A view of the Venetians from our spot at Mr. Toot's Coffee Shop in Santa Cruz.

Although the sun had not joined us on our trip through Northern California, it was front and center as we settled into the laid back atmosphere of Santa Cruz. We spent our first night in a quaint home with a young group of people caught in post-college limbo. A surfer, an artist, a Wisconsonian and a cook let us sleep in their back yard and the next day, SWAE went to work.

Kyle Thiermann, our surfer host, had recently taken a six-week trip to a small town in Chile, where an American coal-mining plant is being proposed. Kyle spent his time speaking with locals about the impact of such a plant and what we in the U.S. can do to help prevent this from happening. Not only is Kyle an awesome surfer, he is incredibly passionate about supporting local industry and business, just like SWAE. Check out the video of his trip at www.claimyourchange.org.

Phone calls, research and meetings. While the sun hit the surf all day on Friday, Will, Elliott and Alex hit the streets to meet with outfitters. Will met and signed Venture Quest Sea Kayaking.

Since he has joined the trip, Alex has worked hard to sink into the pattern of finding outfitters and contacting them. In Half Moon Bay, just outside Santa Cruz, Alex met Chris Manchester and signed his outfit, Half Moon Bay Kayaks. In Santa Cruz, he was able to sign Pacific Yacht and Sailing.

Elliott and Will teach Ed Guzman, our host and surf instructor, how to slack line at his home near Manresa State Beach.

Elliott has had some great meetings since he joined up with SWAE in San Francisco. He got to go hang gliding in San Francisco and in Santa Cruz, met with two legendary surfers in Richard Schmidt and Ed Guzman, who are both owners of two of the largest surf outfits in Monterey Bay. The Richard Schmidt Surf School and Club-Ed Surf Camps are both well-established surf schools in the area. Elliott was able to line up an evening of dinner and videos with Ed, which gave us an opportunity to crash with his surf camp in Manresa State Beach AND take lessons from him in the morning.

There is no shortage of passion for the water in Santa Cruz. The stories Ed told us throughout Thursday night only reaffirmed this fact. Ed has spent time surfing some of the largest waves in California, just north of Santa Cruz in Half Moon Bay, as well as 50-foot swells in Ghost Tree, just outside of Monterey. Ed can talk surfing 24/7 and loves not only to talk about his experiences, but is adamant about helping people get into the water to learn the sport.

The crew get wetsuits as we get ready to surf with Ed, Friday morning at Manresa State Beach.

I am not a surfer by any means. On Friday morning, Ed thrust a wetsuit into my hands, handed me a board and was almost to the point of pushing into the water along Manresa Beach. This was my first time ever holding a surfboard. It felt oddly foreign in my hands, but I’m not one to shy away from an opportunity to learn something new. The waves were small, but surf-able and Ed and his staff are excellent teachers.

After some pointers on the beach, I was in the water, paddling out with Dan, Will, Alex and Elliott to make my first attempt at standing up on a surfboard. Ed spotted a reasonably sized wave and urged me to start paddling.

I stroked my left hand through the water, then my right, then both at the same time and with a little nudge from Ed, I was being jettisoned along the wave. I slid from my stomach to my feet and was surprised to find myself actually surfing and not eating salt water. It was a great feeling and after a few hours in the water, I was truly enjoying the surfing atmosphere with Ed and the SWAE crew.

Ed Guzman preps Alex and Elliott with fiber glass surfboards before we head into the water.

Santa Cruz is beautiful. A cozy town where the beach is one of its prime attractions. The beach, combined with blue skies and sun, make for a relaxed atmosphere where anyone is welcomed.

Although we only spent two days in town, I was inspired by the sights and sounds we were able to experience while we were there.

Saturday morning, we rode 30 miles down Highway 1, to Monterey, where SWAE will spend the next two days taking care of business. More to come as the adventure continues to unfold!

Some of the last scenes of San Francisco as we rode south towards Santa Cruz.

I haven’t disregarded the beauty of San Francico, but I’ve truly become restless with this booming metropolis. I’ve heard the echos of police sirens day and night through the city, seen masses of people stroll the sidewalks and warily watched traffic as I rode the streets. It’s been a great week in San Francisco, but it’s time to say good bye.

Alex and Bates left a day before Dan, Will and me and rode to Half Moon Bay, 30 miles from The City. The duo met Chris Manchester of HMB Kayaks for breakfast. The meeting went very well and Alex and Bates were able to sign HMB Kayaks on the spot.

On Tuesday, Aug. 4, Will and Dan met the Oceanic Society, a non-profit devoted to conservation of endangered marine life, stationed in San Francisco. The Oceanic Society is an incredible non-profit that shares like values with SWAE: Conservation and a dedication to local outfitters was what drove the conversation.  The Oceanic Society also organizes expeditions all around the world, from Antarctica to Sri Lanka and Will and Dan got them excited enough to join up as an Adventure Vendor on the spot!

A view of the beaches along Highway 1 were a relief to us as we rode to Santa Cruz.

We rode through San Francisco that afternoon towards our next destination, Santa Cruz. We began by riding south on Highway 35, which would eventually link us up to Highway 1. Dan, Will and I arrived at a junction, but were put into a dilemma as a street sign warned us to stay off Highway 1. Another cyclist confirmed that we should continue on 35 and it would eventually meet back up with our desired highway.

Mile after mile passed with no sign of a junction. We rode so far that we hopped onto Interstate 280, where we stopped a highway patrolwoman to ask her where we were and where we should head next. We were lost. She said we had missed the turn to Highway 1, which meant we had to backtrack three to four miles to continue in the right direction. It was 4:00 p.m. by the time we actually got to Highway 1 and we still had 65 miles until we would reach Santa Cruz.

The sun paints the skies with an array of bright colors. We didn't reach Santa Cruz by sun down.

We ate dinner just outside of Half Moon Bay and continued to ride, the sun slowly setting into the Pacific Ocean, painting the sky in pastel pinks, purples and soft hues of blue. As we rode, the sun yielded itself to a full white moon, rising over the crest of a hill as the evening light turned to dusk.

Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to Santa Cruz Tuesday evening. However, Dan found an awesome place for us to camp, in a grove of trees right along the beachfront. We could hear the ocean waves crashing against the shores, the froth from each surge fizzing as it dissolved into the sand. The wind rustled through the trees around us and kicked up small amounts of sand as we set up camp.

Will woke up especially early the next morning and was on the road by 7:30. Dan and I took a little longer to get packed up, but we still arrived in Santa Cruz at a reasonable time. The weather is as you would expect it in a town built on the beach. Bright blue skies, warm sunlight and a cool sea breeze was in the forecast for the day.

SWAE will be in Santa Cruz for the next several days. More to come as we explore the boardwalk and the beach of the city’s surfer’s paradise.