This was my first time experiencing the Walk & Sip in Capitola and let me be the first to tell you,…read moreI will be going every year from this point forward. I had the absolute best time, met some really great people, drank some outstanding wine, and enjoyed every single store I went into that participated in the event. The event was very well done, super organized, and there was a ton of selection, which was very impressive. Only two places had something other than wine, that being three different kinds of beer then another place had two different kinds of cider. And yes, I tried all the beer, all the cider and as much wine as I could get my hands on! They had so many vendors that it was literally impossible to make it to all of them in the time frame given for the event. I found it really creative and super helpful that they pinned an orange balloon outside of every single art gallery or store that was participating in the event so we could determine which place to go next by simply by standing on the street. I also loved the commemorative stemless wine glass they gave out with each ticket purchase. The weather was beautiful, the wines were delicious (oh! And some stores even had snacks for us to enjoy, which was a very thoughtful touch). What a fantastic way to spend a Saturday! I absolutely loved it and will be back next year for sure :) 5 Stars ALL THE WAY.

We had a great time at our first sip and stroll in Capitola. The weather was perfect for it. We got…read moreto see some of the cool shops in the area, even picked up a few souvineers. There was a wide variety of wineries and types of wine being served as well as some fun snacks.

I did the sunrise special in May of 2021. Loved it! It was very organized, well planned and…read morebeautiful. I did the trip alone and felt completely safe and comfortable the entire time. Thank you Slow Adventure!

Fantastically organized and worth every penny! Walked from Santa Cruz to close to Monterey --…read morefollowed the guide's very detailed (but not overly so) book as we went and enjoyed many near deserted miles of lush and fabulous coastline -- so many of these beaches we probably wouldn't visit otherwise. Every detail was thought of and it was such a delight to not worry about luggage transfers and have our car nicely waiting for us at the end. Our guide (that we could call) was a big help, too. It was a very pleasant surprise that our accommodations were consistently quite luxurious, too. Love this company and can't wait to come back again next summer!

My boyfriend and I went on the Capitola Food Tour after getting a groupon for it, and it's been one…read moreof the best groupon purchases we've made! Brian, the tour guide, is full of a wealth of historical and foodie knowledge. I've lived in Santa Cruz for about 6 years and had never heard most of the stuff he told us! We went for the food, but got a fascinating history lesson in the process! During our tour we visited the following locations: Bloomsbury Tea Room Paradise Beach Grille Shadowbrook Gayle's Bakery The Tea Room had a yummy selection of scones with amazing jams and lemon curd. There were finger sandwiches and quiches, along with a large selection of teas. At Gayle's we had a yummy chocolate treat, and learned all about the history of the bakery. Paradise Beach Grille (which you should go to even if you don't take this tour) was amazing as always with a delightful shrimp dish. From there we made our way to Shadowbrook where we had delicious pork sliders and a scrumptious salad while learning all about the fascinating history of the restaurant and the site itself. Any of these restaurants are worth checking out by themselves, so to eat at all four of them is a real treat! Note: it looks like the tour now goes to Geisha Sushi instead of Gayle's Bakery - if there was any place that could be an acceptable substitute for Gayle's, it's Geisha! Love that place too! We loved the tour so much we forced all our parents to go on the Santa Cruz tour with us!

Loved this tour. I've been coming to Capitola since I was a kid and never know any of the history…read moreof the place. The day I went on his tour the sun was shining and Capitola never looked better. The food on this tour was ample and soooo tasty. My favorite was the tea room we visited. So thoughtful and tasty. Our guide really knew his stuff and as a result I will never look at Capitola the same way again. These folks also have a Santa Cruz tour. That's next on my to-do list. I recommend this for friends, couples and families. A great afternoon!

"What would you like for Christmas?". "I want you to find a person who we can spend all day in the…read morewoods with and they'll have answers for all the questions." Amazingly enough, this person exists in our own backyard. Christian has passion, knows his stuff, and as a result is an incredible teacher, a cool hang, and propagates a love for nature. I specifically wanted to level up my knowledge of mushrooms, but also hoped to gain a new understanding of plants and birds on the California coast. It was a deluge of info, and explained in a way that sticks. If you love the outdoors and want to spend time with someone who really gets it and has a contagious reverence for it, spend some time with Christian.

Redwood Coast Tours is a fantastic company and I was amazed by the mushroom tour we took with them…read morein Big Basin near Santa Cruz. Our expert guide, Christian, helped us find a multitude of different mushrooms as we meandered thru the Redwood forest. He filled our brains with practically a text book of information about mycology including mycorrhizal fungi. I highly and enthusiastically recommend Redwood Coast Tours for your educational tour on mushrooms!!

It is becoming rare in this country to find a company that truly stands behind their product, has…read moreexcellent customer follow-up and great products. Well, American Hat Makers is one such company. I purchased a hat from them that did not turn out to be what I wanted. They immediately offered to replace the hat with another hat of my choice, refund the difference and ship free both ways. Plus, they stayed in touch during and after the process ended. This review is of my own choosing and was not requested by the company in any way. I do recommend American Hat Makers!

First, I got my first hat from this company many years ago at a little fair in WA state. Fantastic…read moreproduct and I got 2 more. This year I decided to get another and ordered it online. 1. AHM allows Shopify to skim your info off their cart and embeds their mass marketing in it.(This will result in dozens of emails) 2. AHM will then have their AI customer service pander you and lie about how they don't give or sell your information for half a dozen email responses. 3. Finally they will admit to giving Shopify your information with a CHATGPT-like response. You know, how chatGPT will come at you like it's a family member talking to you with fake familiarity.(Example) "We hear your frustration loud and clear, and I want to talk to you directly--from our family to yours--to clear the air on how our checkout process works and address the security concerns you've raised." Don't buy from this company unless you just don't care about privacy or respectable business practices. Also, my most recent purchase is clearly of lower quality than my first 3 hats. Skrinkflation in action.

This place is a hidden gem in Palo Alto, in an industrial area surrounded by factories. It is a…read moremuseum of the work of Tony Foster, an artist from UK who paints beautiful watercolor landscapes. It's free, and a nice place to visit for an hour or so ... highly recommended.

We tried Story Time with Anna on Sunday. It was an hour experience that our grandson enjoyed. We…read moresigned up ahead of time and street parking was easy. There was also a sign that there is additional parking behind the museum. After checking in there was a craft/art activity with stickers and tempera paint sticks. Low mess :). Adjacent was a play area with colored scarves, a pretend campfire, felt board for the children to explore, and books. Before entering the museum area Anna gave an introductory talk describing what to expect. She made it interactive which was very nice. They also did a song to get their wiggles out. She then guided the group through the museum to the carpeted area with cushions for the kiddos. Ana talked about and asked questions about the art on the walls. She read Under the Same Sky to the children and made this an interactive experience also. It was just the right length of time, thirty minutes. This was just right for our 18 month old grandson.

My family and I just went on a whale watching trip today…read more It's always part luck. Thankfully, we got lucky. Spotted a couple Gray Whales from a distance, and after a tip from another boat were able to get closer to two others swimming together and ride along with them for a while. Captain Smitty and Lee were great! Knowledgeable, friendly, informative, and great stewards of the sea, and marine life. We definitely recommend these guys. Go with an open heart, patience, and have fun!

We had the best time with Riptide Charters. The F/V Riptide is a 40' fiberglass hull, equipped with…read morea turbo diesel, and is licensed and inspected by the United States Coast Guard. It was so clean, well until we all made a mess. It is a lovely boat. We felt so safe with the crew. The Riptide is owned by Capt. William Smith. He has been a licensed captain for over 30 years. You will find it located on "H" dock at Pillar Pt. Harbor in El Granada (near Half Moon Bay), California. The Captain was with us and he was able to help the weak ones, like me, without making me feel like I did not belong. The boat leaves super early in the morning so get some sleep the night before. I had to nap after. Go to their website to see what type of fish is in season or you will not be happy. We went for Rockfish and caught a few and were so happy. We grilled it all up and it was great and we were able to serve a lot of people. I was hoping to see a whale, but sadly, did not. I think they are pretty rare to see in that area. They have clean bathrooms. We will be back, this time for salmon.

3.5 stars to be fair because the trail was beautiful. Let's get into to…read more My friends and I are from SoCal so we googled bike tours in Santa Cruz for an afternoon activity. Up pops up Santa Cruz Bike Tours- easy enough right? The website was pretty standard, nothing too flashy, professional and candid photos were shown. We called ahead to get some basic information about the Redwoods Tour and was greeted by Marty. Marty sent a very formal email confirmation and off we went to the meeting spot. Our meeting spot was Epicenter Cycling however the email indicated the tour wasn't affiliated with the Center. The guy inside the center even said and I quote, "oh yea that guy, he comes around here sometimes". We found Marty our tour guide parked on the street near the plaza, We walked up to his car and to our surprise were decade old bikes and helmets laid out in his truck to choose from. The quality was by far not what we expected but we rolled with the punches. Marty took us on a guided tour through the Redwoods which was beautiful. Offered water and 'snacks' during our ride and volunteered to be our photographer. All in all the tour was an event to remember. Did we get catfished? Yes. Will we have a story to tell and laugh about for a lifetime? Also yes. $65 a person for the tour. Marty accepts Cash or Check only. Parking in the plaza is a bit difficult as it is for customers only but the trail is easy enough to find.

Very nice tour with Marty. The route is very scenic and we were given advice on how to proper…read moremountain bike. Had a lot of fun!

We went whale watching from Santa Cruz earlier this week and Stagnaro's did not disappoint. Booking…read moreonline was straightforward and the directions to the harbor and the slip were easy to follow. The boat was clean and in good repair. The crew (Sydney, Megan and Abby) was professional, personable and knowledgeable. Sydney was an excellent naturalist and Megan was an able captain, ensuring a smooth journey. We saw humpbacks. Lots of humpbacks. We saw other marine life, including a lone sea otter on the way back into the harbor, but the whales outweighed (no pun intended) everything else we saw. It was an awesome experience and I'd definitely go out with Stagnaro's again.

Our experience more than exceeded our expectations and we will only use Stagner's for future trips,…read moreon the water theywere much more respectful of the wildlife then other charters and we had incredible looks - views of whales, orcas and more! It was beyond fun and special, the marine biologist who was the host ensured a safe and wonderful time, Thank you!

We recently completed a large-scale backyard renovation with Stones Landscaping, and are quite…read morepleased with the results. This involved pouring over 1,500 sq. ft. of concrete, a large retaining wall, a patio deck, a new lawn, and a playground area. Here were some of the highlights of my experience: - Design Guidance: I relied heavily on Baltazar's experience and keen sense of design. His elegant hardscaping solution for the pool transition zones exceeded my expectations and tied the yard together perfectly. - The grading and drainage were very well done. Despite heavy rains, there was zero pooling; the rain gutters were routed directly into pipes beneath the concrete for a clean, streamlined look. - Smart Home Integration: All landscape lighting and irrigation were hooked up to smart-home enabled controllers for total automation and convenience. - The office staff was very responsive, addressing any concerns or follow-up questions usually within a single business day. Props to Gladys and Dahlia! Highly recommended!

We had Stones Landscaping overhaul our backyard after gophers and squirrels invaded and destroyed…read moreour lawn and irrigation system. It was over 3500 sq ft of lawn and irrigation, as well as concrete fixes around other parts of our property and pool tile repair. I chose them because they had the best strategy to combat the problem, even though they weren't the cheapest quote we received. I wanted the fix to last long term, not just hold me over for a year or two before another gopher invasion destroys our yard. Everything was extremely professional and delivered to contract specifications. We were extremely happy with the results. They had to move a portion of our fence to get the big equipment in but you wouldn't even know it had been moved because they were total pros putting things back. When we asked for additional scope of work (a French drain), they were quick to get back to me with a quote and incorporating the additional work didn't push out the timeline. All in all, highly recommend and we'll definitely use them again for our landscaping needs.