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A sunny day spent strolling the boardwalk is tops for pure, unadulterated summer fun
Santa Cruz
Once promoted as the “Coney Island of the West,” the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk offers everything from thrill rides and arcade games to bowling, beach volleyball, and ballroom dancing. Set on sparkling Monterrey Bay in Northern California, the mile-long stretch of sand that fronts the 102-year-old boardwalk is just as suited for sizzling summer concerts as it is for quiet seaside strolls. Tops among the boardwalk’s colorful collection of amusement rides are the Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster, built in 1924, and a classic Looff carousel, built in 1911, which features one of the country's last remaining brass-ring machines (grab one and try to throw it in the clown’s mouth). It’s all fun and games until the fog rolls in at night, when the park can seem as delightfully brooding as it appears in the '80s vampire flick The Lost Boys.
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