Indulge your inner hippy at Santa Cruz and Carmel by the Sea

This article was originally posted by Meredith Blakeway of S.O.F.T and was republished with permission.

A girls’ weekend by the sea… Oreo (the dog), my daughter Phoebe and I spent the weekend in Sant Cruz and Carmel by the Sea battling the intense Californian traffic. I was startled to learn that California’s has the equivalent of the entire population of Australia! No wonder we were stuck in traffic jams, in the middle of the summer school holidays.

The last time I visited Santa Cruz was just after Christmas four years ago. It was winter and it was empty. However, this time everywhere was packed and it was quite overwhelming. After my visit I’ve concluded that the Australian beaches can’t be beaten – for beauty and lack of population pressure.

My daughter had arranged for us to eat at some stunning restaurants – all farm-to-table – and it was fabulous to eat healthy organic gourmet food (in this case it had to be vegan as well), something you do not always associate with the American diet. Good coffee is still so elusive though.

Carmel by the Sea was inundated by tourists, including us. In the frenzy we lost the car keys, which are probably still marooned in Carmel, never to be seen again. Thankfully we were able to open the car with an app to retrieve the other set. Who knew you could do that? I have only just mastered the art of Uber, as we do not have it in the small town where I live. A big milestone for me.

There was a sizeable population of homeless next to our hotel, which I found confronting and disturbing. A homeless man on a walker stumbled and fell in front of us and we were at a loss as to what to do. Some workers across the road refused to come and help us lift him up, and then his vodka bottle fell out of his coat. We left him to his own devices and as we looked back he had lifted himself up. I cannot lie, we were frightened that he may have pulled a knife or a gun on us. The incident left me feeling very confused about the morality and the correct, caring manner to deal with these situations. I wonder what others would have done.

We stopped at Capitola Beach, which was a mini Cuban or Mexican village – again packed to the gills, and the weather for mid-July was not even that hot. The little section of the seaside village was painted in bright, bright colours, matching my dress.

On our way back to San Francisco we stopped off at the local farmers’ market, which was old-hippy central. I am so glad there are people still livingin Santa Cruz as though it were the ’60s. Everything was organic and vegan, and the produce looked wonderfully fresh and healthy. An Appalachian band entertained the crowd of alternative lifestylers of all ages.