Top 12 Free Things to Do in Santa Cruz County

........... Courtesy of the Santa Cruz County Conference and Visitors Council ...........

1. Visit the "World's Best Seaside Amusement Park" - Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

2. Concerts and MOvies in California's Oldest Seaside Resort Town - Capitola Village

3. Year Round events - visit www.LetsCruzEvents.com

4. Tour the Historic and Eclectic, free walking tours of Capitola, logging days in Boulder
     Creek, the Victorian Homes of Santa Cruz, Watsonville and Ben Lomond, The 
    Grateful Dead Museum at UCSC...and more

5. Wildlife Watching .......... Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf for elephant seals, weekly
    nature walks in the Wetlands of Watsonville and the tide pools of Santa Cruz.

6. Admission Free Museums: San Lorenzo Valley Historical Museum (5 minutes from
    Fairview Manor B&B), Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, Monterey Bay National Marine
    Sanctuary Exploration Center, and more

7. Fine Arts: Santa Cruz Mountain Art Center (a 5 minute walk from Fairview Manor B&B),
    The Pajaro Valley Art Council and the Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery at UCSC

8. Free Summer time concerts on the beach! Wednesday in Capitola Village and Friday
    on the main beach/beach boardwalk.

9. Hike the Redwoods: admission free-Quail Hollow (4 miles from Fairview Manor B&B)
    and DeLaveaga Park. Henry Cowell, Wilder Ranch and Big Basin charge a small fee.

10. With 29 miles of coastline, finding an admission free beach is easy!

11. People watch strolling down Downtown Santa Cruz!

12. Explore the magical gardens of the Bamboo Giant Nursery, Roses of yesterday
      and today, Sierra Azul Nursery and more .... The Mountain Feed Store just a
     block away from Fairview Manor B&B is an absolute must. So much more than
     a feed store, plants, gifts, kitchen needs etc
    

Another Day in Paradise!

Since the B&B is situated on 3 acres, thankfully not all level, the gardening is something that always needs to be done. Living on park-like acres means a constant raking, trimming, weeding and all the other fun stuff. Sometimes it seems like a never ending battle and other times it is therapy. There you are in the middle of the redwood grove imaging what the property was like 100 years ago. It is almost 100 years since Cody burned down his Ben Lomond Hotel. No one seems to know why he did it. Was it for Insurance monies? He didn't burn down his home which up until 2 years ago was the Bocci Sunglass Store. If you ever have the opportunity to go into Cody's old house, all you need to do is look up and see some of the most spectacular stain glass.
So the redwood grove has been raked for now. It will need more raking in a few weeks! Whoever knew that so much stuff could fall from these majestic trees. Okay, nap time!