Anyone from the Sacramento area?

Brrrrr cold epski! :D

It was such a nice day today and I was in need of some supplies for my hydroponic garden and so I took the day off and drove to San Fran. I didn't like it that much this time, because the traffic freaked me out (I'm not used to this anymore...) and because the shop was closed.

Then I thought I'd drive to the next closest hydro shop in the area, which is in Santa Cruz. The name Santa Cruz had always a special ring to me because when I learned UNIX back in the days, I read a lot about SCO UNIX - SCO stands for Santa Cruz Operation. I always asked myself what kind of a place SC might be where people wrote such brilliant stuff in the 70s. I mean you can't find many people in Europe who can do it TODAY.

So (the sun was still at full throttle) - I drove down there. Oh.... my..... dog.... Santa Cruz is soooo beautiful! Simply gorgeous, awesome. It's also a very friendly place - a ton of nice people, very "individualistic".

But the place is still very earthy and original, not like, for instance, the "hippieness" of Palo Alto, which is maybe a bit too rich meanwhile for conveying that kind of vibe proper.

I also went to a random shop - it was not advertised as a health food store, just a shop. They had a larger bulk section than Whole Foods, they had miso bulk by the pound!!! They had 5lbs slabs of tofu. The non-dairy section was huge, the cheese section tiny. I didn't see meat in there (but I didn't looked for it either, though!). Organic produce everywhere. Fresh juices and salads galore.

California is a GREAT place and I'm so happy to be here. :wayne: :)

I have a friend that live in Santa Cruz. I have not been down there in awhile, perhaps a nice visit would be cool. :)

When I do go there, you have to tell me where that place is Oat.

Yeah, Santa Cruz has been crunchy for decades. Back when I was looking at the UC schools for college, that actually turned me off! So, even though I got it in, I ended up going to UCLA. I'm still glad I did, but I'm sure I wouldn't find Santa Cruz so weird anymore. ;)

Hello! I'm in Northern Orange County. I'm kind of sick of the smog and traffic and such....and people in a hurry...and the serious lack of nature. But other than that...I love it. There are some semi-untouched places up here that I hope to be moving to soon.

and oh yes! The Wheel of Life is my favorite restaurant....*drool*.

Whooo hooo. The weather is finally turning nice in sunny california!

Good grief it was hot and smoggy today. Ew.

There's another vegan place down the street from Ben's in SJ. It's called Good Karma and is also all vegan. It's on Santa Clara Street between 7th and 8th. It's good food too though Ben's is better in my opinion. it is open on Sundays though which is good because Ben's isn't since that is his day to rest and meditate.

I've been letting my students work outside since it's been so nice out, but today it was kinda smoggy and there was no breeze. Blech. They still preferred the grass to the classroom, though. Can't say I blame them.

Hi Muzicfan! :) I'm nowhere near Sacramento, but I pass through there frequently. There's a great hostel near the center of town that's nicer than most hotels and costs something like $7 a night. Neat place.

Mskedi

i plan to relocate to Santa Cruz after i go to gainesville florida to attend midwifery school. i already have a friend in Santa Cruz, she loves it and knows all the vegan friendly places.

oneness that's great!!! :up:

Santa Cruz University.... Hm... :)

Whenever I hear that somebody got a degree at UC Santa Cruz, I want to ask: in what? surfing or joint rolling?? :D

I know what you mean epski. I wanted to study in the biggest metropol possible. Which for me meant Vienna. Now I couldn't imagine living in a big city anymore, but who knows - maybe my opinion will change again...

I'm still enjoying being in a big city, and I probably have a few more years left living in one (though I'd like to get out of L.A.) before moving to a more Aspen-like area. :D

Depending if i have a job next year I may move to Sacto. They're building schools like carzy up there in Elk grove

hi everyone. i just moved to san bernardino county/alta loma, but i work in walnut and go to school in fullerton. i'm still pretty new to the socal thing, moved out here because that's where my honey was... it's still an adjustment.

i like the mix of people, availability of better groceries, linguistic diversity (ling major, i'm in the perfect place for fieldwork!)...

i don't like the pollution, the freeways, the amount of people, and the cost of living.

i'm thinking about doing my PhD up in berkeley (if they'll have me, heh) if i stay in california. think it might be more my speed. the thought of living right in LA or driving into irvine doesn't appeal to me at all.

Hey Matchgirl. My parents live in Riverside and I grew up out there. :) I used to hate it out there, but now that I am moving to the irvineish, LA area (I'm in Santa Barbara at the moment) in a month, I am starting to appreciate that area a little bit more. Housing is alot cheaper up there and there are less people. You can also get alot more land out there. Driving in LA freaks me out. It seems like even the lanes are smaller there. AHHHH!!!! What am I going to do?

Berkeley is very expensive too. But it is beautiful. :)

I am freaked out to be moving back down south. My lungs have enjoyed the five years of clean air. Sigh. Back to the place where you can't even see that there are mountains nearby.

Originally posted by CaptainSwab
Whooo hooo. The weather is finally turning nice in sunny california!

Aye Captain! :D

I agree, Berkeley is beautiful!

man you people make me sooooooo jealous...

yeah, I pretty much can't breathe in Riverside. at least in Alta Loma I'm above much of it... it's so gross when I drive down the hill to get onto the freeway and can actually see the smog sealing off the valley. yuck.

good luck in Irvine/LA. I'm a bit upset at the moment with areas further south - my friend/boss lives in Anaheim Hills and we were going over to visit her when my car got totally smushed in between two others on the westbound 91 (traffic was so thick that we were stopped, and some jerk comes onto the freeway so quickly that he rams me, then pushes me into the guy ahead of me). so for the last two weeks of the semester, I have no car, and go to school 45 mins from where I live...

definately moving either to Berkeley or another state in several years. my boyfriend needs to finish his BSEE at Cal Poly, and I need to finish my MA in Fullerton, but after that we're looking for him to get a job and me to start a doc program elsewhere. :)

>>>>
Back to the place where you can't even see that there are mountains nearby.
>>>>

yeah, when I'll never forget when I moved out here... it was two years ago and we were in Pasadena, trying to find the place to return the rental truck. my dad's on the cell phone with the guy, telling him to look north - and my dad's saying, I can't tell which way's north. the guy tells him that the mountains are north - and we honestly couldn't see the mountains :(

incidentally, it's 97 degrees here...

d'oh. but i forgot to mention that today they had tofu on sale for 89 cents a pound, silk soymilks were all on sale, yves good dogs, and tons of other yummy vegan stuff. at the regular grocery store. and mangoes are 4 for a dollar!! :D

compare this to florida and virginia (where i lived before), where you could barely find these items, let alone find them on sale at the mainstream store a couple blocks from your neighborhood...

Hellooooo all! I'm a Santa Barbaran here!!! :D Love having the ocean and the mountains at my feet! If ya'll ever come to SB, you must try The Sorjourner restaurant its yummers!!!

I've been wanting to do a Santa Barbara weekend for years now. One of these days... when I have money...

oo. i know what i'd like to ask. can anyone recommend some fairly inexpensive, nice veg places to eat in either pasadena or claremont? thanks ;)

Hey Mandabelle. I live there too. :) Been here for Five years and love it. Are you a Santa Barbara native?

Yes I am born and raised here! :D