Friday, July 18, 2008

Under the Boardwalk

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You know I love the beach, and you might guess that I am still a sucker for a ride on the world famous Giant Dipper, but you can be sure that I cannot stand the beach on which the Santa Cruz Boardwalk is built.

Why? Ummm, let me count the reasons.

1. Way, way to crowded.
2. Dirty
3. Not so pretty, and often kinda smelly.
4. Parking is a nightmare.
5. Tourists

Just to name a few. I am not one of those people who are anti-tourists, but I am anti-places that are breading grounds for them. And this is one of those beaches in which you might actually be witness to the breeding of new tourist. (yeah, that is what I said) Now I realize there is not an abundance of hotels to choose from in SC but seriously some of the people on this beach need to get themselves a room.

I think what really frustrates me is that this beach has such potential to be a great beach. Sure it would take some effort, but all the pieces are there, they just need to be unburied. There are great volleyball games that take place, fun. But the parking situation makes this difficult to enjoy. There is the Boardwalk, and of course shops and restaurants, but there are a lot of shady looking places intermixed. I think that we should just own up to the fact that this is going to be a tourist trap beach, add some nice looking lounge chairs and umbrellas, maybe some people who go around and pick up trash, like they do on the nice touristy beaches in Italy. It would be nice if there was a shuttle option near by, to help cut down on some of the parking craziness.

I don't really envision Santa Cruz ever adopting these ideas, but until they do something you can remain confident that the Beach under the Boardwalk will never rank my list of top beaches.

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