The days get longer and the nights smell green

News from Santa CrUz -

this weekend has be a blessed one guys. Hasn't it? Sorry to say, the weather in Santa Cruz has been absolutely gorgeous, somewhere in the sunny warmth of 65 degrees. Yesterday Daniel, Angi (a new friend I've made) and myself took off into the mountains for a day at Big Basin. It was pretty rockin, and driving through the coastal forests is an intense experience. Daniel explained that since all the trees were cut down 150 years ago, everything we're seeing is brand new and a little unnatural. The undergrowth beneath the redwoods from here to Oregon is really thick and wild, which makes for almost treacherously unpassable woods in our little mountains. Placerville and the desolate Sierras, on the other hand, have walkable woods because the trees have existed so long they've canopied and killed all the underbrush beneath them, so you can get around much easier on foot and in car. ANYhoo, we drove all around there and to the coast, then made it back in Santa Cruz for the night. Then, check THIS out: down the street (about 5 houses away from my own) a major fire broke out on the upper floors of an old house, and truly engulfed the whole thing in flames. It was massive, and filled our neighborhood with a dense cloud of smoke - then 5 or 6 fire engines and countless police vehicles pulled up around our block to tie off things and put out the raging fire. TONS of people were out and about to watch and pity. It gave me a little scare, so we went back and made some dinner.

Today I woke up late and sat shirtless around our sunny house all morning. Then I took my bike and rode away into the beautiful blue streets and beaches of Santa Cruz city and the surroundings. Unbelievable day, today was. The superbowl parties put off a smell of barbecues and summer throughout the entire city, and people were everywhere. There was a beach and all those touristy folks, the harbor and its boats bobbing there, the railroad tracks and bridge down by the Boardwalk, downtown and the busy streets of Sunday afternoon, the west-side houses and in all their yardsale glory, and finally the west cliffs leading all the way back to the Boardwalk (salsa dancing) and eventually home. A grrreat ride, and one of few I've even taken around this place. I am buried in franctivity, so admiring Santa Cruz and the coastline for what it truly is, well sometimes I take it for granted. Don't get me wrong, I love hiking around campus every day and I never let a pretty day go by without expressing my recognition to everyone I encounter - but to just ride out and around the city which you've been living in for the last couple years and to really take in the elements that turn at work every day whiles I'm up living my campus life, it's just easy for my judgments to become somewhat skewed.

So, springtime is a couple months away - but it's also right here, and in our hearts. Let's blossom especially well this year, and make way for one grandoriously freeful summer to follow. Cheers ma familia