More than a decade ago, I spent some time in Santa Cruz along with the rest of Automattic for the Grand Meetup that year. I’ve already posted a few sunrise photos on the beach, but these photos of surfers riding the waves have been in my TODO folder for a long time.

A dog pokes his nose out of a caravan in Santa Cruz. I think he wanted to come play with us as we walked past.

As the sun slowly rose over Santa Cruz, I found myself drawn to a quaint restaurant nestled along the beach front. The golden morning rays cast a mesmerizing shadow of a street lamp on the building, while inside, a diligent worker was already busy prepping for the day ahead.

Way back in 2013, at the Automattic Grand Meetup, I took an early morning walk along the promenade in Santa Cruz. The sun had already risen, but the world was quiet, and I enjoyed a solitary walk before the day’s work had to be done.

Early one morning in Santa Cruz, California. October 2013.

Santa Cruz, California. October 2013

Santa Cruz, 2013.

A seagull on the pier in Santa Cruz, California. This was taken early one morning on a sunrise photowalk with Marcus. It was so early I almost slept in and had to hurry to catch up with him!

One from a few months back. Automattic held their annual grand meetup in California this year and we split our time between San Francisco and Santa Cruz. On our final night in Santa Cruz there was a small party for everyone and fire dancers appeared to entertain us. I was across the poll from them…

Sunrise on the wharf in Santa Cruz, California just over a month ago.

Waves crash on the beach in front of the hotel in Santa Cruz where Automattic recently held a company meetup.

This was the view from my hotel room at The Dream Inn, Santa Cruz last week. Seems like a million miles away now, but in fact it’s only about, oh, maybe six thousand miles. Anyway, I was there with almost all of Automattic for our annual meetup. It’s a fabulous location, the early morning light…