Weekend at the Boardwalk
COSMOS students visited the famous Santa Cruz boardwalk on 7/22 and 7/23!
Photo by Celina Chen
The ride most like a traditional roller coaster was the Giant Dipper. Namita Gaidhani, Cluster 5, recounted that she was pleasantly surprised being instantly whisked into a dark tunnel instead of trekking up the traditional slow climb. There were several other thrilling rides including Double Shot (drop tower), Typhoon (swinging upside down ride), and Cyclone (dizzy ride). If students wanted to go on a smaller roller coaster, they could ride The Undertow. Keira Wang, Cluster 5, noted it was a bit terrifying but fun sitting in a little car that rotated, so people could be facing backwards when the car plummeted. Students who wanted to cool off could ride the Logger’s Revenge or splash in the ocean.
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If thrilling rides were not someone's cup of tea, they could enjoy playing the various arcade and carnival games. The blinking games within the arcade easily distracted many passersby. Numerous students tried their luck at the claw machines in an attempt to win cute plushies such as boba milk tea cups, bunnies, axolotls, or dolphins. Akshita Bisht, Cluster 6, won a bear and bird after spending 20 credits in total. This was impressive as most players who spent the same amount of credits gained nothing in return. Meanwhile, other students attempted the outdoor carnival game booths, which featured activities such as squirting water guns, climbing ladders, smashing plates, knocking down clowns, and tossing rings onto bottles.
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The smells of the amusement park were ubiquitous and the concession stands attracted numerous customers. There were a variety of snacks including (but not limited to) boba, funnel cake, churros, fried Oreos, Dippin' Dots, chocolate dipped bananas, Tater Twists, and garlic fries. Students had sandwiches and wraps provided by the UCSC cafeteria, but the Boardwalk also offered clam chowder bread bowls, crepes, pizza, corn dogs, cheeseburgers, Philly cheesesteaks, and more.
Some advice from COSMOS students, Jesenia Diaz Altamirano and Briana Alvarado (Cluster 6) is to wear sunscreen, go on rides even if they look scary, and bring a change of clothes. Kusuma Vasireddy (Cluster 5) also cautions people to choose wisely because if they use their card on food, they will be left with hundredths of points (cents) that they can only spend on food and not rides.
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