New Year, New Adventures: Enjoying a beautiful day at UCSC with the grandkids
The day after New Years was beautiful—70 degrees, clear skies, and lots of fresh air. Jennie and I had all four grandkids, but despite the weather, they were watching baseball videos, nature programs, or Peppa PigTM.
Time to get out of the house!
We slapped together some PBJs and fish crackers and headed up to UCSC, my alma mater (class of nineteen-seventy-something). Our initial stop was the Alan Chadwick French Intensive Gardens just below Crown College. The gardens encompass three acres of south-facing terraces that were first planted in the mid-sixties. A diverse collection of fruit trees, roses, ornamentals, root crops, row crops, and flowers offer enchantment to people of all ages. Our grandkids had a great time exploring the labyrinth of pathways, the greenhouse with flats of seedlings, and the old redwood classroom that looks like a hippie commune. (No students were present due to winter break.)
After gleaning a few tasty tangerines and soothing a couple of sticker injuries, we piled back in the SUV and drove to the East Field House. Every time I go there, I seem to forget how spectacular the place is. The view of the town and bay was like a postcard. The huge expanse of fresh-mown grass was so inviting that the kids took off their shoes and began running in delight. There was a pair of students playing fetch with a dog, a few lacrosse players practicing their skills, a foursome of frisbee golfers trying to make par, and some joggers doing laps around the prettiest track in the country.
Located between the track and the swimming center is a fancy exercise station that looked suspiciously like a play structure. The boys immediately started climbing and swinging on the bars, making perilous jumps and displaying scary feats of balance. The girls, who are the younger two, did some low-level acrobatics, but soon were drawn towards the swimming area where some reggae/rock music was blasting from a pair of pool-side speakers. They started dancing to the beat, displaying some moves I thought were beyond such young tykes!
I mentioned to the boys that maybe they would like to go to school here since both their parents attended twenty years ago. The comment fell on deaf ears, as they were too engrossed in broad jumping and wrestling with each other. The girls continued to dance and then started to scream and race after each other. Jennie and I laughed and encouraged more playful behavior until the kids were completely worn out. It sure beat watching Road RunnerTM cartoons on the computer. (I always felt sorry for the coyote!)
The walk back to the parking lot was nostalgic for me. I treasure a lot of great memories of my time on the campus. The very grass I crossed reminded me of a Moondance concert held one autumn night when Tower of Power played and everyone was dancing and feeling the rapture of a moment that divined wonderful things to come. The rising orange globe behind the stage was epic. I can’t say I’ve totally captured the essence of that time, but my experience at UCSC has guided me to seek truth amid the complexities and challenges that we all face in life. College is supposed to do that.
When we left, we drove down through the Great Meadow, a sweeping, iconic pasture that separates the lower campus from the redwood-studded main campus, where a massive housing project is now being built. It came as quite a shock since I always assumed the meadow would remain pristine. They did have a few cows grazing in a fenced-off section, I guess to soften the construction impact. Such is the price for a university system that is forever expanding. It’s just too bad it’s happening in Santa Cruz.
But I digress. We had a fun time on the big campus. And maybe a grandkid or two will attend there.
It would be a good excuse to visit.
My historical fiction, Five Hundred Moons, is currently featured in an Amazon ad.
Peppa Pig is a registered trademark of Astley Baker Davies Limited.
Road Runner is a registered trademark of Looney Tunes/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Photos of future UCSC alumni by Jennie and Buzz Anderson. Copyright © 2025. All rights reserved.
Photos of the Great Meadow, UCSC campus are the properties of their respective owners.
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