Family-owned Freeline Surf Shop, which includes surf-related goods for sale and for rent, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019.
As a California State Parks Interpreter, a redwood forest serves as Rhiannon Sims’ office. She manages interpretive projects, such as special event planning and wayside panel design, and media outreach
By Garrick Ramirez
When it comes to iconic cars, all roads lead to Santa Cruz County. Cruise around town, and you’ll spot a variety of restored classics that will delight car buffs, gearheads, and Instagram husbands. Plus, beyond providing a fetching backdrop for social media pics, these timeless vehicles often offer a peek into the region’s cultural history. From surfboard-adorned Woodies to a delivery truck topped with a giant apple juice jug, here are seven spots to get revved up with classic autos.
A bubbly brunette with a background in fashion, Jaclyn Bridges of Queen of Succulents (@queenofsucculents) hated dirt when she received her very first succulent from a friend’s mom. “I wasn’t
Meet Taylor Reinhold, a talented, enterprising muralist and graphic artist who has galvanized a community of artists from all over the world via numerous street art-based ventures. He’s also the son of Ann Morhauser who founded the renowned glass studio, Annieglass. He jokes that he grew up watching glass break his whole life, but was also steeped in the skate and surf culture of Santa Cruz. In his twenties, he began selling graphic tees at local music festivals, which led to a screenprinting business and an artists collective dubbed the Made Fresh Crew. Reinhold recently moved his screenprinting shop, Natural Motion, into a 6,000-square-foot facility, which includes an airy gallery and retail space displaying street art-inspired works and apparel. We recently caught up with Reinhold to chat street art’s recent resurgence, community involvement, and the upcoming Open Studios event.
Meet Alyssa Twelker, one of a growing number of young individuals energizing the Santa Cruz wine scene. An early food and drink enthusiast, the Sunnyvale native went to work as private chef straight out of high school and celebrated her 21st birthday with a sommelier certification. Weeks later, she was in Santa Cruz working at Soif where she eventually became wine director. After tasting-and surfing-her way through Europe, she’s back in town behind the bar at the gorgeous new tasting room for Birichino. We recently sat down with Alyssa to chat wine and get answers to burning questions such as “Do we really need to sniff the cork?” and “What Star Wars character would make the best somm?”
Karuna Gutowski starts her workday at 4:40pm with a 10-minute meditation. Her calm demeanor and smiling eyes put you immediately at ease and prove the effectiveness of her daily practice. Gutowski has been a massage practitioner at Well Within for eight years and when you visit the Japanese-inspired spa, it’s no mystery why someone would trade their desk job to work here.
Having sailed the far reaches of the globe, John Ribera chooses to hang his captain’s hat in Santa Cruz. As Head Captain for Chardonnay Sailing Charters, Ribera navigates the sea life-filled waters of Monterey Bay, offering guests a firsthand experience of our wondrous marine sanctuary. It’s little wonder the affable Ribera, a successful realtor by day, refers to the Chardonnay as his fun job. We asked him about his twenty years helming the company’s two, iconic 70′ racing yachts, and what makes the Monterey Bay such a special place to sail.
Nearly every aspect of Santa Cruz life-from the art that adorns local galleries to the vibrant dishes served up by local eateries-has been inspired by the region’s coastal splendor, classic surf culture, and verdant organic farms. Now we’re adding cocktails to the list. We asked three local cocktail pros to create a Santa Cruz cocktail, a drink that captures the region’s essence in a glass. While wine has terroir, bartenders have more poetic license, pulling from an assortment of spirits, juices, and aromatics. Below, we’ve shared their creations, plus each drink’s inspiration and recipe so that you can enjoy them at home!
From her sunny back deck or her cozy bedroom decorated with original prints and watercolors, Lili Arnold (@liliarnoldstudios) can make up to 50 block prints in one day. Cacti are her primary subject but she also has a series of marine-inspired prints, petroglyphs, celestial prints, and has plans to do a wildflower series in the future.
One glance at Jared Leake’s surf-filled artwork and it’s clear the former East Coaster was lured west by endless summers and the California dream. “The warm climate, outdoor culture, and epic Pacific Ocean are what drew me out,” he says of his decision to move to California in 2011. Today, the Santa Cruz transplant makes the most of his adopted home through surfing, trekking local trails, and creating contemporary artwork that captures the good vibes and striking scenery of the local landscape in a new way. We asked him to share a little about his process, where he goes to get inspired, and where he finds the perfect pint of local brew.
Earlier this year, Santa Cruz lost a beloved local legend. Jack O’Neill, the surf pioneer credited with developing the wetsuit and changing surfing forever, passed away on June 2, 2017 at age 94 in his home in Santa Cruz. With a full scraggly beard and pirate-like black eye patch-the result of a surfing injury-the rakish O’Neill was a local icon, often seen cruising around town in his Jaguar and bellowing out surfing tips to those surfing outside his cliffside house in Pleasure Point.