It all started one day while I was browsing the Amazon website. I noticed that the Surface Duo which was normally $1399 was cut down to $699. I figured it must have been an Amazon price cut but I went over to the Best Buy Website and looked and low and behold they were the same price there as they were on Amazon. My idea originally was to get it and use it as a tablet. These ads said these devices were unlocked and had wifi. I had no intentions of inactivating it and using it as a phone. I was selling a camera that same day so I used the money from the camera to pay for the device. I didn’t want to go deeper in debt buying it. I immediately went down to Best Buy and bought one. The model I got was the 128 GB Glacier White Surface Duo. I was the cheaper of the one and I ended up getting it for around $730 after taxes. I could have got it cheaper but like I mentioned above I had no intention to activate it and use it as a phone device.

As soon as I got home I ripped it open as in the normal fashion of all the electronics I get. I opened it and right away noticed and felt that it was constructed very well with top-notch materials. Microsoft seems to be very consistent in producing very good hardware for their Surface devices. Included in the box were a wall charger, a cable for the charger, and a bumper for the device. I noticed they have them for sale for $34.99 at Best Buy, but thankfully they put one in the box with the device. The bumper seems to be made of some rubber-type material that protected the device pretty well but kept on falling off and not staying on. When I first turned it on it took about 30 min to finish with the updates that were for the Android OS and the Microsoft Apps that are included with the Duo. It comes preinstalled with Android OS 10. Setting up the fingerprint login was very easy and took 5 mins to set up which is good compared to setting up the fingerprint on a windows machine. Some of the initial apps were pretty slow and unresponsive due to the 6 GB RAM that. Some of the apps that freeze on the Duo are Yahoo finance and MSN Money while apps like Twitter and Venmo run smooth. I’ve also downloaded a few more Social Media apps and they seem to work ok.

I also purchased the Slim Pen from Microsoft. I did my research and found that the Slim Pen was the best for the new Duo. I will go fully into a review for that at a later date. It works well with the Duo and is quick and easy to setup. I had to put the pen in its cradle for 1 min and then connect it to the Duo’s Bluetooth and BAM it was connected. I’ve found that when the battery in the stylus is low it seems to start lagging on the screen. You can drag the icons while using the Pen. That is so convenient when having to open multiple screens. NOTE(You don’t need to have the pen to operate the Duo, but makes things much easier.)Some of the Negative things I found out about the device is the lagging going between apps on both of the displays. Like I have mentioned before, it is a first generation device and there will be some defects in the hardware and software. Also the size of the device seems to be a little big to be carrying around in your pocket. Sure to be able to have a good experience on the device you need to have some size but it could of been a bit smaller. The availability of accessories was slim when buying at traditional electronic stores like Best Buy but taking a moment and looking on Amazon will get you a big choice on cases, stylus’s and tablet style holders. Some of the hardware quirks was the WiFi and Bluetooth strength. The WiFi was weak and barely got strong signal in the next room. Although that really didn’t effect speed of the browsing it was very noticeable. Paired with the Pixel Buds Series-A the sound was very good but the strength of the Bluetooth barely got me a signal from 15 feet away. The battery also drains pretty fast but I’ve heard there are fixes for that in upcoming software updates.

I initially bought it just for the tablet function and had no intention to pop a SIM card into the slot and use it as a phone. I did try and was pleasantly surprised by how good it worked. The call sound was very good and the SMS and MMS capability was equally as good. Like I mentioned before it was quite big to put it up to your ear and make a call, but it works good paired with a Bluetooth headset. It easily added all my contacts when it synced with Microsoft. This device really reminds me of the old Windows phones back 10-15 years ago. Its nice to have the capability of 2 screens so you could have 2 apps open at the same time. For example like a notes app and maybe a calendar app opened together will really boost productivity with the mobile worker. I never really had any dropped calls while using it and was pleasantly surprised with the performance as a phone device.

Some of my final thoughts of this device are as follows. The hardware and build of this device was very good to great. Like I mentioned before I’ve had all of the Microsoft Surface devices and this seems to be on par with the quality of the all the other previously built Surface devices. Being a first generation device its going to have it’s little defects I believe and the Surface Duo sure does. I listed some of those defects in the above paragraphs. One of those defects is the fact that when not using a stylus you have to put a considerable amount of pressure on the screen to scroll up or tap and icon with your finger. This device came with 6 GB of RAM and I think that a lot of the problems with the lagginess will be cured by adding 2 GB of RAM making it a total of 8 GB. So do I recommend it? Sure it’s a good device but it has it’s faults and hopefully they will be worked out before they roll out a second one.

Thanks for reading!!

Joe

Well it has been a while since I have had time to sit at a computer and give a product review. I have been busy with work and family and now I’m nursing a bad sciatica pain and have nothing better to do then stay at home and write a few reviews of the latest product I have purchased. These items include the Microsoft Surface Duo and the Slim Pen that goes with it but is not included in the box. I also purchased a slim leather case that covers it and protects it from drops and dirt and a Satechi adjustable tablet stand that I purchased from Amazon. These days, with the option for Amazon Prime to get it the next day I buy a lot from them. Some of the products are good and some of them are junky and obviously mass manufactured somewhere in the Orient. When it comes to expensive electronics devices that I review, I usually buy them and if I don’t like them I will return them within the 45 days I have since I’m and Elite Plus Member and that is one of the perks. I buy all of the items like when they are on a Super Sale when there is up to $700 off the item. That happened when I bought my Surface Duo. The device is usually $1300-1,400 reg price. They must have not met their quota on pushing the Surface Duo so they had to reduce it. That is just my opinion and may not be true but I have worked in retail for over 25 years and that is what they usually do. It was also reduced at Amazon too so it may not be just Best Buy pushing the Surface Duo. According to zdnet.com, as the price was lowered Microsoft thought that maybe they would sell more but was met with less enthusiasm than expected. The Duo was an attempt for Microsoft to get back into the mobile market after failing in 2010 with the Windows Phone. Perhaps the device was experimental and Microsoft was just looking for a new form factor to try out in the mobile world. Whatever the reason may be they were cheap so I picked on up. I will go into more detail of the purchase in the next blog and give you my rating of the device.

I hope to get back at the blogs at a more normal pace, at least 2 a week. I have a lot of items that I have purchased and would like to get my opinions out.

Thank you

Joe

As you drive down Highway 101 going south, there are acres and acres of farmland on both sides. As you look out the windows you probably are wondering what is growing in the perfectly symmetrical rows. Salinas Valley, being one of the premier growing areas in the country stretches from Salinas in the North to San Ardo in the South. It is surrounded by the Santa Lucia Range on the West and the Gabilan Range on the East. The valley was named during the 18th century Spanish Colonial times. The name comes from the Spanish word,” Salina” meaning “salt marsh”. During the late 18th and early 19th century many Italian, Portuguese, and Swiss-Italian immigrants came to the Salinas Valley and the surrounding area to work the land and create a new life. Before colonization, the area was inhabited by the Salinians, an indigenous group of people who hunted and gathered and spoke the Salinian language.

Agriculture dominates the Valley’s economy. Being labeled the “Salad Bowl” the valley grows many types of lettuces, broccoli, artichokes, celery, cauliflower, and wine grapes. One of the main reasons that the Salinas Valley is so good for growing in the soil. There are many different types of soils. The 2 major ones are Granitic and sedimentary. According to the usda.gov website “The Salinas series consists of deep, well-drained soils that formed in alluvium weathered from sandstone and shale.” Another reason for the superior growing conditions is the weather. The area has a Mediterranean climate that supports year-round growing conditions. Growing season averages between 200-350 days a year. The third reason is the supply of water. The farms and fields are supplied by an underground water supply thanks to the nearby Lake San Antonio and Nacimiento and the large watershed from the surrounding mountain ranges.

As of 2019, there were 393,315 acres that produce crops in Monterey County. Organic crops alone accounted for more than 68,000 acres with a gross sale of $412,347,000. According to the Monterey County Farm Bureau,398,985,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables are exported to other countries every year. Some of our biggest trading partners are Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the European Union. The top exported items are Lettuce, Strawberries, Celery, Broccoli, and Cauliflower. These farms are located next to Highway 101. This gives them prime access to the major ports in Oakland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Big companies like Dole, Fresh Express, and Taylor Farms are located in the Salinas area. These companies are heavy hitters in the salad business. Another fact I thought was interesting was that 80% of the consumed salad in the US is grown in the Salinas Valley. Some of the other major producers of goods in Monterey County and the Salinas Valley is OceanMist Farms. They are located in Castroville. They grow a wide variety of goods including artichokes, celery, head lettuce, asparagus, beets, cardoon, and Brussel sprouts. As I mentioned in a previous blog they are located in Castroville which is known as the “Artichoke Capital of the World”. According to OceanMist’s website, “Their first artichoke was grown here 9 decades ago. The perfect Mediterranean climate helps them grow the artichoke to the gold standard. During the winter the artichoke operation moves down to Coachellas in the southern desert to continue the year-round operation.

The neighbor to the North, Santa Cruz County produces a lot of items too. I will discuss that in a separate blog. Hopefully, I have shown you why the Salinas Valley is such a good area for growing an assortment of vegetables. Thank you

Talk to you later

Joe

OPIOID EPIDEMIC IN AMERICA

You hear about it on the news a lot. You might know a few people who suffer from it. But what is the opioid epidemic? It all started in the late 1990s when the pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to opioid pain relievers and then the healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates. The increased prescription of opioid meds led to widespread misuse of both prescription and non-prescription before it came clear these medications can indeed be highly addictive. Every day more than 115 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids, which include prescription painkillers, heroin fentanyl, and others.

The Drugs:

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but 50-100 times more powerful. In prescription form its known as Actiq, Duragesic, and Sublimaze. Street names include Apache, China girl, China White, Dance Fever, Goodfella and many more. Heroin is an opioid drug made from morphine, a natural substance taken from the seed pod of the various opium poppy plants in Southeast and Southwest Asia. Common names include Big H, horse, hells dust, and smack. Some opioid painkillers include Vicodin, oxycodone and oxymorphone, morphine and codeine.
Other Drugs include:

Prescription Tranquilizers(Xanax or Soma)
Prescription Stimulants(Adderall or Ritalin)
Prescription Sedatives(Ambien) used to treat sleep disorders

Possible effects of opioid on brain and Body:

Drowsiness
Confusion
Nausea
Constipation
Euphoria
Slowed Breathing

Some ways people abuse these drugs are they take the medicine the wrong way or dose than prescribed. People are also known to take other peoples medication other then there’s and tasking the drug to get the effects of a “High Feeling”. When misusing the drug a person can crush or swallow the medicine, dissolve the powder in water and inject into the vein and are also known to snort there powder.
Some reasons adults misuse opioids are too

Relieve physical pain
To relax and relieve tension
To experiment or to see what the drug is like
Feel good or get high
To help with sleep
To help with feelings or emotions
To increase or decrease the effects of other drugs
Because the respondent is hooked and has to have the drug

One reason that opioids work the way they do is that the opioid substance in the painkiller bind to the opioid receptors on cells located in the brain, spinal cord and other organs, especially those involved in feelings of pain and pleasure, and can strongly reinforce the act of taking the drug making the user wants to repeat the experience.

WHAT ARE THE HHS AND NIH DOING ABOUT IT?

Improving access to treatment and recovery services
Promote the use of overdose-reversing drugs
Strengthening our understanding of the epidemic through better public health surveillance
Providing support for cutting-edge research on pain and addiction
Advancing better practices for pain management

SOME COMMON WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS INCLUDE:

Muscle and bone pain
Sleep problems
Diarrhea and vomiting
Cold flashes and goosebumps
Uncontrollable leg movements
Severe cravings

Speaking from experience, all of these symptoms are not mild. They are very severe and depending on the number of opioids the user was abusing, you could be hospitalized. Another symptom is Severe depression. They tend to last about 3-4 weeks and then the symptoms get milder

A range of treatments including medicines and behavioral therapies are effective in helping with an opioid use disorder

Talk to you later

Joe

Supplement Facts.               % of Daily Value

Calories                20        
Total Carbohydrates     5g        2%
Vitamin C.              250 mg    278% 
Riboflavin              3 mg      231% 
Niacin(Vit B3)          10 mg     63%
Vitamin B6              2.4 mg    141% 
Caffeine                100 mg     *
Ginseng                 20 mg      *

Caffeine Crash

Let’s face it, between the stress of work, life, family, and other things you feel your self drained on energy sometimes. You try many different cures like energy drinks, energy shots, quad strength coffees, and other herbal concoctions but they never work. Even if you try what I listed above they usually leave you are drained in the afternoon ready for a nap. Believe me, I’ve felt that way many times.

According to the website [caffeine informer.com](), When a person is already feeling tired, they have increased levels of adenosine in their brains. If they consume caffeine, the caffeine molecule blocks the adenosine from attaching to its receptors in the brain. After a few hours after the caffeine is metabolized its effect begins to wear off. The built-up adenosine then floods the receptors which signal the body that it is time for sleep but at a level much more intense than normal.
Some symptoms of a Caffeine crash are:

• Extreme Tiredness
• inability to concentrate
• Irritability
• Dozing off

Supplements

The question is, “Will using this supplement cause me to have a caffeine crash”? I picked up the Emergen-C supplement at a Rite Aid. It cost $3.49 for a 2 pack. Its a mix of Vitamins and Ginseng.

I’m a big user of energy drinks (Yes I know they are not the best for me)and shots. The 5 Hr energy shots work pretty good for me all day but leave me with a horrendous crash in the afternoon. It seems like every afternoon while I’m sitting at the table I have to fight to keep my eyes open. This supplement sounds to be a healthy alternative to all those sugar-loaded drinks so I tried. The supplement comes in a 55mL shot with the powder being kept in the cap until you’re ready to use it. They say this maximizes potency. All you have to do is twist the lid to the right to release the power into the liquid. Once the powder is all in the bottle you give it a shake and turn the lid to the left to open.

It contains natural caffeine from green tea and coffee fruit and Ginseng, with added Vitamin C and B Vitamins. The flavor is Peach Mango. It also helps with the immune system with the 278% Daily Value of Vitamin C. These days with the stress of life and the outbreak it’s always good to get whatever you can health-wise out of a supplement. It has a pretty good flavor to it but I did find that is was sort of bitter and sour, but better tasting than some of those energy shots. I took it at 3:45 am and compared to the energy shot I’m not feeling jittery and I don’t have my usual morning headache. Another side effect of the traditional energy shot for me is feeling nauseous which I don’t feel this morning. It is giving me a feeling of steady energy and not sluggish.

It’s midday and I’m feeling pretty good, not too tired after my 4.5-mile walk. I have yet to feel a crash from the shot. Energized all day with both physical and mental energy it helped me get through the day. Although I did feel a bit sleepy in the afternoon that is usual for me since I get up early. I do feel a bit more energized mentally with the Emergen-C shot as opposed to my brain being in a haze. Out of 5 stars, I will give this item a 4. Reasons for the 4 stars include light side effects, no caffeine crash, good taste, and a good price for the 2 pack I purchased it in. If you are looking for something that has the best of both worlds, both Vitamin C and a caffeine kick, this is the product for you.

Talk to you later

Joe

Walking…We do it all day. At work and at home, it is an essential way to get around but did you know that it had so many benefits both mentally and physically. According to the Arthritis Foundation and the American Heart Association, some of the physical benefits include:

• Improve your circulation
• Stop the loss of bone mass
• Lose weight
• Strengthen the muscles
• Support joints
• Prevent heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes

And some of the mental benefits include:

• Improve your mood
• Improve sleep
• Slow down mental decline
• Improves memory and prevents the deterioration of the brain tissue

Any type of walking can be good for you but the faster you go and more of the body you use the better. What you are probably thinking is “When is the best time to walk?” You can walk any time of the day, but studies have shown that walking in the morning can get you going for the day ahead and boost your mood. Also, it’s free and you don’t have to go to a gym! The thing that is most important to me when I walk in the shoes I’m wearing. You need to have good support in your shoes to walk without injuring yourself. My grandfather once told me, that a good pair of shoes is important because if your feet hurt, your whole body will hurt. How true is that! I try to walk every day for at least 30 mins and 2 days a week I will walk between 60-80 min. I usually get in about 4.5 miles on those days. When I do decide I’m going to go walking I warm up for 5-10 minutes by slow walking and or stretching. You must stretch your legs before you start because you don’t want any cramping in your calves. When you feel warmed up you can start in at a good pace that gets your heart rate up. What I do is walk a route that has some hills in it so I could get my heart rate to a higher level than the pace that I was going at. Other tricks to make you’re walking a bit more fun is to include some intervals in your route. A way to do this is to create a playlist with both higher paced songs and slower ones and mix them up. When the faster song is on increase your intensity a bit until the slower song comes on then slow your pace to a comfortable level. This program works very well to increase your aerobic capacity. Other ways to vary your workout is to attach weights to your legs. This will increase the strength in your legs and slowly those steep hills will become very easy. Mix up the style of walking by changing your stride length, lunging, and doing side cross overs. This will shock the body into using different types of muscles helping you to get a “Total body workout”.

Some other observations I’ve made is that walking increases my creativity and my mood drastically. I can leave on a walk mad and bitter but come back and I will be in a totally different mood. After walks, I’m usually in the best mood of the day. One piece of equipment I can’t live without is my smartwatch or fitness tracker. These devices will tell you the distance you have walked, the number of calories you burned, the total steps, and much more. Using one of these devices will help you track your progress. According to an article in Fit Magazine, you also should set goals for yourself. Start yourself out walking 5 minutes and then slowly increase it to 30-60 minutes 3-5 times a week. One problem I had when I first started was that I would get upset and frown on myself if I didn’t get a walk-in one day. It’s ok if for some reason you can’t walk for one day. Just start up the next day possible and continue on your journey to becoming more fit and healthy.

One benefit I didn’t include above was that walking can also give you skin health. When you walk you get the blood moving in which will remove the toxins that have accumulated in your skin. This will help to prevent and eliminate some wrinkles, fine lines, and other signs of aging. Studies have also shown that a 10 min brisk walk can be just as good as a 45 min workout when it comes to relieving anxiety.

I hope I have shown you some reasons why walking is one of the best activities you can do for yourself both physically and mentally. At least for me, it has really changed my life!

Talk to you later

Joe

I’m back and this time I’m going to write about an item we got in our store. It’s called Spectacular Kola and it is made and marketed by Q Drinks out of Brooklyn, New York. The business was started by a group of friends getting together on a warm summer evening in New York City. They were having drinks together and started reading the labels and noticed all of the ingredients that were in the mixers. There were artificial flavors and ingredients in the mixer and it would leave a bad aftertaste. So Jordan the founder ventured into making mixers for your favorite cocktails using all natural ingredients. He first started making a Tonic water using the natural ingredients he found and then built off that and started creating more mixers like Ginger Beer, Grapefruit, Club Soda and the Kola I’m reviewing among others.

The Kola comes in a 6.7 oz. bottle and is sold in a 4 pack. It’s natural ingredients include organic agave, lemon, lime, orange, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, coriander and finally kola nut to give it the extra caffeine to give you a slight boost of energy. It is said that one kola nut has the same amount of caffeine as a cup of strong coffee. These nuts were once chewed by West African tribesman to keep then ready and alert while they were out on a hunt looking for food or potential enemies.

As I cracked it open I could smell the blend of the coriander, cinnamon and cloves. It certainly smelt like a Coca-Cola. I drank it warm as soon as I got home from work. It surprised me on how much it did taste like a Cola from a leading soda manufacturer. I felt to that as I was drinking it it certainly didn’t leave any aftertaste like a Coke would. I drank it straight from the bottle and didn’t mix it with any alcohol and thought it was really good. Mixing it with some rum or whiskey, it would definitely would do the trick and make it an even better product. You could also taste the ingredients as being natural and being that they are all naturals it felt good knowing that you are not poisoning your body with the unhealthy ingredients of a Cola.

Would I purchase this product again? Sure I would because it tastes good, it has all natural ingredients and for an added plus it gave me some extra afternoon energy to help me get through my homework. One thing I would have done if I had it again was to put it in the refrigerator before I had it so I could get it chilled. It might have tasted better then what it had. But still I think it was a good drink and would recommend it to anyone who wants to try something that tastes good and is natural. Also the 6.7 fl oz. bottle only had 70 calories. 2 Thumbs up

Let me know if you have tried this flavor or one of the many they do have in the comments!

Talk to you later

Joe

Santa Cruz, a city situated on the northern part of the Monterey Bay is located across the Bay from Monterey. Present day Santa Cruz was originally a Spanish settlement in 1791. During that time they founded many local sites like Mission Santa Cruz which is located next to Holy Cross Church and the Villa de Branciforte which was the last of only three secular pueblos founded by the Spanish colonial government of Alta California. Before the Spanish the Santa Cruz area was home to the Awaswas Indians. They were one of the eight Costanoan tribes that lived in Santa Cruz County ranging from Davenport to Rio Del Mar. During the Civil War, Santa Cruz was the home of the California Powder works which produced blasting powder for the California mines and also produced smokeless powder used in the rifles and canons in which was supplied to the US Navy Pacific and Asiatic fleets.

During the late 20th Century, Santa Cruz was known for it’s Social Activism. The founding of UCSC in 1965 increased the activism drawing in the liberals and the progressives. Santa Cruz was one of the first cities to test the states marijuana courts in court. Also Santa Cruz was the first city to decriminalize Psilocybin Mushrooms and a slew of other substances that were on the Federal Schedule 1 substance list.

One bit of information that I find interesting about Santa Cruz was about the Municipal Wharf here. It original purpose was to ship potatoes to San Francisco for the mining Camps in the Sierra Nevada during the Gold Rush. The wharf was also used by the local Italian fishing families to harvest their catch of the day. These fishing families came from the Genoa region of Italy and settled here for the fishing. Names such as Ghio, Stagnaro and others still adorn the Municipal Wharf to this day.

Growing up in Santa Cruz I’ve watched this city change quite a bit. The city government really hasn’t changed from their liberal views but the crime has gotten worse for sure. There were times during the 80’s that me as a kid could go ride our bike around the neighborhood and not get the risk of getting caught in the crossfire of a drive by shooting. The gangs are starting to migrate from the Beach Flats and Watsonville to Santa Cruz. Drug deals and the homeless problem has grown more prevalent in certain parts of the city. If you go out after dark you better be careful due to a chance of getting robbed or mugged. The neighborhood I live in is not so bad yet but if you live in the Ocean Street area and downtown area the chances grow.

I’ve divided the city into 3 different sections. These sections are Eastside, Downtown and the Westside. I know locals will tell me that there are more neighborhoods than that like but those seem to be the major areas.

The Eastside ranges from the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor to about the Ocean St area. This area which includes Soquel Ave and Water St is home to many restaurants such as Lillian’s on the corner of Seabright and Soquel to small independently owned clothes stores and coffee shops. I was raised in this area and have see lots of changes such as stores going out of business. The Eastside is home to the NHS which manufactures a lot of Skateboard gear and clothes. This is where the Famous Santa Cruz Logo comes from. Some areas of the Eastside is quiet but as you get closer to the Beach Area by the Boardwalk it gets shadier. For example at the end of Seabright by the Railroad tracks is a known area for drug dealing. Businesses such as Whole Foods, which used to be a Lucky’s is located on the Eastside. Some people would refer to this area as Midtown.

Downtown would refer to the Ocean St area to Mission St. This area is known for street musicians and more small businesses. There is also a movie theatre down there. This movie theatre is the biggest in Santa Cruz(I think probably the only one). These days you can’t even go into the theatres due to the Covid 19 virus. I know many people who would agree with me saying that the Downtown area has the most visible homeless. Up the hill from Downtown is the Mission Santa Cruz and Holy Cross Church. Those buildings are very historical to Santa Cruz. It was this area that had a lot of damage during the 89 Earthquake but since has been built back up again. As a kid I remember seeing the craters from where the old buildings were built years after the Earthquake.

The Westside of Santa Cruz is located from Mission St to Wilder Ranch. This area including the cliffs above Steamers Lane are known for their surfing. Many locals surf this area(West Cliff Drive.) The Santa Cruz Lighthouse and Surfing Museum is also located on West Cliff Drive. Sometimes there are Surf contests held out at Steamers Lane. One for example is the O’Neil Cold Water Classic brings in surfers from around the world to compete in the cold water of the Monterey Bay. Natural Bridges, a park at the end of West Cliff Drive is home to the monarch butterfly during the winter time. There are also tidepools that you could venture out to see along the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean. Like I mentioned before , Wilder Ranch is located out on the West Side. This park is a must if you are a Mountain Biker. There are miles and miles of back-wood trails that loop from the sea to the forests above the park.

One area that I haven’t mentioned is the Beach Flats. This is the area adjacent to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The Beach Boardwalk is a must for the tourist. It combines the beach and a seaside carnival with rides and lots of yummy food. Rides such as the Giant Dipper and Loggers Revenge tower over the beach. There is also an arcade on the site with dozens of arcade style games including a shooting gallery and a Miniature Golf Course on premise too. One word for the wise, don’t venture into the neighborhood surrounding the Boardwalk. This area is known area for Gangs, drive by shootings and drug deals and will leave you dead or injured. Not saying it will happen, but it’s very dangerous.

As I have shown you Santa Cruz is a very nice City to visit but it does have it bad side. Don’t be the next victim. Stay Safe, Stay Smart

Later

Joe

As I sit here in front of the fire I think of how 2020 flew by. It went by like a bolt of lighting we had during the summer storms. I think it was the pandemic that made it go by so fast. I vividly remember at Christmas 2019 hearing how the Virus which started in Wuhan, China was already spreading all around their country. As 2020 started rolling around, and the months were passing the virus finally made it to the states. It seems like overnight this country changed. Everyone was now wearing a mask and keeping 6 ft. apart to not get the virus. Working in the retail field as an essential worker I was around a lot of people everyday. I didn’t know if the next day I would be falling ill from Covid 19 and not being able to go to work to make money to feed my family. To be truthful I was scared and very nervous but I’m sure there were a lot of people that were in my shoes. It is just human to be scared of something that your not familiar with. The first few weeks the stores were so busy with people buying loads of food. Some of the items the customers were buying and hoarding were baking goods such as flour and sugar, a variety of canned foods and toilet paper to name a few. There was actually a shortage of the toilet paper and for weeks we had empty shelves. Some essentials during those days were hand sanitizer, masks, gloves and other personal safety devices. Kids stopped attending in person school and switched to virtual school via Zoom and Google Classroom. Businesses also had their workers work from home to help combat the spread of the virus. Suddenly stores like Best Buy were running low on such things as Laptops, Chromebooks, printers and other home office equipment due to the influx of the work from home. Most non essential store you couldn’t even go into or they closed down altogether. Online shopping had a boom with their sales increasing, delivery services like UPS and Fed Ex were all working extra hard delivering the the goods. The media was telling us we were in this for the long haul so we all just had to get used to it if we liked it or not. We got used to seeing familiar faces like the Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert on the tv telling us updated information on the virus and how we are going to combat it. One fun fact that I heard on the radio was that one of the leading Pornography sites on the Internet were giving free memberships at a point in the spring due to people not being able to go out and get laid. President Trump also initiated Operation Hyper-Speed to get a vaccine out ASAP. We are now in February and the vaccine is out and the numbers of infections have seem to level out. It still amazes me how they came out with the vaccine so fast and AIDS and other diseases have been around for decades and there is no vaccine for them.

Spring came around and it seemed like every week you heard there was another African American getting beaten by a white police officer. Names such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were known around the country. These “people” were going out in the streets of major cities demonstrating and rioting about the treatment of these individuals. They caused the destruction of cities and even killed a few innocent citizens. Sure they had a right to protest but they didn’t need to destroy neighborhoods. BLM(Black Lives Matter) became famous overnight. One group of Anarchists took over a 6 block neighborhood in Seattle and named it Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. The demonstrators also took over a police precinct in Minneapolis. Minneapolis was the city where the white officer Derek Chauvin choked to death George Floyd. What are your feelings on this incident. Did the officer go to far by laying his leg over the neck of George Floyd? There were reports that he had done the same to 6 other people during demonstrations.

Another event that really was in the minds of the locals were the fires that raged in the Santa Cruz Mountains. These fires were started by a dry lightning storm we had on August 16, 2020. The fires started out as many small fires that were scattered throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains ranging from up the coast in San Mateo County to the Bonny Doon area to Boulder Creek. They ended up burning into a bigger fire causing people to lose their houses and having to evacuate and take everything they had including their Farm animals. My family ended up adopting 2 goats due to the evacuations. For weeks we didn’t see the sun due to the smoke filled skies. Due to the skies being filled with smoke, there were many days in which it was to unhealthy for the population to venture out of the house. Adding to the local fires, there were also fires raging in Santa Clara County and up in Napa county that was adding to the unhealthy air quality. Due to the fires burning all over the state and the wind conditions it actually got dark as if it was 9 in the evening at 4:30 in the afternoon. I vividly remember seeing this and wondering what the hell was going on with this world. Remember we were in the middle of Summer and these were supposed to be some of the longest days of the year. It was truly very weird and eerie. It took firefighters over a month to have the fire at 100% containment. We are very thankful for the emergency workers who helped with the fires. If it wasn’t for them we would of probably still be burning. Totals from the fire included 86,509 acres burned, 1,490 structures destroyed(some historical buildings). There was also 1 fatality and no major injuries. It wasn’t until Dec 23 2020 that Cal Fire said the fire was controlled and there were no chances of it reigniting.

The rest of the year went by as a blur. During the pre election day time, the word was to get out and vote. Everyone was tired of having Donald Trump in the White House and they wanted him replaced by Biden. He was claiming that there was voter fraud during the election and that he was the real winner. We will never know if that is the truth. He is also getting impeached due to another claim that he incited the riot at the US Capital in which Trump supporter stormed the Capital and tried to take it over. None of this worked and Joe Biden was sweared in on Inauguration day. Lets see if he improves the Country. I highly doubt it!!

There were also lots of events that took to the news in 2020 including many Hurricanes around the world, fires in Australia, a new era of spaceflight from SpaceX, the shutting down of the 2020 Olympics in Japan due to Covid and a drone strike killed a top Iranian general in Iraq.

Tell me about your your in review and how it affected you.

Till Later

Joe