When even Santa Cruz feels a bit too fast, a drive about 45 minutes north up the Pacific Coast leads to a perfect destination: the cute and quaint Pescadero.
There isn’t much to do around town, and that’s one of the things that makes visiting Pescadero special. Instead of hasting just to get the full experience, Pescadero makes you to slow down, forget what you are looking for, and take some time to soak in the town’s quirks and cuteness.
There are of course things to do like shopping — the town has a few thrift and antique stores. But in a place like this, it makes much more sense to loiter around the one of the town’s four streets to discover the many hidden little gems.
And of course there’s some history there too. The town is small, and it’s been small for quite some time. Like many cities in California, its “history” stems from around the time America took the land from Mexico in the 1840s.
Pescadero’s most notorious establishment is Duarte’s Tavern, the classic Seafood eatery and bar that has had its doors open since 1894 and is perfect for eaves dropping on conversations of local old timers or randoms on their way elsewhere, just passing through.
Those who fall in love with Perscadero’s charm and want to take a bit of it home, are free to pick their own flowers at the Dahlia farm or find something unique at one of the local artisan stores. One of the more notable is a goat farm, which comes equipped with it’s own farm to table restaurant.
As for me and my ever present fellow traveler José, we were lucky enough to be in town for the annual Fun Fair that takes place on the third weekend in August. I scored some free political pins from an old hippie that lost track of his donation jar, and picked out a seashell necklace crafted by a local artist.
But as all good things even the Fun Fair had to come to an end and with it our day out and about in Pescadero.
Still, something tells me we’ll be back again. After all, there were plenty of the little treasures that caught are eye and made our short visit occupy a long lasting spot in our traveling hearts.
Penned by Alina K. A. 