Unleashed in Santa Cruz
Story & Photo by Sari Mitchell

Some of the best Santa Cruz outings are hidden in plain sight, including meadow, mountain and beach explorations, and colorful eateries that cater to the whole family, including the dog. Popular with longtime locals, these rendezvous are kept as secret as a pirate’s treasure. Even without splinters under the nails or stacks of cash, my dog, Ottie and I, will freely share our map of wonderful adventures with you and yours. So, enjoy the county just voted the “Best Green Place to Live” and bring along your kids, grandparents and (leashed) pet for fun and games.
For example, on Delaware Street on the backside of Natural Bridges State Park, you’ll find a pond tucked into a grove of oak trees. For 100 years, Antonelli’s Pond has been a favorite spot to Santa Cruz citizens who like to toss bread crumbs to the ducks, try their hand at fishing (it’s a great place to learn the craft), or hike into the mysterious tunnels created by the trees.
According to Personalized Publications publisher, Paul Eisenberg, who happens to be a longtime fishing expert here, “Use meal worms for bait. The blue gill love them, and they’re plentiful right now. Then, and this has happened to me several times, a big bass grabs on and you have more dinner then you thought you would.”
Shades of Indiana Jones, there are vines intertwined and cascading from tree branches, lush ferns in the shady canopy. At the pond’s edge, among the lily pads and cattails are turtles, frogs and the occasional water snake. Up the slope from the pond, the meadow, wildflowers and butterflies are framed by a blue sky, and the path continues across the railroad trestle and on around back to the starting point. All totaled, about half an hour, or an hour, depending on how many daisies you stop to smell.
The pond is appropriate for ages four and up, including parents and grandparents. Be sure to bring along a plastic bag for the doggie droppings, also binoculars, magnifying glass, camera, birding book, bottled water, trail mix or bars, and sunscreen.
Beach is a magical word: little kids remember the splash of cold waves, giggles when warm sand covers their bodies, creating a magnificent sandcastle. Grown-ups recall similar memories but also picnics, sports, the sight of dancing dolphins, pelicans, whales. Most everyone who has strolled the beach has found a shell. The perfect shell, more valuable then a diamond. Today, we leave the shells behind, pick up our doggies droppings, and cart out our own trash. So we can have a clean beach for the future.
Bring your family and doggie on a leash to a clean, less crowded ocean view at Buffalo Beach, the end of Seabright in Santa Cruz. Take a left on Atlantic to the Small Craft Harbor parking lot. You can’t miss Aldo’s Harbor Restaurant, 6l6 Atlantic Ave. floating, resembling a houseboat with a large deck designed for families with kids and dogs. The courteous staff even set out water bowls for their four-legged visitors.
At Sunday brunch, lunch or for a late snack, expect gourmet quality food, a casual, noisy ambiance, a view of white and blue boats, and water, sky and clouds. The kid’s menu is moderately priced, the seafood fresh the Focaccia bread magnificent.
While moving an umbrella over a comfy-looking wooden table so my shaggy pup wouldn’t get too much sun, Manager, Alfredo Servin, shared the story of the family’s big German Shepherd, Buffalo, who reigned supreme at the restaurant and beach for many years. From this love of a loyal canine friend came the open-door for dogs, the shade, the bowls of water. “And parents, grandparents, and kids have been welcome here seven days a week since l977.”
Walk west toward the lighthouse and find one of the best places to sight seals and brown pelicans. The occasional shark fin, too. Next to the beach, a stretch of pristine sand and lapping waves entice kids and dogs to race after Frisbees, kites and all the special sports that build muscles and reflexes, and family bonding.

~You can reach Sari Mitchell thru her website www.mostunique.com.