Where do you go when you need to get away?
“When the weather is nice, I like going to West Cliff—finding one of the benches there above the beach at around sundownish—it’s so beautiful. But when it’s not good weather, I just go to a coffee shop.”
Emilia Arellano, 31, UCSC
“I love coffeehouses, I love yoga studios, and co-ops and beaches. I’ve only been here for three weeks, but I’ve been to Cat & Cloud, 11th Hour, Pleasure Point Yoga, and I’ve been walking to Natural Bridges for a jump in the water—an hour there and an hour back.”
Revaz Ardesher, 45, U.S. history teacher, Scotts Valley High
“I like walk along a river and disconnect a bit from everything. I live in Sacramento, so we’ll go down to the river and watch the water flow and zone out for a bit. Further out is the Effie Yeaw Nature Center. It’s great for sunsets, there’s rolling hills, and you see lots of deer and rattlesnakes and all kinds of wildlife.”
Jose Balderrama, 29, accounting manager
“I go ride my bike along the river. We have some sea lions that have made their way up the bay, all the way to Sacramento, that we’ll see along the waterfront on the docks and jetties.”
Gabriel Teague, 47, senior graphic designer
“The beach or the mountains. I was just living in Jackson, Wyoming, for the summer, so whenever I was, like, ‘Oh my God I just need to go somewhere,’ I would drive to Jenny Lake and hop in the water or something. The water is really warm from the sun, the water is clear, and the lakebed is just a little rocky with a little algae. It’s very doable.”
Monifa Williams, 32, travel physical therapist
“The mountains. I used to live at Mount Shasta, and I loved just walking any of the trails there.”
Martin T, 18, math major at UC Davis
