Travel Writing & California Writers of the Monterey Bay

All students will stay in dorm rooms or residential apartments on the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) campus. A set of sheets, two towels, a washcloth, a blanket, and a pillow will be provided. Most of our meals will be prepared by a UCSC dining hall, although you will need to bring money for a few of our meals when we are out and about. (You should bring a minimum of $200 for these meals and to use as pocket money for snacks and small souvenirs such as postcards.)

No! You need no special experience in the outdoors to join. Any hikes or physical activity we do as a class will be at a beginner level. There will be hills (!) and paved and unpaved walking paths to traverse, but you don’t need any specialized hiking equipment to complete these walks.

Central California summers are quite different from Texas summers. You can generally expect highs in the mid-80s lows in the mid-50s. You’ll need at least a hoodie or sweater to stay warm, but be sure to wear layers so you can adjust to temperature changes throughout the day and across various microclimates. You’ll probably be comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt, plus a hoodie or sweater for cool mornings and evenings. Bring sturdy sneakers for walking and a pair of flip-flops for lounging and showers in the dorm. You’ll also want to make sure you have a good sun hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen for your time in the sun. It’s possible we may have the opportunity to swim or even just walk ankle/calf-deep in the chilly Pacific Ocean, so you may like to bring a swimsuit and beach towel with you as well.

You will take lots of photos and you’ll need to be able to communicate with your program director, so be sure to bring your smart phone. You’ll also need a journal of some kind (an inexpensive, thin spiral notebook will work just fine) and pens/pencils for recording your travel experiences. You will need to have access to a computer for submitting your online work, and while it is possible to transcribe your handwritten work after the completion of our travels together, you will be well-served by bringing a laptop computer along on this trip.

We stay busy in a good way. Every minute we’re in the parks and doing something is potential work/class time – but we’re having fun and experiencing our location at the same time. Nights are used for dinner, editing time and prepping for the next day, but students also tend to go to bed quite early on these trips. We will have a few days dedicated to working time toward the end of the trip. The goal is to have much of your work done before we head back to Texas.

We will be very busy moving around to various towns and different sites around Monterey Bay on this trip. Our field trips are designed to be thought-provoking, deeply interesting, and fun! Much of our time in the class vehicle(s) will be used for note taking, mini-team conversations, and reading. In other words, you won’t have much downtime to yourself, but we will stop for rests and class conversations in between our more active class activities throughout our intensive travel days together in California!