Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Many families have a difficult time in the summer months deciding where to go and what to do during weekends and vacation time. Should we go to the beach or take in an amusement park? If you come to Santa Cruz you can have both in the same place.

There is something for everyone in Santa Cruz at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. For many years families have come to Santa Cruz to surf, swim, and get some sun at the beach, while having the option to go on carnival rides and play games while they're at it.

When I was a kid, my family jumped into the car for a ride down the coast from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. We walked out onto a very long pier filled with restaurants and fishermen. I looked back toward the beach and spotted a roller coaster and ferris wheel. I'm not sure my parents knew it was there, but once we spotted the rides we all headed to the boardwalk for a closer look.

When we got there, we were amazed to find a full-fledged amusement park. There were booths with nachos, cotton candy, and hot dogs. When we ran low on money we went to play at beach.

My favorite attraction at the boardwalk was the arcade that had a whole slew of vintage pinball machines. The machines were the ones with tile scoreboards and old bumpers. There is something about the noise an old pinball machine makes that sends you back to the past.

As part of the boardwalks 100 year anniversary celebration, the boardwalk is having Free Friday Night Bands on the Beach every Friday night until August 29. The free concerts include bands such as Herman's Hermits, Eddie Money, Blue Oyster Cult, and Santana. You can check out the full lineup at www.beachboardwalk.com.

Other attractions at the boardwalk include laser tag in the Casino Arcade, Neptune's Kingdom, which has mini golf, pool, arcades, and food. There's even a bowling alley on the boardwalk. And don't forget about all those rides, which includes the Giant Dipper, a wooden roller coaster built in 1924, as well as the Looff carousel built in 1911.

On our first trip to the boardwalk, I saw several people on the beach using metal detectors. They were picking up coins at a pretty good rate. I have since bought two of these detectors and have turned metal detecting into one of my favorite hobbies. Metal detecting after a holiday weekend usually yields many coins. And coins are only part of what you can find. People lose jewelry, car keys, and toy cars among other things.

From metal detecting on the beach to enjoying a ride and a waffle cone on the boardwalk, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk offers fun for the whole family.