Punch Magazine - July 2024

SPIRIT OF THE PENINSULA Exploring Our Verdant Coastside Farms Mike Trigg’s Thrillers of the Tech World spirited JULY 24 Taste & Glory Breakfast Delight Live-In Art A Crisp Vision Santa Cruz’s Mural Mania PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM

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14 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 50 {punchline} Peninsula Culture 29 Silicon Valley Suspense 36 Perfect Shot 38 Diary of a Dog: Phyllo {due west} Travel & Wellness 41 Miles of Murals 50 Surf Break IN EVERY ISSUE 18 Editor’s Note 20 Sloane Citron 23 QuickPUNCH PHOTOGRAPHY: PAULETTE PHLIPOT / COURTESY OF LANNY NGUYEN / COURTESY OF MICHAELA RABINOV / ROBB MOST 64 80 {food coloring} Eats, Drinks & Scoops 59 Morning Glory 64 Blooming Good Coffee 70 The Beat on Your Eats {home & design} Style and Substance 73 Live-In Art 80 Bright Side {punchout} Features 98 Out in the Fields {landmark} 106 Contemporary Gothic Church {july 2024} contents 38 COVER: PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MICHELLE DREWES (PAGE 73)

16 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM “She got her looks from her father. He’s a plastic surgeon.” —GROUCHO MARX FOUNDER/PUBLISHER Sloane Citron EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Andrea Gemmet CREATIVE DIRECTOR Britt Johnston SENIOR EDITOR Johanna Harlow CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Sheri Baer COPY EDITOR Carrie Lightner PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTORS Annie Barnett Paulette Phlipot PHOTOGRAPHERS Gino De Grandis Robb Most Irene Searles Robert David Siegel WRI TERS Jennifer Jory Loureen Murphy Elaine Wu SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Dylan Lanier ASSOCIATE PUBLISHERS Sally Randall Georgina Fox SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Jane Jerome CREATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR Airiel Mulvaney ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Alexa Randall PRINT QUALITY DIRECTOR George Marquez PUNCH is an idea about how to live a life that is more engaging and authentic, from personal adventures, growth and what we feed our bodies and souls to the culture that fulfills us and the traditions and new discoveries offered by the Peninsula. It is about appreciating and exploring the richness of where we live and how that understanding can enhance our lives and make them more fulfilling and happy. PUNCH MAGAZINE ADVERTISING Please call 650.383.3636 or email hello@punchmonthly.com PUBLISHED 1047 El Camino Real, Suite 202 Menlo Park, CA 94025 ©2024 by 36 Media, LLC Members Sloane Citron, David Arfin hello@punchmonthly.com punchmagazine.com PUNCH® is a registered trademark of 36 Media, LLC FOLLOW PUNCH: @punchmonthly PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM FOR EVERYTHING PUNCH, COMPLETE CALENDAR, INSIDE SCOOPS & MORE: punchmagazine.com

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18 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM board rider Julie Cox to create Traveler Surf Club in Pacifica, where newbies learn to shred and experienced surfers enjoy a cozy place to unwind after communing with the waves. (Page 50) Join the farm-totable movement with a trip to one of the Coastside’s small farms, whether to browse a produce stand, pick perfectly ripe berries, kick up your heels at a barn dance or volunteer to help bring in the harvest. It’s one of the best ways to nurture an appreciation for the hard work it takes to put food on your plate. (Page 98) Discover how a green thumb and a six-month stay in Paris planted the seeds for Bloomsgiving, a lush space in Redwood City that successfully grafted a flower shop onto a cafe crafting delectable drinks. (Page 64) Meet Peninsula transplant Nattacha Lerspreuk, who cultivates culinary inspiration from her native Thailand at Taste and Glory, a buzzy brunch spot in San Mateo. (Page 59) For Harumo Sato, a career as an artist proved that something beautiful can flourish even after a lifechanging setback. Meanwhile, novelist Mike Trigg reveals how the inspiration for his plot-twisting thrillers spouted from his real-life experiences as a tech exec. (Page 29) All this and more is waiting for you in this, our 72nd issue. Here’s hoping that you are enjoying it in a shady spot with a refreshing drink in hand! Andrea Gemmet andrea@punchmonthly.com {editor’s note} carefully set up the fireworks. But on July 5th, everything went back to normal and the sunny days of school-free bliss began to speed by. The long, lazy break that seemed endless in June gave way to sobering preparations for the start of a new school year. It wasn’t that I hated school, it’s just that it started much too early in the morning, and included dreary things like homework, handwriting practice and multiplication tables. As an adult, it’s hard to recapture that “school’s out for summer” feeling. Most of us don’t get to take a months-long break from our usual responsibilities, and are inclined to exhaust ourselves with an overpacked schedule when we do take a vacation. For me, one of the best ways to capture summer vibes without turning it into a major undertaking is to point the car toward the Coastside. A picnic on the beach is still an ideal way to spend a lazy summer day, even if San Mateo County’s shore tends to be chilly year-round. And the coast offers so many other delights away from the waves! Lingering over gelato and browsing shops in Half Moon Bay. Finding inspiration for dinner at farm stands and bakeries. Going for a hike. Picking strawberries or olallieberries, then spending the rest of the weekend in the kitchen, putting them to good use. In the pages of this month’s issue, you’re sure to find at least one good reason to venture west. Johanna Harlow takes you on a curated art walk exploring one of Santa Cruz’s newer attractions: 20 eye-popping ocean-themed murals. (Page 41) Find out what led star longJuly was simultaneously the best and the worst month of summer vacation when I was a child. My Redwood City neighborhood’s Fourth of July block party was pretty much the social highlight of my year. With the road closed off, barbecue grills and picnic tables migrated from backyards to the middle of the street. For one glorious day, we children ran free, with no adults yelling at us to look both ways and watch for cars. Our homemade parade of patriotically decorated bicycles and Big Wheels was a more humble affair than the city’s downtown extravaganza, but it was a lot more fun. When the sun finally set, we passed around the sparklers with fingers sticky from watermelon while a couple of neighborhood dads, a cop and a firefighter,

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20 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {sloane citron} friendship. We talked from our souls with no encumbrances. Again, it’s the Larry David effect. With some of my oldest friends, I have found the same. They know I trust them, and they trust me. Plus, none of us cares if we are called out on something. We all have been successful, the kids are grown, and the dog has passed, so we have the joyful freedom of seeing it as we see it. Just recently, someone I knew moderately well at my prep school, Andover, reached out and we discovered that our lives are very much in sync. Though he is now a rather famous director, and our lives took somewhat different paths, right now, we are bonding in a great way. He is working on the same projects as I am, and our lives are dedicated to furthering those aims. There is the cliché that “a friend is someone you can tell everything to and they still like you.” It’s great to sit with one of these friends and say whatever is on our minds. We find that the more we open up, the more in depth we go, the more we end up talking about intimate things that I thought I’d never share with anyone. By doing so, we connect in meaningful ways that is certainly good for our mental health. Developing deep friendships at this point in life is liberating and invigorating. One thing that I have learned, whether on these pages as an essayist, in the public or talking with my friends, is the importance of being earnest and vulnerable— telling it like is, and not caring what people think. It’s all thanks to my inner Larry David. I’m a grandfather to seven young kids, so you might assume that I have learned what I will learn, know who I know and am done building friendships. But you’d be wrong. While my brother, Dan, and my sons, Josh and Coby, are my truly devoted friends, and I have five other close friendships that stretch back 30-plus years, something fascinating has happened. I call it the Larry David syndrome—being comfortable enough in your own skin to talk openly and honestly without caring too much about what others think. I have found that speaking genuinely and openly is liberating. I find myself speaking my mind when I’m out and about in daily life, whether at a car repair shop that did shoddy work or with the vendor at the Giants game who offered a smile. Whether a confrontational situation or a pleasant encounter, I work hard to interact in a direct and thoughtful way with anyone I encounter. But I find that I no longer fear frank confrontation, something I could never say about my younger self. These days, my close friends and I are able to talk about all the crap in our lives with impunity. Instead of having to prove ourselves (as we used to), we are now competing to see who has the most nonsense and annoyances in their lives. It’s a race to the bottom. I will say, especially in these polarizing times, that most of my friends and I share the same background and political opinions, though not all do. One of my newest friends, with whom I could talk for hours, is a rather pious Catholic and on the moderate side of the opposing party. We end up agreeing on most things and we never argue. I like hearing his views and learning from them. We are a metaphor for what government should be like. I have one friend whom I’ve known for decades. In those many years spent at dinners and events, I don’t think we ever met without our wives being present. Since he leads a more outgoing life and is involved in so many things, I always felt that he wouldn’t want to have a meal just with me. His sweet wife once causally suggested, as we were leaving their home, that her husband and I should have lunch, so we did. And we had a great time. I discovered that though he is this amazing guy, he puts up with as much nonsense in life as the rest of us. Sharing our intimate details was cathartic for us both and now we regularly get together. In another instance, an old client of mine, with whom I share many opinions and experiences, suggested we go have lunch on his large, beautiful boat in Redwood City’s incredible new Westpoint Harbor. Outside of an office setting, sitting on the shining wooden dock, we discovered the basis of true pretty, pretty good friends

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PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 23 JULY 2024 + 31 DAYS + HOT TIME + OUR 72ND ISSUE {quickpunch} Start Up + That was fast! The first half of 2024 is over on July 1, the 182nd day of the year. + Celebrate America’s independence with the next generation on July 4. + Don’t miss MLB’s annual All-Star Game on July 16 in Arlington, Texas. + Catch the world’s best athletes when the Paris Olympics begin on July 26. Venture Out + TAKE IN the temporary masterpieces gracing Courthouse Square in Redwood City at Chalk Full of Fun on July 3 and 4. rwcpaf.org + PICK OUT handcrafted pieces at ACGA Clay & Glass Festival in Palo Alto, where more than 100 juried clay and glass artists sell their wares on July 13 and 14. acga.net + COMMUNE with creatives in Los Altos at Greetings from the SF Peninsula, a group exhibition where established and emerging artists showcase their talents at M Stark Gallery, July 20 to September 1. mstarkgallery.com In July, we think of three things: the Fourth, hot summer days and vacations. It’s a time for families and friends to get together, whether to find a good spot to enjoy fireworks or a quiet grassy place for a simple picnic. It’s taking a moment to reminisce about our childhoods, remembering the sparklers that brightened our evenings, that wonderful freedom from school and the thrill of loading up the car for a road trip to, well, anywhere. Warm summer nights bring their own form of bliss—so find yours. “If you’re not barefoot, then you’re overdressed.” welcome back

24 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {quickpunch} Dash to Dine + BACK A YARD—Jerk chicken, corn festivals and oxtail at this no-frills Caribbean grill—1189 Willow Road, Menlo Park + NEW ENGLAND LOBSTER MARKET & EATERY—Dive into some Maine lobsters, Dungeness crab and shellfish at a true East Coast market—824 Cowan Road, Burlingame + TENDER GREENS—Quick and delicious dishes with seasonal ingredients—180 El Camino Real, Suite 1050, Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto Carpe Diem + JAM OUT to live music at Palo Alto’s Rinconada Park as the Twilight Concert Series kicks into gear on select Saturdays throughout the summer. The park, home to the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo, also has the best kiddie pool around, with a giant mushroom fountain and stationary bikes that spray water. cityofpaloalto.org + SADDLE UP for a 90-minute Rise N’ Shine trail ride with Woodside’s Chapparal Ranch. Experienced and amateur riders alike commune with nature as their steeds weave through impossibly high redwoods and along babbling creeks through Wunderlich County Park. Or sign up for one of the many other equestrian experiences, from the Little Ranchers program to Western riding lessons. chaparralcorporation.com North Woods by Daniel Mason—Unforgettable novel that asks the timeless question: How do we live on, even after we’re gone? The Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen—A riveting memoir that examines the line between brilliance and insanity. Golf Digest—Since you haven’t won the PGA, it’s time to learn from the best. golfdigest.com WHO KNEW? In 1964, Phil Lesh, a founding member of The Grateful Dead, invited his bandmates to his home at 1012 High Street in Palo Alto to come up with a new moniker. Lesh had discovered that their current name, The Warlocks, was already being used. Living up to the street’s name, Jerry Garcia arrived “high” on the psychedelic drug DMT, though the rest were sober. And it was then and there that the young musicians came up with their now-famous name. Well Read Unscramble I N L R A C T A Finally, some half-baked advice: If you find a bathroom in your dreams, don’t use it.

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26 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {quickpunch} What draws you to architectural preservation work? The ability to connect the past, present and future. A society demonstrates its collective values when it decides which cultural achievements are worth preserving. What’s a gift you received that you’ll never forget? Time! It is irreplaceable. Does your job take you to places most people never see? I have had the opportunity to go to many hidden, daring places on campus: climbing the roof of Leland Stanford Jr. Museum, entering the crawl space beneath the Memorial Church, walking on scaffolding along Old Chemistry’s front façade, rappelling down the side and flying over the top of Hoover Tower in a bucket. Do you have a favorite podcast? Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford. Sum up your life philosophy in one sentence Learning and curiosity should never die—if they do, your spirit ends up dying with it. Which architect do you admire and why? I admire the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. As a child, I came across the image of Fallingwater near Pittsburgh. I was mesmerized by the floating cantilevers magically suspended over a waterfall. That very day my path towards architecture became crystal-clear. THE Q & A SAPNA MARFATIA What subject has been occupying your mind lately? Backyard vegetable gardening. What’s a quote that really resonates with you? “Wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it. Right is right, even if no one is doing it.” How would you describe your own home’s aesthetic? Comfortably eclectic. Travel memorabilia lovingly displayed tell fond stories at every corner. What’s one thing you’ve brought back from a trip abroad? An “om” singing bowl and mallet from McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala. It makes a mesmerizing sound. Is there a cool architecture fact everyone should know about Stanford? I have heard contrary theories, but I sincerely believe that in envisioning the Stanford campus, Jane and Leland Stanford tried to recreate the family’s last happy moment together before their son was tragically lost to typhoid. The architecture deliberately recalls Italian Romanesque rather than the popular Collegiate Gothic of that era. What’s guaranteed to make you laugh? My threshold to laugh uncontrollably is extremely low. I enjoy a good laugh anywhere and any time. Stanford University’s director of architecture discusses her passion for preservation, rappelling down a historic structure and the building that laid the foundation for her career. PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF SUNNY SCOTT

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AUTHOR silicon valley suspense words by LOUREEN MURPHY • photography by ANNIE BARNETT PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 29 {punchline} PENINSULA CULTURE

30 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} billionaires controlling an endless loop of wealth. But that doesn’t stop him from falling for ultra-rich socialite and internet icon Chloe. Stranger still, she falls for Shane. “Their relationship is meant to represent the political polarization in our country,” Mike explains. Though from disparate worlds, Shane and Chloe have something in common: both thrive on audience reaction and spin out when that attention is cut off. “Young people are living in this day-to-day world online, where they feel like they need to be a celebrity or an Instagram influencer and have millions of followers in order to have selfworth,” Mike observes. “We need to find a new basis for self-esteem.” In his latest page-turner, Mike weaves in dashcam footage and wiretap transcripts, a grand jury Mike Trigg looks like any other local relaxing at Portola Valley’s idyllic Alpine Inn. He doesn’t seem like a man who would dream up a deadly San Francisco riot or a high-profile kidnapping. And yet he is the imaginative force behind Shane Stoller, the catalyst character in Burner, his latest novel. Debunking the “write what you know” adage, Mike says he shares little in common with any of his new book’s main characters: an imprisoned cyber vigilante whose followers are responsible for 12 deaths; his defense attorney; and a kidnapped internet icon. Even so, the full-time author and former CEO of Palo Alto-based software development company Rustle has plenty to say about tech’s impact on current socio-political tensions and mental health. And it’s generating plenty of grist for his plot-twisting mill. In Burner, hacker, blogger and agitator Shane hates the

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32 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} stories on his family’s electric typewriter and as a sixth grader, created his own role-playing, Dungeons and Dragons-esque game. “That really gave me the entrepreneurial bug from a very early age,” he recalls. Raised in Wisconsin, Mike earned a business degree and worked for a few years on Capitol Hill before coming west to ride the tech wave in the 1990s. Ever curious, he explored its many facets, gathering a host of “you can’t make up this stuff” tales. Mike credits his wife Leslie for kickstarting his novel-writing efforts and the pandemic for offering an opportunity to write daily, not just on weekends. Out of the tasks required of every author—writing, editing and promoting—Mike enjoys two of the three. The extrovert says, “It’s almost surprising to me that I can be deeply satisfied by a day where I did nothing but sit in front of indictment and more, giving the reader a broader perspective than that of the characters, who struggle with gaps in their knowledge. “The book is really about truth and information: how we get it and what we believe,” he says. “And the three narrators are all unreliable.” Mike says he experienced many of the same things as Sam, the protagonist in his first novel Bit Flip, when facing the moral and ethical dilemmas rife in tech startups. After 20-plus years in Silicon Valley, Mike renders characters who seem so real that he often fields the question, “Is that character based on so-andso?” He says no. They’re mashups and archetypes of various Silicon Valley players, painted broadly. In his youth, Mike pounded out

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34 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} mouth,” he shares. “That’s what I find fulfilling.” A true professional, Mike juggles all three phases at once. While promoting Burner, he slogs through the edits of his third book, another tale at the nexus of politics and technology. Set amid a massive internet and cell phone failure in Virginia near Washington, D.C., it traces a woman’s search for her missing lobbyist husband—whom she suspects had a hand in the communications blackout. And Mike balances all this while his fourth novel’s first draft takes shape. Calling his works “cautionary tales,” Mike jabs at the assumption that tech is making the world a better place. “That mantra has probably been on the wall of 80% of the tech companies in the valley,” he notes. Though the industry has produced prosperity and revolutionized daily life, he finds that the motto rings increasingly hollow and offers his books as a cultural commentary on the industry. “Our own behaviors and our own pursuit of ego create these negative side effects,” says Mike. “If there’s a message in my cautionary tales, it’s that we are all part of this.” Societal healing comes down to individuals choosing to change by valuing relationships, talking to each other and really listening. “Focus on what you can do and make your immediate social circle a better place,” he advocates. His goal is to get people thinking, then talking. And hopefully, working to restore thoughtful, respectful political and ideological conversation. “My real opponent is polarization,” he says. my computer and write, with my dog down here on my feet.” When asked if writing comes easily, he answers, “I rarely have writer’s block. I often have editor’s block.” Assembling the non-linear narrative of Burner was a bit like solving a Rubik’s Cube. “That’s where writing becomes a team sport,” Mike says. Like a software company testing and refining its product, he relied on beta readers: “People I trust, who will give me honest feedback.” The result is a striking contrast between the book’s first and final drafts. The fun returns for Mike when the editing is done and he’s promoting his book. He’s in his element as a public speaker. He has toured, talked with book clubs, done signings and served as a panelist at ThrillerFest 2023, an annual conference for international authors. The common theme between book promotion and the solitary writer’s room? “The movement of ideas from your head onto the page or into your thrills & chills miketrigg.com

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36 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} Calling all shutterbugs: If you’ve captured a unique perspective of the Peninsula, we’d love to see your Perfect Shot. Email us at hello@punchmonthly.com to be considered for publication. calling all shutterbugs

PERFECT SHOT rockets’ red glare PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 37 Foster City’s annual Fourth of July fireworks sparkle in this image by PUNCH photographer Gino de Grandis. By shooting from a lofty vantage point, he not only shows off the colorful pyrotechnics but also firmly establishes the Peninsula setting. “When I was taking it, I was thinking about getting a view of the Bay, to show that it’s San Mateo,” he explains. Image by Gino de Grandis / luiphotography.com

38 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} calling all dogs If you’ve got quirky habits or a funny tale (or tail) to tell, email hello@punchmonthly.com for a chance to share a page from your Diary of a Dog in PUNCH. phyllo DIARY OF A DOG photography by ROBB MOST percent Chihuahua, I’m also part Maltese, cocker spaniel, poodle and Pomeranian. Mostly, though, I’m just a friendly mutt with simple tastes. I started out as Lynn and John’s foster dog while recovering from dental surgery, but they soon fell for my gentle nature and decided to make me a permanent part of the family. I love being part of the pack of older dogs at their nice, stair-free home in Redwood City (I have some mobility issues), and I’m happiest when cuddling on the sofa or patrolling the kitchen for delicious crumbs. Because I’m small, I have a reputation for getting underfoot while food is being prepared, but I see it as providing a valuable service. You never know when someone might spill something that needs cleaning up! My name is Phyllo, just like the delicate dough used to make baklava and other tasty treats. I guess the name fits, because my flaxen fur resembles a partially baked pastry. Or maybe it’s because the nice people at Muttsville Senior Dog Rescue thought my personality had a lot of layers. According to a DNA test, I do have quite a few “ingredients” in my mix. While I’m over 50

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PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM 41 SANTA CRUZ miles of murals {due west} words by JOHANNA HARLOW • photography by DAVID VAN BEVEREN TRAVEL & WELLNESS

42 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} You’re walking along a Santa Cruz street, minding your own business, when you turn—and find yourself faceto-face with a kraken-sized octopus. No need to panic. This is not some escapee from a low-budget horror film. You’ve only stumbled upon a mural. The whole city seems awash in seascapes. You’ll find seals and eels skimming along the exteriors of local shops. Kelp forests swaying beside parking lots. Mermaids congregating outside Domino’s Pizza. And a colossal squid jetting along the sound wall by Highway 1. In 2021, Santa Cruz’s mural tally soared in the wake of Sea Walls: Artists for Oceans. Over the course of a single, landscapechanging week, artists rallied to produce 20 splashy new murals. The project paired Made Fresh Crew, a local collective of artists, with PangeaSeed Foundation, an internationally-acclaimed nonprofit. Not just a beautification project, each new mural dives into the topic of ocean conservation, calling out everything from plastic pollution to ocean warming. To tour a few of the region’s large-scale artworks—aquatic and otherwise—head out on this twomile urban hike. THE DOWNTOWN ROUTE If you chose the wrong kind of footwear for today’s adventure, this first stop should help you out. Start this urban hike on the right foot outside Old School Shoes (1017 Pacific Avenue), where you’ll be greeted by a playful, pop-art mural titled Surfin’ Bird. Using cheery oranges and blues, Brian Barneclo weaves in references to the area’s iconic landmarks, including the Boardwalk’s SkyGlider, the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse and the area’s regal redwood trees. Cross Pacific Avenue to circle the cluster of buildings on the other side of the street for three murals from the Sea Walls project. The first, on the side of

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44 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} Sesame Korean Grill (435 Front Street) displays a grim depiction of a whale burdened by an oil refinery on its back. “I hope to convey the serious weight and stress that our land usage has on other beings we share this planet with,” describes Abi Mustapha in her artist statement. On the far side, find two more gems. A stunning scene of a leopard shark swimming through a field of poppies challenges the unwarranted stigma this species faces. Nearby, a monstrous (and shell-less) Little Mermaid goes to war for the ocean, her teeth bared, her hands gripped around a spear. Double back to Front Street until you reach the Front Street Parking Garage (601 Front Street). There, you’ll find four more Sea Walls masterpieces embellishing this structure. The most condemning of these, The Last Salmon by JEKS ONE, shows a businessman dining on a raw hunk of coho salmon. As he coolly inspects the food on his fork, the man doesn’t seem to notice that he’s neck-deep in the rising sea. Although the subject might willfully disregard the crisis he’s causing by feasting on an overfished species, it’s impossible for viewers to ignore this multi-story cry for conservation. At the next building, m. k. contemporary art (703 Front Street), you’ll find Owl You Need Is Love, a collaboration by the Made Fresh Crew. (Bonus points if you start humming the Beatles song.) If you’ve started overheating from the sun, duck inside the gallery for art and AC, then head next door to Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH). Time to refuel? Flit over to Firefly Tavern Santa Cruz, located right around the corner on Walnut Avenue. This upscale tavern serves Asian- and Southern-influenced fare like furikake popcorn with Japanese umami oil, Korean fried rice with house brisket and biscuits with honey lavender butter. Meanwhile, kids can order the I Don’t Care (buttered noodles with cheese) and the I Don’t Know (a beef corn dog with fries). Roxa Hammock Café, another nearby spot to rest your feet, describes itself as a “metaphysical tea house and elixir bar” with hammock chairs dangling from the ceiling everywhere you turn. Their alchemist-themed menu divides items into a periodic table, which ranges from acai bowls and gluten-free treats to drinks with names like Wolfsbane, Emperor’s Elixir and Piper’s Calling. Once revitalized, head to Locust Street for a history lesson on the side of Santa Cruz Somatic Bodywork & Yoga (108 Locust Street). Installed in 2011 for the historic building’s 100th anniversary, the muralist used old reference

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46 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} seriously. “I tried to convey the message in a fun, colorful way, so people will enjoy the image and then absorb the message,” he says. “The giant squid is ridding the sea of plastic, and the surfer and seal are stoked and are supporting him because the ocean is important to everyone!” Feeling inspired to create some art of your own? Step inside the extensive art store to stock up on supplies. Complete the loop by taking the Santa Cruz Riverwalk trail. Wind along the San Lorenzo River until the trail deposits you back at your starting point. photos of the same street taken in 1911 for inspiration. You’ll find the structure’s architect, William Weeks, peeking out of a secondstory window as well as Santa Cruz’s first mayor, Fred Swanton, perusing a newspaper. The next cluster of murals is farther out, so hike up Pacific Avenue, make a left at the Town Clock, then stroll along Water Street until you reach Craft Beauty Parlor (107 River Street). Artist Rachel Barnes, also known as Human Shaped Animal, describes her style as “abstractly organic landscapes” and geometric with shocks of color. Her latest piece melds levitating biodomes with a colorful kaleidoscope of crystals to capture California’s natural splendor. Nearby (124 River Street), an equally prismatic water dragon spews rainbow polka dots instead of flames. Your final destination awaits outside Lenz Art (142 River Street). Though the muralist Jimbo Phillips is making a commentary on plastic pollution, he doesn’t take himself too one more mural hike SOQUEL AVENUE ROUTE: A 4.5-MILE LOOP + Bay in a Bottle by John Pugh (622 Soquel Avenue) + Oceans in Crisis by Shane Jessup (619 Soquel Avenue) + Plastic Pollution by Madeleine Tonzi (705 North Branciforte Avenue) + Let’s Solve the Dissolve by Caia Koopman (730 Soquel Avenue) + Midtown by Jeremiah Kille (1126 Soquel Avenue) + Rio Theater by Dag Weiser (1205 Soquel Avenue) + Skateboarding’s Fallen Soldiers by multiple artists (1240 Soquel Ave) + Guardian of the Deep by Zoe Boston (1913 Soquel Avenue) + Kind People by Taylor Reinhold (3600 Soquel Avenue) mural mania santacruzmurals.com

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50 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} words by JOHANNA HARLOW After decades of surfing, former pro-longboarder Julie Cox still fondly recalls the high of catching her first unbroken wave off the shores of LA County at 14. “I remember those moments and how much I just wanted more of it,” she reflects. “I’ve been chasing that first ‘green wave’ throughout my career.” In 2016, Julie said goodbye to sunny SoCal with its warm sands and tame water temp, left her job as director of the California Surf Museum and moved to foggy Pacifica some scenario would inspire a thriving business. As Julie and Rel acclimated to their new environment, they envisioned the ultimate surfer’s haven: a place to talk waves and gather for local events with access to changing rooms, board storage, a backyard lounge and beach-day merchandise. And warmth. Hot showers, heated patio furniture, a sauna—the whole nine yards. One day, after a Christmas Eve surf session, the two stopped to check out a possible location a block from the ocean. “It ticked all the boxes,” Rel recalls. OUTDOORS surf break PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF MIAH KLEIN with her partner Rel Lavizzo-Mourey. Though the area boasted great swells, the chilly water off Linda Mar Beach came as a bit of a shock. “I used to drive home in my wetsuit, getting my car seats all wet,” Julie recalls. Once home, she’d have to stow her surfboards—an “awkward, ding-prone process of guiding nine-foot ‘logs’ around a corner staircase and into a back room.” Little did she know that this cumber-

{due west} 52 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM Traveler Surf Club & Coastal Outpost had found its home. Today, the patio welcomes members with comfy furniture and all the amenities a surfer could hope for, while the front shop (for members and passersby alike) satisfies beachy needs from swimsuits and serapes to sunscreen and sandals. You’ll find books like Driftwood Shacks and The Little Guide to Shorelines as well as Rel’s line of hoodies, hats, tees and tanks. To achieve this, Rel drew on her previous design experience from founding Silver Lining, a clothing collaboration with artists that tucked paintings and illustrations into the linings of coats and bags. They sell boards too. Among the mid twins and pintails, you’ll find longboards designed by Julie. The versatile California Coaster is her collaboration with local shaper John Moore of Mystic Surfboards. “It’s based off of one of my favorite boards that I personally ride on and compete on,” Julie notes. As an international competitor and a team rider for ROXY, her stamp of approval means something. “I was ranked fifth in the world for three years, which was kind of cool,” Julie mentions, almost as an afterthought. “It was very much a social thing as well as competition,” she adds. “I had an excuse to go travel to different places, and meet up with friends, and meet new people and cultures.” (“Hence the name ‘Traveler,’” Rel remarks). With their surf business catching on, Julie and Rel have expanded to two more locations in Santa Cruz and Malibu. Running a tight ship, Julie helms day-to-day operations and stocks new products, while Rel, the big-picture strategist, handles club maintenance and designs apparel. They work seven days a week to balance retail, club services and events. PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF MICHAELA RABINOV / COURTESY OF REL LAVIZZO-MOUREY / COURTESY OF MORGAN SAUNDERS

54 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} get stoked travelersurfclub.com PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF GEM PADAMADA / COURTESY OF MORGAN SAUNDERS “We’re kind of pinging all over the place,” Rel chuckles. “It’s juggling. It’s like being in the circus.” Julie chimes in, “It keeps it fun!” The ocean keeps them grounded in this vortex of activity. “You clear your mind when you’re in the water, because there’s really nothing else you can be doing,” Rel points out. “When you get out of the water, too, there’s something about the energy of the ocean that stays with you—that kind of tingly feeling throughout the day.” Julie nods her agreement. “I love that it’s different every day,” she adds. “It’s not like a skate park or like snowboarding where you can see it ahead of you. The wave is being formed right in front of you.” Seeking to share their passion, Traveler cultivates the next generation of wave riders with surf lessons for all levels. Rather than group sessions though, expect one-on-ones tailored for those “looking to become independent in the water,” says Rel. “We’re trying to get people to establish surfing as a lifelong practice … becoming a real person of the ocean. That’s our goal. The lesson is the catnip that hopefully turns you into a lifelong surfer.” And when you’ve reached that point, the Traveler club is a perfect place to get plugged in. “We overhear that they’re going on a surf trip together or we see them coming into the club together, and they just met in our backyard,” Julie says of their members. “There are so many cool little connections and friendships that are happening. That feels like a measure of success for us.” Of course, it helps that they’re all rallying around a shared love. “You’re out there together, riding little balls of energy that come into shore,” Julie describes. “It’s pretty magical.”

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