long Marine Lab and Seymour Marine Science Discovery Center. I have lots of fond memories of Long Marine Lab from my years teaching at UC Berkeley. Every summer, my department would host a residential program at UC Santa Cruz for teachers interested in learning how to include ocean science in their curriculum. One of my favorite activities was tidepooling at Natural Bridges State Park, just below Long Marine Lab. Being mid summer, low tides were painfully early... just before sunrise. But if the fantastic tidepools weren't enough to get us excited, we always had the honor of being joined by Dr. Todd Newberry, Emeritus Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz and a living legend in intertidal ecology. Todd knows the tidepools and life of Natural Bridges after 5 decades of study and time spent nose-to-nose with anemones and limpets. When he talks of intertidal life he may as well be referring to friends and family. Todd's the only marine biologist I've ever met who can describe the life cycle of an aggregating anemone one minute then insert a particularly relevant quote from Proust the next and somehow make sense of it all.

I was excited to introduce Manuel to "Ms Blue," Long Marine Lab's resident Blue Whale skeleton. This impressive, complete reconstructed skeleton graces the Seymour Center's front yard and has to be seen to fully appreciate the scale of this mega-mammal. I love the reconstructed phalanges from the pectoral flipper, which just have to piss-off any creationist visitor who bothers to notice. Some cool whale bone fossils from Miocene age fossil beds just north of Santa Cruz in Davenport are strewn on the ground below Ms. Blue and probably appear to most visitors as artfully positioned rocks.

We also visited inside the Seymour Center for a peek at the small but nice aquarium exhibits. While photography was a challenge in the dim light, I managed to capture a relatively sweet shot of an Angelina Joli-esque, pouty-lipped Wolf Eel and a blurry yet amazing shot of a Spanish Shawl Nudibranch (Flabellina iodinea) weaving a ribbon of eggs on some surf grass. This time it was my turn to start looking bored and hungry, and happily Manuel picked-up on the clues and we decided to hit the road for home. What a great, relaxing, memorable and fun day with my man and a complete recharge of batteries. Admittedly, not a particularly conservation, coral, or political post and a departure from my standard blog fare. But it's days like this that keep me jazzed and ready for a new week of challenges.