More Santa Cruz

So, as promised, we were up and moving the rig out of the Elks parking lot by 8am.  It was tough, but Ron managed to navigate around the five other cars in the lot.  Never fear, we had checked out the Moose who welcomed us for two more nights at $10 a night.  They were also having a Memorial Day barbecue, so we had a wonderful meal of spare ribs or steak, with too many sides to fit on a plate.

Continuing our tour of Santa Cruz, we traveled back to the beach and walked out on the pier.  It was a nice pier, but the highlight for us was the sea lions.  These two were trying their best to stay in the sun.

There were places where you could watch them under the pier while they rested on beams four feet above the water.

This is a terrible picture, but I wanted to show how high above the water they were.  Of course, the obvious question is, "How did they get there?"  Well, they jumped!  I didn't get a picture, but I saw one giant sea lion leap up and land the front part of his body on the cross piece, then use his flippers to maneuver the rest of his huge body onto the narrow platform.  And I saw another one, who was more svelte, leap completely over it.  It was cool.

Later in the day, we drove the scenic West Cliff Drive, stopping at various points.  I couldn't find any information on this pretty little lighthouse.

This spot seems to be a favorite for surfers, but looks dangerous to me with that big obstacle in the way.

There are a few natural bridges along the drive.  I liked the way this one showed up in the late afternoon light.

One last shot of the lighthouse and bridge.