I still return to Santa Cruz on occasion, but not nearly as often as I once did. It seems almost amzing to me that this will be the second year in succession that I will not attend the wharf to wharf run there.

I agree the town seems to have somehow lost its heart, something I have to say I never thought could happen…. but ever since the Loma Prieta earthquake, it seems to me the town has not been the same. Prior to that event I would hang out the BookShop Santa Cruz or Pergolesi’s, and maybe later go for a walk down the Pacific Garden Mall, stopping (always) breifly in front of the Cooper House on my way to the Catalyst, Tampico’s or the Poet and Patriot.

Other then the Cooper House, all those places remain to this day. However, pergolesi’s and the bookshop have had to relocate to new homes, and nothing can ever really replace the Cooper House. For that matter, the garden mall just doesn’t have the vibe/feel it once had.

Santa Cruz is still a nice place to visit, and in the summer the weather is unparalled, but it’s no longer the place I dream of returning to. I’m resigned, I think, to the realization that that place no longer exists….