Santa Cruz’s affordable luxuries

Three-hundred and forty-five driving miles north of Los Angeles, 72 miles south of San Francisco and many leagues to the left of Middle America, Santa Cruz calls out to newcomers like a lazy mermaid atop Monterey Bay. With tie-dyed scales.

“Dude,” this mermaid drawls. “What’s your hurry?”

What with the redwoods, the shapely waves, the historic beachfront amusement park, the barking sea lions under the old wharf and the fluttering monarch butterflies that alight here every fall, Santa Cruz has always possessed plenty to lure tourists.

But there’s never been a full-fledged stampede, maybe because the nearest commercial airports are in San Jose and Monterey. Or maybe it’s because there’s no easy freeway access. Most people come and go amid the heavy traffic on California Highway 1 (the coast) or California Highway 17 (inland).

Yet in the last two years, the eating and sleeping options here have taken a giant step forward. And thanks to the recession, many businesses, new and old, have been cutting prices or reinventing themselves.