Santa Cruz; known for its natural beauty, educational institutes and alternative community lifestyles. It's also home to 11 world class surf-breaks, O'Neil wetsuits, and VW hippie vans. We instantly felt at home and fell in love with the chilled out vibe of this surfy town.
　
When we left you we were stumbling out of Applebee's in Rohnert Park after celebrating the purchase of our new truck. The next day, we awoke in a drunken haze trying to recall who had settled the bill from the night before, and hoping that at least one of us did?!? Our mission for the day was to get back to Petaluma and give the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) a visit. This was our last task on the list and we were hoping it would go smoothly.
　
The DMV building is scary in itself, large and chaotic with very serious looking counter clerks. We took a number and sat patiently awaiting our fate. 40 minutes and US$400 later, we were out of there, official new owners of the truck! Not as scary as we thought!
　
Cruz'n in Santa Cruz

The decision was made to head down to Santa Cruz, home of Steamers Lane and our former flatmate, Alison. We figured, that after dishing out so much cash in the last few days and losing a few hairs over the truck buying process, it would be nice to hang out in a chilled out beach location. Ollie was hoping to unwind with a few good surf sessions and we were looking forward to meeting Ally's father Al, who had kindly agreed to let us use his post-box to receive our truck paperwork.

We drove the coastal road from San Francisco and stopped to see Mavericks, the famous NoCal big wave surf break. Unfortunately the sea was calm and as flat as a lake, which made it hard to imagine what it could be like when the monster waves its famous for, rolled in. Waves so big and dangerous, they have ended lives.

Our first night in Santa Cruz was spent in the HI hostel. This is a gorgeous place but it has an 11pm curfew. As we were both feeling pretty knackered from our celebrations the night before, plus the long drive that day, teamed with our ongoing jet-lag, we didn't believe the curfew will affect us.
　
That evening we took a evening stroll down Pacific Avenue (main street) and did a little people watching. There are a lot of weird and wonderful characters in this place that's for sure; you would never get bored of sitting in one of the many bars or cafes to watch the world go by. The main street was a hive of activity, from the dread locked hippies banging their bongos to the laid back surfer dudes having a few post surf beers.
　
Santa Cruz has a real charm, it's like you've stepped back in time. Nobody is in a hurry here and all walks of life live in harmony together. The town has a rebellious feel… a reluctance to conform to the norm and the expected. It's not over commercialised and littered with high-rise beach clubs and hotels like many coastal towns these days. This is what makes it so unique and special, a real gem on the California coastline.
　
The Search Continues

Our main mission while in Santa Cruz was to try to locate a camper for our truck. Motel living was definitely taking its toll on the travel funds and we were itching to start some real camping. After more Craigslist surfing we managed to locate one in Felton, a small town which was a few scenic miles from Santa Cruz. The camper itself had a nice layout inside and the more important things worked fine, but the exterior was a little rough. The left hand back panel had been ripped off in an accident and there was a bit of water damage at the front that would need to be sealed and fixed. James (the current owner) kindly offered to give us some of his time to help us fix her up. "Should only take a couple of hours" James said optimistically! Seven hours later we finally rolled out of their drive-way! We're quite sure that when he offered his lunch hour to help us out he didn't anticipate that it would end up being such a mission!

We first tackled the outside, inventing a cheap, quick fix method using a few sheets of thin metal to fix the panels ripped off in the accident. It turned out better than expected and should definitely hold out for our long journey ahead. The most hair-raising and time consuming part of the process was trying to get the damn thing loaded onto the back of the truck. Measured up, the camper was an exact fit, but a little too exact as the sloping driveway made the going tough. We had some scary moments when we thought the camper, which was perched high on spindly jacks, would topple over into the neighbouring paddock. When we failed to line it up properly the jigsaw came out and we applied the motto - 'if it doesn't fit, force it!'
　
Finally, we are now fully equipped with our truck and camper! Unfortunately, that didn't mean we were able to get camping! That night we checked into the Super 8 Motel, by the time we had finished up at James' it was late and bloody freezing, so all we could think about was warming up with a hot shower. The next task on the never-ending camper list was to get the wiring and gas lines checked, and most importantly, buy a new battery for the heater.
　
　
Camper Ready

The next day was spent at the RV Service Centre getting all the little odds and ends fixed in the camper. Thankfully the guys there saw no major problems with the electrics and there were no gas leaks. US$300 bucks later and we were ready to camp!
　
Camper Features

-8 Foot Elkhorn camper
-Big 3-way fridge (only gas working)
-Queen-size bed-dining area which converts to extra bed
-Kitchen with 4 hob gas burner - gas heater (a necessity for those cold NoCal evenings)
-Lots of storage space

On our first night of camping we attempted to park up on a quiet street in Santa Cruz. But it's not easy to look inconspicuous in a big F-250 monster truck with a camper on the back. The Santa Cruz authorities have strict rules about parking up and camping in vehicles, they really have to otherwise the place would be over-run with hippies living for free in the car-parks and making the place look untidy.

Needless to say, we didn't have the most rest-full night, we were both paranoid about getting a knock at the door and being told to move on in the early hours. At the crack of dawn the following day, we drove down to the beach parking lot. It is forbidden to park by the sea and in the parking lots between midnight and 5am so there is a convoy of hippy wagons making their way down to the beach in the early hours, hoping to get the best spots by the ocean. They will stay here until the final minute of the final hour and then disappear off to some secret camping location until the next day.

Unfortunately for Shay the beach toilet block did not open till 7am, she had an anxious couple of hours with her legs crossed, praying that the care-taker would not be late for work that day. When she saw the happy sight of the council truck pulling up outside, she made the dash across the parking lot to relief and salvation. She soon discovered that she wasn't the only one waiting for the toilets to open… there was a stampede of women with the same thing on their minds.

After a sleepless night on the streets of Santa Cruz, Shay decided that it was worthwhile paying US$20 to spend the night in a state camping ground. The closest one was few of miles down the road near Capitola, a picturesque beach town. We booked into the New Brighton State Beach camping ground, which was a beautiful spot, set in a leafy park on a cliff above the beach. That night we invited Al over and we had our first BBQ. Al supplied us with some firewood from up his mountain and shared some great stories until about 1am. It was a great night, enjoying the great outdoors and the benefits of our new home.
　
We now had a bit of time to fill in before the truck paperwork would be sent through from the DMV. We needed these papers for the future borders crossings through Central America. The plan from here was to take the coastal route south, through the Big Sur, then take a left, through the desert plains, arriving eventually in Las Vegas!