Annieglass is bringing love by the glass to their Watsonville warehouse! Following a successful “Summer of Love” wine tasting series that offered up local tastings and studio tours from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Annieglass has extended their tasting/studio tours to all weekends. Visitors can tour the studio on Riverside and Harvest Drive at 11:30 and 2:00 p.m., and wine tasting is also available from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Previous wineries showcased were Windy Oaks and Hunter Hill Vineyards, ushering in other great local wines available for taste and purchase. Reservations and Walk-Ins Welcome.
An 84-unit Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott has opened at 1255 41st Avenue in Capitola in July 2011. The open and bright lobby welcomes guests with a vibrant color palette of greens, blues and oranges and a stunning jellyfish chandelier by Johnson Art Studio. All rooms are suites with distinct living and sleeping areas. Each includes a microwave, mini-fridge, coffeemaker, free Internet connectivity, cordless VoIP phones and a vast HD channel lineup. The bright, spacious living room provides a well-lit work area, an ergonomic chair and an entertainment center with a second television. The hotel also offers upgraded suites with whirlpools, fireplaces and showers with dual heads. A complimentary continental breakfast is available each morning that can be enjoyed either indoors or next to a fireplace on the rooftop patio. Other hotel amenities include a heated outdoor swimming pool, whirlpool spa, exercise room, bocce court, valet laundry service and business center. The hotel also offers 1,766 square feet of meeting space. The property will be operated as a Marriott franchise, owned by Aspromonte Inns, LLC and managed by Aspromonte Hospitality, with over 50 years of lodging industry experience in Santa Cruz County and beyond.
One of the most historic outdoor venues for interpretation and education has been restored to its original splendor. The campfire center at Big Basin Redwoods State Park was built in 1935 by Franklin Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps and has been serving generations of campers and visitors to the park since then. The campfire center has suffered in recent years, but has finally been restored, thanks to the non-profit, Sempervirens Fund. The non-profit – named for the Latin word for redwoods – has been working to preserve these majestic trees since 1902. The Big Basin project began in 2007, but was just finished due to the restoration only able to take place during dry weather. The new area includes 139 new redwood benches for the over 1 million visitors to the park each year.
In 1952, Santa Cruz resident Jack O’Neill opened his first Surf shop starting his surfing empire from humble beginnings. Soon after, O’Neill experimented with a newly discovered product – neoprene – pieced together to keep himself warm in the cold waters of Northern California. “I just wanted to surf longer” Jack O’Neill said, launching the birth of the modern wetsuit. O’Neill’s company grew exponentially, going international in the 1980’s and continuing to transform the surf realm worldwide. Boasting global watersports teams, sponsorship for major competitions, wetsuit innovations and outerwear, O’Neill has transformed the surfing landscape worldwide.
Two new culinary stores have opened in Downtown Santa Cruz. These side by side stores both have the all-natural/organic theme in common, but have different and exciting options to offer the downtown dynamic. The True Olive Connection offers unique gourmet, fresh organic olive oil and basalmic tastings and offerings, brought to Santa Cruz from around the world. Nut Kreations opened in Summer 2011 by a local Santa Cruz couple looking to offer healthy all-natural treats and gifts. Striving to provide creations from local ingredients, Nut Kreations offers a custom nut bar with more than 120 varieties of nuts and dried fruits, along with packaged gifts and nut products.
