After our marathon drive up the Pacific Coast Highway we stopped in Santa Cruz and went to the boardwalk. Props to my brother for the excellent suggestion. It turns out that on Monday and Tuesday nights all the rides are ¢75. I enjoy the odd roller coaster ride and there's a pretty neat one at the boardwalk called the Giant Dipper. It opened in 1924 and is still very popular. Jake's not a fan of roller coasters but I honestly didn't think this one was going to be a big deal. I mean it was built almost 90 years ago, how scary could it be? Half the fear would be in whether the structure would hold together, not the ride itself. Jake was persuaded and though the line was sizable, it moved quickly.
Okay, first of all, the Giant Dipper was awesome. Second of all, it was hardly tame. Maybe it was my surprise but the ride was plenty exciting. The track goes up a ways and their are multiple drops (or dips), all good enough to lift you out of your seat. I could have ridden it again and again but we had other things to see.
The second best ride at the boardwalk is the carousel, built in 1911. I finally understood what going around in circles on a wooden horse is all about. After a few moments we saw people throwing something at the mouth of a big clown on one of the walls near the carousel. As it turns out, if you sit on the outside, you can grab metal rings from a dispenser that reaches over to the carousel. You have to time it right and then almost immediately throw it at the clown. If you get it in, it lights up. A mother in front of me, balancing her child on her lap, out did us all.
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