Flowers, fresh food and respite await at Cambria Pines Lodge

Because your front yard gardens bloom so graciously all year round, I am going to let you in on a secret staycation that may as well have been designed just for you, Santa Cruzans.

About an hour south of Big Sur (where I strongly suggest camping for a night or two on the way down), a short walk from Downtown Cambria, Calif., and a stones' throw away from one of the most serene beaches on the planet (Moonstone Beach), resides the Cambria Pines Lodge and its exquisite collection of gardens.

The lodge’s 152 rooms offer a variety of accommodations, from Disney-esque stand-alone cottages, like the one I enjoyed, to 19-room hotel-style clusters.

“It’s so quiet here that even when the property is fully booked you can feel almost like you’re alone,” says Becky Evans, the director of sales and marketing who has worked at Cambria Pines for 22 years.

SLUG REPORT > UCSC receives funding for organic farming and ocean health programs 

Deep in the east field of the UC Santa Cruz campus, tucked beneath a sequoia grove, are nine tent cabins. Within these cabins reside 36 apprentices, who daily get their hands dirty in research and development of organic, sustainable food systems through the six-month Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems’ (CASFS) “Grow a Farmer” apprenticeship program.

London’s own folk-rock dynamo Mumford & Sons enchants Monterey 

Huddled underneath a canopy of hanging light bulbs Saturday night, thousands of loyal followers stood in silence as the main stage at the Monterey County Fairgrounds went as dark as the sky. Then, after what felt like hours of excruciating anticipation (which was, in reality, only a couple of seconds), Mumford & Sons exploded on to the platform.

Upcoming screening features a documentary that says the future is ours to fix

After several years of trudging through economic hardship, it can be overwhelming to think about the future. But what if all people need is a boost of inspiration to think outside the box in order to create jobs and build economic prosperity? That’s the message in the PBS documentary Fixing the Future, which Transition Santa Cruz and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) will be hosting a free screening of on Tuesday, Aug. 28.

The film itself features host David Brancaccio visiting people and organizations across America who are determined to reinvent the American economy. The film highlights effective, creative community practices such as local business alliances, community banking, time banking/hour exchange, worker cooperatives and local currencies.

NAVIGATING YOGA > Vrkasana, a.k.a Tree Pose

This week’s yoga pose, Tree Pose, is one of my favorites to teach—it is always a great way to introduce balancing exercises, as it focuses on engaging your body from the ground up.

To begin, root down through your feet. While standing with your feet apart, press your weight into your heels and relax your toes. Engage your left leg by flexing those muscles, not so tight that you lock your knee, but enough to feel those muscles work. Begin to stand on that leg by lifting your right heel to your left ankle. Balance at that point. Focus your gaze on a particular spot in front of you that is not moving. Engage your core by bringing your belly button to your spine, and drop your tailbone underneath you so that you are balancing from your center rather than from your lower back. When you’re feeling balanced, you can start to inch that heel up a little higher up your left leg. If you’re feeling really balanced, reach down with your right hand to grab a hold of your right ankle, draw the foot up to place the sole of your foot against your inner thigh. Engage your hips by squeezing your inner thighs together and bring your right knee inward slightly so that you’re not hyper extending your hips or your low back.

Capitola Soroptimists fundraise with their seventh annual 'Bras for a Cause' event

Bras are best known for being a literal support system. But one local group has found another way in which bras can help support women, and it involves everything from glass beads to feathers and sequins.

On Sunday, Aug. 19, the Capitola chapter of Soroptimist International hosted the seventh annual “Bras For a Cause” gala and auction at the Seascape Golf Club in Aptos. The event attracted nearly 100 participants who bid on 49 donated, bedazzled bras—16 more than were donated last year, according to co-chair Mary Kashmar.

Storytellers, poets and musicians perform in the Santa Cruz Mountains

Storytelling is much more than a method for putting children to sleep at night. A group of Santa Cruzan storytellers want to remind people that storytelling invites us to sit back with open ears, minds and hearts, and simply listen, letting the voices of others enthrall our imaginations and take us on a journey within our own minds.

“There are treasures hidden inside [stories], such as how to live a meaningful life,” says Sirena Andrea.

Andrea, a local storyteller and dancer, is most recently known for her presentation of the classic Russian fairytale “The Firebird” at the Santa Cruz Fringe Festival in July. She will be one of the headlining storytellers at the upcoming Santa Cruz Storytelling Festival on Saturday, Aug. 18, where she will be performing Martin Prechtel’s story “Disobedience of the Daughter of the Sun: A Mayan Tale of Ecstasy, Time, and Finding One's True Form.”

Try Little Basin Campground for a local camping getaway

Local state parks make for the perfect summer staycation: they are nearby, affordable, beauteous, and, in Santa Cruz’s case, there are several to choose from. And now we can add one more valuable state park campground to our local trove—Little Basin Campground.

Formerly a retreat center for Hewlett Packard employees, the year-round campground is now part of Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Boulder Creek. Its 524-acre lot is a medley of grassy meadows and majestic coastal redwoods, checkered with 38 tent sites, 12 tent cabins, and RV sites.