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Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery Restaurant (Santa Cruz, Ca.)

The Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery is a Hawaiian Themed Restaurant with a lively bar & grill for seafood, steaks & pasta in a marine-inspired space with a rotating bar. The Restaurant is often visited by tourists and locals for its Hawaiian theme décor, famous Hawaiian local dish with different seasonings and local ingredients. The Restaurant is about 1 hour and 30 minutes from San Francisco via Hwy-1 South (69 miles). The Makai Restaurant is open 7 days a week from 11 a.m.- 9 p.m.

Our drive to The Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery was a very fun, relaxing, scenic, and winding road. The view of the various beaches (San Gregorio, Davenport, Bonny Doon, Four Mile) along the Hwy-1 coast was well worth the drive. We even passed through a few organic farms, (Pie Ranch, Swanton Berry Farm) small coastal towns (Pescadero, Davenport), Pigeon Point lighthouse, and wet marshlands.

We arrived at the Wharf in Santa Cruz at around 12 noon. We stumbled into this hidden gem restaurant with a Hawaiian theme as we were walking along the wharf. When we entered the restaurant, we were impressed with the Hawaiian theme decors, music, and the revolving tiki bar with the view of the water. We were greeted by our friendly hostess named Eyra and were seated at the outdoor covered tables with a view of the ocean. Our friendly, attentive server named Troy recommended a few items on the menu. I ordered the Huli Huli Chicken for $15, which is a marinated chicken thighs that are “turned” over an open flame to lock in the natural juices, and served with steamed rice and our house-original mac salad. My daughter opted for the Pineapple Spam Fried Rice with prawns for $17. My wife ordered the savory Guava Soy Bistro Steak for $16, a flank steak basted with a house-made guava-soy marinade, and grilled to perfection served with rice and your choice of vegetable. Lastly, for dessert we tried and shared the delicious Banana pudding for $8.

Overall, we enjoyed our fun and relaxing outdoor lunch experience at The Makai Island Kitchen and Groggery. Nothing compares to eating outdoors with Hawaiian background music on a sunny day with good quality food, refreshing Hawaiian cocktail drinks, and an amazing view of the ocean.

Tips: The parking rates at the Santa Cruz Wharf for summer (Mar- Sept) are $1 per 20 minutes or $24 daily max. And for Winter is $1 per hour for the first 4 hours then $2 per hour with a $12 daily max. The Wharf also has a Santa Cruz boat rental place that rents motorized boats, boogie boards, wetsuits, life jackets, fishing gears, frozen baits, and many more.

Let me know if you have any questions or what you think about The Makai Island Kitchen & Groggery Restaurant after your visit in the comments below. And kindly subscribe, comment, and share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.

Click here to find a hotel close to Makai Island Restaurant in Santa Cruz, Ca.

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Walton Lighthouse (Santa Cruz)

Address: 680 Atlantic Avenue Santa Cruz, Ca. 95062

The Walton Lighthouse was designed by Mark Mesiti-Miller and opened in 2001. The lighthouse is named in honor of Derek Walton who is the late brother of Charles Walton who made a donation on it’s construction. The Walton lighthouse is 41 feet tall, shaped as a tapered cylindrical tower with a lantern and balcony. It’s weighed 350,000 pounds to withstand a quarter million pounds of wave energy. It’s built to protect the entrance to the Santa Cruz harbor on a man made jetty and situated near the Seabright Beach

It took us about 1 hour and 30 minutes (70 miles) drive from San Francisco via CA-1 South/Cabrillo Highway North. My family and I enjoyed our scenic drive to Santa Cruz via Ca-1. We passed through several beautiful beaches situated along the coast, small coastal towns, organic farms, and a popular lighthouse called Pigeon Point along the way.

We arrived at the Lighthouse at around 2 p.m. and parked at the Harbor parking area for a fee since there was no street parking available. We walked for about 15 minutes to get to the lighthouse from the Harbor parking lot. We had to pass through the Marina and walked all the way to the lighthouse on a dirt pathway but later became cemented upon reaching the lighthouse area. The pathway is surrounded and protected by huge rocks to prevent or break the larger waves. There is a warning signage to watch out for sleeper waves. And there was an entrance or access to the Seabright Beach on our way to the lighthouse. Some people were just sitting on a bench and watching the sea otters, sea lions, harbor seals and birds fish.

There were strong and big waves that crushed loudly onto to the surrounding rocks that protects the Lighthouse. There is also a sign of “Walton Lighthouse” painted on top of the main entrance of the lighthouse. Since the inside of the lighthouse is not accessible, my daughter and wife took pictures outside of the 41 feet tall, white, cylindrical lighthouse. My wife and daughter enjoyed watching all the beautiful and colorful sailboats that passed through in and out from the Harbor/Marina. The Santa Cruz beach boardwalk was also visible from the Walton Lighthouse. It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t stay late until sunset as we have to head back home.

Tips: For safety, be careful of strong or sleeper waves when crossing or walking towards the lighthouse. Either you park on the street on Atlantic Avenue or park by the harbor area for a fee. You can’t go inside the lighthouse but can walk around the outside of the Lighthouse. Public restrooms are available in the Harbor parking area. There’s a popular restaurant in the Harbor parking area called Aldo’s Restaurant and the Crow’s Nest where we ate lunch which is a few minutes drive from the Walton Lighthouse. Some locals told us that the lighthouse is best viewed during sunset or sunrise. Always bring a jacket or blanket as the weather is unpredictable.

Let me know if you have any questions or what you think about the Walton Lighthouse after your visit in the comments below. And kindly share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.

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Natural Bridges State Beach (Santa Cruz)

Address: 2531 West Cliff Drive Santa Cruz, Ca. 95060

Natural Bridges State Beach is famous for its Arch Stone, Monarch Butterflies, tide pools and great sunset views in the Santa Cruz area. The beach has originally have 3 natural arches but the outerpart arch first collapsed sometime in 1905 or 1906. While the inner arch collapsed in 1980 during a storm. As of now, the only arch remaining is the middle arch which may also collapsed due to erosion by wind and waves. The Arch is usually full of birds which they use as a refuge and can also be seen from the Vista Point.

It took us about 1 hour and 30 minutes (68 miles) drive from San Francisco via CA-1 South/Cabrillo Highway North. My family and I enjoyed our scenic drive to Santa Cruz via Ca-1. We passed through beautiful beaches, small coastal towns, organic farms, and a popular lighthouse along the way.

When we arrived at the gate we paid the Ranger $10 for the day use parking fee which is also good for all the other parks in the area. There were a sandy parking area right after the entrance gate but we drove for about 3 minutes to the main parking lot near the Visitor Center. The park or state Beach offers a beautiful beach, public access tide pools and a Monarch Grove where you can see or watch Monarch butterflies on the Eucalyptus Trees.

We only get to visit the beach, Arch Stone, tide pools, and Visitor Center. We didn’t get the chance to visit the Monarch Grove because it was not season yet and there weren’t no butterflies. The butterflies starts arriving in mid October and leave by mid February. But we did enjoyed the beach, picnic area, tide pools and took a lot of pictures with the famous Arch Stone. There were public restrooms available in the main parking lot. We also visited the giftshop which is located inside the Visitor Center and is only open on Friday to Monday from 11am-4pm.

But the best part was watching the beautiful and picturesque sunset with the Arch Stone on the beach. The Ranger also reminded us that they do close the park on sunset. We saw photographers came in to take pictures of the beautiful sunset while the daytime beach goers were leaving. Overall, we enjoyed our memorable experience. Natural Bridges State Beach has something for everyone either by relaxing at the beach, taking pictures of the Arch Stone, watching the Monarch Butterflies, exploring the tide pools, have a picnic or just watching the sunset.

Tips: For safety, try to visit the tide pool when it’s low tide as the waves are strong and unpredictable. There is a Vista Point parking available for 20 minutes only before the entrance gate. Some visitors end up parking outside on the residential area and just walk to the beach to save parking fee. Try to take the West Cliff Drive route going to Santa Cruz beach boardwalk as it is scenic and a few tourist spots to stop along the way. Best time to view the Monarch butterflies is late October and entire month of November.

Let me know if you have any questions or what you think about the Natural Bridges State Beach after your visit in the comments below. And kindly share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.

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Capitola Beach

Address: San Jose Ave and Esplanade Capitola, Ca. 95010

Capitola Beach is about 1 hour and 30 minutes from San Francisco, California via I-280 South, Ca-17 South (Santa Cruz), and Ca-1 South (Watsonville). You can also take Hwy-1 to Santa Cruz which is a scenic route. Ca-17 towards Santa Cruz has a lot of uphill and downhill and is a very winding road. Capitola Beach is known as the oldest beach resort on the West Coast and it is part of Santa Cruz County. It is also famous for the colorfully painted adobe houses by the beach. Capitola Beach is good for sunbathing, surfing, fishing, volleyball, birdwatching or just relaxing on the beach.

We arrived in Capitola Beach at around 9:30 a.m. on a Saturday and had a hard time looking for parking in front of the beach. So, we end up parking at an expensive parking lot that we paid a $40 fee for all day.  The parking lot was very close to the beach and behind the Britannia Arms Pub and Restaurant. Most of the parking spaces in the area were metered street parking for $1.50 per hour with a 3 hours time limit but very hard to find parking, especially on a sunny day. We were hungry and decided to eat breakfast at Britannia Arms Pub and Restaurant. We were seated outside with the view of the ocean and ordered a Traditional British breakfast, Veggie scrambled eggs, and All American breakfast. There were a lot of nice restaurants along the beach (esplanade street) with a view of the ocean such as the Margaritaville, The Sand Bar, Tacos Moreno, and many more.

There was a bridge that we walked at and end up being at the Capitola Venetian Hotel. The hotel rooms were situated close to the famous colorful adobe painted house. A few minutes away from the Capitola Venetian Hotel is the Capitola Wharf. We walked, enjoyed the ocean view, and took pictures at the Wharf. There is a nice restaurant at the end of the Wharf called “Wharf House” with tables set up outside and an amazing view of the ocean. We also noticed that there were fishing boat rentals close to the restaurant.

On our way back to the parking lot, we made a stop at the Capitola Seashells store and bought some cute souvenirs. My daughter craved for some ice cream on a warm sunny day and we end up buying a cookies n’ cream ice cream and a shaved iced drink at Souza’s which we recommend.

Overall, we enjoyed our family day walking around Capitola Beach and took a few pictures of the famous Capitola colorful painted adobe house and played on the beach. We also saw a few surfers on the east side of the beach near the rocks riding the waves and a small lagoon near the bridge that is good for little kids to play in the water.

Tips: There are clean public restrooms with a shower area close to the beach and most of the visitors were wearing a facemask due to Covid restrictions. Try to take Hwy-1 towards Halfmoon Bay on your way back to San Francisco. It is a very beautiful, relaxing scenic route with grassy fields full of beautiful colorful wildflowers and the famous Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

Let me know if you have any questions or what you think about Capitola Beach after your visit in the comments below. And kindly share our family travel blog site with your friends and family. Or even include our travel blog website address when you post your pictures on social media. Have fun and stay safe. Thank you.