PENNING A MISSIVE TO SANTA CLAUS? You might want to ask after day-to-day life at the North Pole in the opening paragraph, and then proceed to share a bit about your world. Have you had any recent adventures? Performed any good deeds? Made any wonderful wishes? All worthy of inclusion. Then seal it up, and prepare to take a ride through Santa Cruz, one that involves the rails and whimsy and beachy sights. For the Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train is ready to move forward, festively, beginning the day after Thanksgiving, but the rail-based roll isn't the only merry part of the whole. There's a "...North Pole mailbox just outside of the entrance to Neptune's Kingdom by the first car of the train," so you'll definitely want to have a note to Kris Kringle to drop in the enchanted box. And as for the Neptune's Kingdom part? That reveals another chapter in the seasonal train's story. It leaves from the celebrated...
SANTA CRUZ BEACH BOARDWALK, adding further excitement to the end-of-the-year outing. Want to take a spin on the carousel? Play a game? Eat something covered in sprinkles and/or whipped cream? You're just a short saunter away from the sand-close action. You may have enjoyed your fill of toasty cider aboard the train, though surely there's room, later on, for an ice cream or a Boardwalk-y bite. Other sweet features of the train ride? Holiday caroling, live tunes, and the chance to chat up Santa Claus. There are many avenues that give a fan of the most festive of times a chance to enjoy the season, but very few of those avenues come equipped with an actual ye olde train "...adorned with thousands of colorful lights." Day #1 is Friday, Nov. 24, the final 2017 date is Christmas Eve Eve (so, yes, Dec. 23rd), but do note: The Santa Cruz Holiday Lights Train only runs on select nights. Choo choo choo in the direction of a ticket now.
