Celebrating its 100th anniversary, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is a California Historical Landmark. Its hallmark feature is a wooden 1924 Giant Dipper roller coaster that is itself a National Historic Landmark. The Boardwalk features a massive arcade filled with videogames and many rides found at amusement and theme parks around the world, all of which were gobbled up by the KGA group. Many opted to try out the cold but refreshing Pacific surf that laps up against the Boardwalk. Others took in performances by the renowned Moscow Circus, in residence this summer in Santa Cruz.

To make the trip even more interesting, the KGA group got there by rail. The group drove to Felton, California, where they boarded the "Beach Train" operated by Santa Cruz, Big Trees, and Pacific tourist railroad. The "Beach Train" traveled through http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=546 target=other>Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, down the scenic San Lorenzo River Gorge, across a 1909 steel truss bridge, and through an 1875 tunnel before arriving at the http://www.beachboardwalk.com target=other>Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

The final mile or so of the trip occurs on the main street in Santa Cruz, providing an experience once common but which is nowadays a true rarity in America, namely, of the train jockeying for road footage versus scores of automobiles. While potentially 'dramatic' to locomotive engineer and car drivers alike, the maneuvering onto the Boardwalk rail siding is a truly worthwhile adventure.