We were looking for something different to do on our weekend get away. We've been to Monterey…read morebefore but this tour was fun and made us fell like it was our first time there. I do recomend a sweatshirt, and I have small hands so after about 20 min we had to trade drivers but don't let that stop you, this was a blast.

I used the airport shuttle service to and from the San Jose airport. Steven knows the ins and outs…read moreof getting to the airport on time from Santa Cruz, and he's great company on top of it. His knowledge and passion for the local sites and culture is clear, and make him a great tour guide. His car is outfitted with multiple chargers, generous legroom, and ample trunk room (for those of us that don't travel light) helping to round out the 5 star rating. I absolutely plan to be a repeat customer!

This is a review of Pinto Lake City Park…read more You may not believe it, but I drove all the way from Costanoa to Downtown (?) Watsonville just to get a breakfast burrito. By the time I got to the market taqueria in question (review upcoming), it was too late for breakfast burritos, so I ordered a regular burrito and then looked for a green spot on the map to eat my (non-breakfast) burrito in peace. That green spot was Pinto Lake City Park, which isn't as green as you believe it will be but which is greener than its surroundings. The park comprises a whopping seventy-eight acres, although seventy of those acres are the southern half of Pinto Lake. The remaining eight acres are mainly the greenish park-looking areas south of the lake and these funny thin strips of land along it southwestern and -eastern shores. There's a different park farther north called Pinto Lake County Park; I didn't drive that far, but if you're having any kind of gathering, make sure everyone knows which of the two Pinto Lake Parks you're actually visiting. Strangely, Pinto Lake City Park is within the city limits of Watsonville even though it's far from Watsonville. How's that again? Well, the park is an exclave of the City of Watsonville. That is, it's a part of the city that's separated from the rest of the city by a few miles of what I assume is unincorporated Santa Cruz County. If you still don't know what I'm talking about, type "Watsonville, CA" into Google Maps. You'll see that Watsonville has three exclaves: one to the south, one to the west, and this one to the north. OK, enough map-nerding. It was already quite hot by the time I got here, and the lack of trees, especially near the lake-view picnic benches, borders on the criminal. What kind of landscape architecture is that, City of Watsonville? It's not the most beautiful lake, so you wouldn't be blocking anyone's views with more trees lakeside. The main part of the park does have quite a few trees, and it looks like a nice city park that gets lots of use. I didn't use the restroom while I was here, but the buildings are in decent shape, and I saw lots of women using the ladies' room, and that's generally a good sign in terms of restroom cleanliness. The parking lot is huge. Besides the lake itself, there's a basketball court, a baseball diamond, plenty of green open space, and a children's playground, I believe. I was surprised by the number of people shore-fishing in the afternoon, although it was a Sunday, so maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. I probably would have enjoyed myself and my burrito more if I had eaten it at one of the tables closer to the park entrance, rather than near the water. Oh well. I guess if I ever wake up early enough to make it to Downtown Watsonville in time, I'll bring that breakfast burrito and eat it on the other side of the park, where it's greener and there's more shade.

The man at gate house was wonderful and very helpful we were treated terribly at Alpine and was…read morehesitant to go there but Pinto lake was very welcoming Thank You

We had such an amazing time at the first annual Crab Boil at Cottage Creek! The winery is a…read morebeautiful venue during the day, but being there before sunset was just magical. The family style table with traditional butcher paper was casual and elegant at the same time, somehow. We made new friends with the couples around us, too. The crab boil was delicious, a twist on traditional southern style with yummy artichoke along with endless crab legs, sausage, corn and potatoes. The salad grazing table was artistic and chock full of locally sourced vegetables and fruits. California Inspirations always sources has the highest quality fresh ingredients, and it showed. The Shawn Yannis duo played such a broad ranges of genres, the perfect background to a casual and friendly vibe. They were a vibe. And can't forget the amazing wine! Our choice of a glass of wine was included, and we got another bottle between the 3 of us for dinner. And making friends meant we were invited to "help" them with the bottle of wine they didn't want to finish! Can't wait until next year!

We attended the crab feed and had a great time listening to the band--they were really good and…read morewere definitely the highlight of the evening. The food was okay, but the crabs were quite small and the servings seemed limited. The ticket included only one small glass of wine, and any additional drinks had to be purchased separately. At $150 per person, I didn't feel the event provided good value for what was offered. While the entertainment was enjoyable, I personally would not attend again at that price point.

Thank you @seaspiritsantacruz for another amazing day out at sea! It was amazing to see these…read morebeautiful whales in their natural habitat. We also observed seals, sea lions, jellyfish, sunfish, birds, and more. I highly recommend @seaspiritsantacruz for your sea adventures. Our female captain and female deckhand host were gracious, informative, and wonderful. They provide blankets if needed. Bring cash to purchase the snacks, soda, beer, or wine on board and of course to tip the staff. . . . . . . . . #seaspiritsantacruz #santacruz #thingstodoinsantacruz #awesomeadventure #whalewatching #sealife #funtimes #femalecaptain #femaledeckhand

Update: got a phone call from the owner Raina...I should say 2 and the last one she stated she will…read morecontinue to call me until she gets a person... when I did call back and instead of hello there it was a well... not so politely.. her response is below... which honestly I agreed to change my star but no compensation nor a really good apology... it was more I want to destroy a small company and their family etc hmmmm why would I want to destroy a small company if I own one myself... 1st... never did I dish the Captain or the assistance Darcy so your response is so bogus. 2nd commonsense, I never expected your team to pull a shark out of a hat... so ridiculous to even say that and that was not my purpose of the 1 Star like I explained to you... it was you advertise to go to a certain place and that I called and ask and stated which time frame I should go because I wanted to visit the Shark Park of course if the weather permits it.. not that I expected your crew to make Make miracles. 3rd why would I call the company if it was the first place I called to ask for their advise she told me to take the mid-morning and later I find out it was the owner (Raina) whom I spoke with. Now she is saying it's the mid day but what's funny on there website for mid-day states "IF the sun permits we will go to the shark park"... I'm posting a pic of their mid-day only to show what is now being recommended after the fact I took the tour.. Word of advice Raina as a owner of a small business myself.. you don't fight with a costumer and blame the costumer like you were doing it with me... you make it right... I get some negative remarks but I don't count the mins they talk.. I listen and wait until their done... I use their feed back to improve or make changes and be apologetic. I even ask my clients for their opinion how can i improve myself and my company. Trust me it changes the whole conversation and at the end we are both happy and they call me again for my business and without me asking they change my rating.. it's what you call communication and not act unprofessional. THE ONE STAR REMARK DID NOT GO TO THE CREW.. I WILL GIVE THEM 100 STARS...THE ONE STAR WENT DIRECTLY TO THE PERSON WHO HELPED ME OVER THE PHONE... WHO GAVE ME FALSE INFORMATION AND FALSE ADVERTISEMENT WHICH LATER YOU YOURSELF TOLD ME IT WAS YOU... that's were my 1 Star goes to... *****Really bummed with this company... Sea Spirt ocean Safari is the name of the company... they are a new company the crew was nice but false advertisement.. I just took a 3 tour with them.. let me just say if you just want to go see Whales, Seals, Sea Otters and stand still for about 20 mins and let them slowly explain about the otters and to see some brown sea weed looking thing just to kill time then this is the company to go too. If i personally wanted to go see this... then I would have gone to the regular Company I normally will go to... or selected a company closer to my area... like Im San Francisco pier 39.. they offer all this... The reason why I selected this company was because it advertised the Great White Shark... and i was told by one of their employees...if i would take the morning trip you get to go to the Shark Park and see Great White sharks... if you selected the 1pm then it was a 50/50 chance of going...well I got played... I drove two hours just so I can see some Great White Sharks and that never happened... when asked if we were going....the assistance said no because we spend to much time seeing whales... like wth really...so why advertise it... So the rest of ride I was hella bummed because I was so excited to go to the shark park.. What an "Ocean Safari" tour it was.... Don't get me wrong I love whale watching, sea Otters etc but when a company advertise something and doesn't complete it well its false advertisement on their website to the people answering the phones... I know I'm not the only one.. there was also a group of 6 that showed up and they were bummed too.. who knows how many more people where bummed... the funny part of it all is that they decided to take us out again to see a whale one last time lol but we have no time to see a shark... I would have understood if it was a weather issue but it wasn't I gave 1* not because of the crew but because I had to otherwise I couldn't post..

"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!!

Private charter for 6…read more Highly recommend fishing with Greg! 6 of us in a group booked a charter for rockfish in November. Greg was very easy to work with during the booking process. I communicated with him via text, and he was very responsive. The boat, Sea Marie, is a bit smaller than some of the other boats I've been on, but there's ample space for 6, including some seating in the cabin area. It was a very clean and comfortable boat to be on. Greg certainly knows the right spots for rockfish. And despite a stronger than usual tide and hefty winds, Greg kept diligently repositioning the boat to get us on top of the fish. We were restricted by some regs from going farther and so stayed more nearshore. Got limits of blues for all. Importantly, Greg bled each of our fish as they came into the boat. This made for beautiful, white fillets later. 4 of the 6 of us had never gone fishing before. Greg was very patient with the newbies. Baited hooks, untangled lines, gave good advice. During the trip, Greg was also great to converse with. Just a great all around guy to be around. After we got back, Greg cleaned the fish exactly as we wanted. Some wanted fillets, others wanted them whole but gutted. We even wanted the carcasses to make stock, and Greg very graciously cleaned the carcasses to make them easier for cooking later. He divvied things up and bagged them for us. It was evident to us that Greg cared about our experience, and you can't ask for more than that. We hope to see Greg next year and head out when the weather is a bit warmer to go deeper for some reds.

Captain was great had a wonderful experience today. Family and I are planning in future to do this…read moreagain. What an EPIC trip.

We did the Farm Tour today, it was so fun!!! Our host Julia and driver Marty were great!! We…read morevisited the Nest Box Farm, LJB Farms, and Berry Island u pick berries. Highly recommend!! Support the trolley and your local farmers. ‍

4 words - Book this experience now!!…read more I have not had such a great time in a long time. I won a ticket to this wine trolley last summer and there was a bit of a hiccup getting the ticket but it was resolved. A friend and I booked the Bottles and Beasties event on February 15th. Booking etc. was smooth and we arrived close to 12 at Noah's Bar and Grille in downtown Morgan Hill. The tour and tastings were supposed to start at 12pm. We were met with glasses of Rose and bruschetta. The bartender kept coming by to refill glasses and must have come by atleast 4 times, all before the tour started. Linda, our excellent trolley driver, handed out wrist bands and Deborah checked us in. Linda then went off and brought the trolley around to the side and as we were boarding she handed out heart shaped sunglasses. The trolley can easily fit around 30 people and it was packed. There were snacks in the trolley, popcorn, pretzels etc. and Christina, one of the owners handed out water in very nice, refillable water bottles. And, we were off. The mood was lively with loud music playing and the team ensuring that everyone was having a great time. Lots of dancing and singing. We went to the first place - Mohi vineyards, were we were met with sparking wine and charcuterie. One of the pourers took people, who wanted to go, on a tour of the place and the other poured the second round, a Pinot Nior. The third pour was a cab but I am not a big red drink so asked to go back to the bubbly. They willingly changed glasses and even came around a third time for another splash. From there, we were driven to Emma Lily, a quaint little place with mostly outdoor seating and we picked up our first pour and lined up for the hot lunch. This is the first time that a hot lunch was provided and it was filling. Emma Lily only poured reds and I didn't really enjoy them but I don't like reds. The last and final stop was at Kerrigan Cellars where we were again met with a bubbly, they also had a Savignon Blanc and a couple of reds and ice cream with a splash of wine. The whole experience took about 5 hours and the time flew by! I would highly recommend this wine trolley.

Stayed a few nights in Cabin 9 and never had an unpleasant moment. Location is great, the cabins…read moreare quaint and comfortable, and the grounds are well-kept. Check-in was easy, the resort is quiet and restful. Practically in the state park, easy walk down to the river. A little slice of heaven, we'll definitely return. Every cabin gets a private patio with Adirondack chairs WiFi was spotty, bring a book T.V. Was limited, bring a puzzle or games Kitchen has fridge, microwave and stove/oven. Drip coffee maker, toaster. Plates, bowls, coffee mugs, glasses, silverware, pots and pans. Salt and pepper. You're not making dinner but you can definitely reheat some leftovers.

We had some minor issues the first night but everything was quickly taken care of. Nice clean…read morecabins. Great location. Hosts were very nice.