I can't begin to count the number of summers I spent at the boardwalk, loved those days. I'm from the bay area and every summer my family would rent a house on the beach in Aptos, everynight we would go to the boardwalk. They make the best corn dogs and of course the fresh salt water taffy is a must. That is also where I began my Skee ball obsession lol

It's very close -- maybe 7-8 miles as the crow flies, but the trajectory is south, not east/northeast towards me -- a couple of ridges and a creek and a river and a couple of "major" local two-lane highway (Hwy 9, 236) also break the path. Basically, if the fire gets to Boulder Creek and me, half the town will be gone. I can't see that happening, at least not tonight or tomorrow. A remote smaller fire last year just over the ridge, which did not get widely reported, had me more in a tizzy about evacuating...I had the cat carriers out, fire safe in the car, important files in the car, and a gym bag with a couple changes of clothes, as well as a few things for the cats (litter, food, etc.), and a few things for me as well. Not that it would make much difference because my house is at the peak of a canyon/creek "chimney", I did have quite a bit of fire break/ tree clearing done once I kicked the soon-to-be-ex-not-so-DH outta here. He would never do it since he prunes trees for a living and didn't want to "sacrifice" trees at home as well. 'Nuff said... Here's a current fire map, with a little yellow dot at the top right/center showing approximately where I am.

It reminds me of the boutique hotel on Buena Vista Hill in San Francisco that used to be Graham Nash's house. I booked a room there for my brother's honeymoon, and he did paintings of some of the interiors. I've always loved Santa Cruz and almost moved there in 1974. Love the beach house - especially the mosaics in the bathroom. I agree that the chimney is scary, but if it survived Loma Prieta, it must be okay.

I've never seen one of these espaliered, although that does not mean it cannot be. They really prefer to be growing very near the coast. Inland they will often look ratty unless they get some light shade during the hottest parts of the day. Being next to a heat reflective driveway, and having less self-shading due to being espaliered might make growing them trickier if yours is an inland garden. I have always loved the look of their foliage, but sadly, have never lived in an area where they would be happy to grow.