December 2010Special Holiday Issue (Issue #4) 
Sandy Lydon's Central Coast Secrets
Sandy Lydon's
Central Coast Secrets Official Newsletter

Happy New Year!

We're starting to plan out into 2011. One of our most popular adventures - walking around Monterey Bay - is being premiered in this newsletter.  There's also still room in our pre-Christmas adventure up the North Coast of Santa Cruz.  

All of these unique adventures would make great Christmas gifts!

Also, we're working on a remarkable China-Tibet adventure in the fall of 2011 and you can give us a preliminary indication of your interest and be put on the priority notification list!

Sandy Lydon, Historian aka The History Dude
Sandy Lydon's Central Coast Secrets, Extension Classes, and Overseas Adventures

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First opportunity to sign up for the Big One!

BayWalk3 Circumambulating Monterey Bay with Sandy Lydon and Gary Griggs.

This is one of our most popular adventures, and you've probably read or heard about it.  A chance to walk from New Brighton State Beach to Monterey with two of the region's most celebrated teachers. Some previous participants have called it a "life-changing experience."
 
Three Saturdays in May
(5/7; 5/14; 5/21)

8:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Plus a Pre-Trip Session Friday evening, April 29 7:00-9:00 PM
$150.00 per person if you register before March 15; $180.00 after that

We will take care of the logistics - shuttling your lunch and having transportation waiting at the end of each day.

Total Distance: 30 miles
Roughly 10 miles/day

Those successfuly completing all three days will receive a Certificate suitable for framing.
 
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China, including going into Tibet by train! 
Fall 2011

 Tibet Potala Palace
 

Precise Dates and Price have not yet been set, but the tentative itinerary will include:

 

� Hong Kong

Macau

Kunming and environs

Xining

Lhasa

Beijing

 

To get on the First-to-Know list, click here: 

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Lydon Adventures in the Planning Stages for Spring 2011

Watch these newsletters!


�  Monterey County Railroads - The Castroville-Monterey Line - walking the rails


�  Exploring the Mouth of the Carmel River - on foot and by tule balsa - with Linda Yamane


�  Hearing the Voices on the Recreation Trail and Cannery Row with Tim Thomas


� Take the Train to SLO County - Riding the Coast Starlight


Note:  All new adventures premier in these newsletters.

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Contact Us

Sandy Lydon
PO Box 2578
Aptos, California 95001
831-688-2374
A Few Spaces Left!
Beaches and Benches:
Exploring Santa Cruz County's North Coast with Gary Griggs and Sandy Lydon

Sat., December 18
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
$50/person

From Scotts Creek Beach to San Vicente and Points South

Davenport Rampart

We will explore both the geology and history from the laborious 1769 trek of the Portola expedition to the 1969 PG&E nuclear power plant that was almost built.

Distance:  Class members should be prepared to hike approximately 5.0 miles during the day, including a few steep trails up and down from the beaches.

Did You Know?
There are Ghosts in our redwood forests!
The Albino Redwoods

Albino Redwood and Dogs

The foliage is a beautiful, pure white!

 

You could spend your entire life hiking in the 400-mile redwood belt and never see one.


Particularly if you're not paying attention.


But they're fairly common, exposing themselves to the lucky ones.


What are they?
They are a naturally-occuring mutation that sometimes appears in the sprouts around the base of a coast redwood. On more rare occasions they occur in the tree's foliage farther up, but these are rarely encountered by humans.  Because they don't produce any nutrients on their own, they don't get beyond the clump-of-sprouts stage.


Where are they?
They seem to be concentrated in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and there are several easily-accessed examples in the main grove of Henry Cowell State Park. But, you have to look carefully, because in the dappled light of the deep forest, they're hard to see.  


Perhaps one of the largest in the region is in the Big Sur area - down behind Fernwood Lodge at the entrance to the campground.


What should you do if you see one? 
Look, and feel gently (they feel quite differently than the green redwood needles)  but don't pick them, please. 


For more information:

 

An NPR radio show: click here


A KQED video: click here

 

A San Jose Mercury article: click here


Trying to buy Local?

There's nothing more local than a gift of local history!

Give a gift of History
A Gift Certificate that can be used on any one of our future Central Coast Secrets adventures!

A Deal!  20% off!

$25 gift certificate
only $20

$50 gift certificate 
only $40 
 
$100 gift certificate
only $80
 

We will provide a handsome gift card customized for the lucky recipient!
 sandy on beach


A lovely way to reward a partner, friend or colleague.


Gift Certificates cannot be used on Cabrillo College Extension classes.

Or maybe you want to reward your entire office or business with such a gift?  We can customize a group outing for from 10 to 40 people. Send me an e-mail and let's see what we can arrange!


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Local History Gifts in Book Form!

 

We have a number of titles, published locally by the Capitola Book Company.  Discounted with free shipping.

 

In some instances we can have them personally autographed to the recipient!

 

Titles include the award-winning Chinese Gold. 

 

Go to the Capitola Book Company Website:  


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Cabrillo Extension Lydon Adventures
coming in spring 2011

 

Sunday, February 27 - A Bus-Walking Tour - of the Original Seventeen-Mile Drive

 

Fri, Sat - March 25-26 - On the Trail of the Ocean Shore Railroad - hiking the southern portion.

 

A Lecture Series - all at Cabrillo College, Aptos, 7:00 PM

 * Fri. March 11 - Cycles of Racism

 * Fri. April 8 - That Santa Cruz-Watsonville Rivalry

*  Fri. May 13 - Stories of Courage and Bravery

 

How to Register?  Registration will open on the Cabrillo Extension Website by January 7, 2011.

 

Their website: Cabrillo Extension