510 Bay Ave, Capitola
5:30 PM
Tuesday, October 6th
Thinking about selling an investment property or planning your next real estate move? Join us for an informative discussion on 1031 Exchanges and Delaware Statutory Trusts (DSTs) and how these strategies may fit into your long-term real estate and financial planning.
We’ll break down how these options work, when they may be worth considering, and some of the important rules and timelines property owners should understand.
What You’ll Learn:
· How a 1031 Exchange works
· Key requirements and timelines
· How DSTs can fit into a 1031 Exchange
· Potential benefits and considerations
· Questions to consider before selling an investment property
Join us for an approachable discussion designed to make these often-complicated topics easier to understand.
There’s something so special about fall in Santa Cruz County. The summer crowds start to thin, the sunsets somehow get even better, the mountains begin to change color, and somehow there’s still plenty of sunshine left for a day at the beach.
From pumpkin patches and apple picking to wine walks, festivals, monarch butterflies and cozy nights around a beach bonfire, we put together our EF Homes Fall Bucket List with some of our favorite ways to enjoy the season around Santa Cruz County.
Save this one for the next time you’re looking for something fun to do this fall, there are 5 Saturdays in October this year after all!
Start the season with one of the prettiest fall outings around. Beeline Blooms in Ben Lomond opens its colorful dahlia fields for visits and u-pick bouquets on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 10am to noon.
The farm was started in 2022 following the CZU Lightning Complex Fire as a way to bring some color and joy back to the mountain community. Today, visitors can wander the rows of Dahlias, pick their favorite blooms and create a bouquet to bring home.
U-pick bouquets are $30 and include your farm visit, cutting instructions, flowers and a jar. Field visits without a bouquet are $10 for adults and free for kids. Because the season is weather dependent, check @beeline_blooms before making the drive.
You can also head south to Vallejo Street Dahlias, a family run micro farm with nearly 2,000 plants and more than 80 varieties, where you can find u-pick blooms, starter plants and tubers for your own garden.
Nothing says fall quite like picking apples straight from the orchard. Head to Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville or Luz Del Valle Farm in Corralitos and fill a basket with locally grown apples. Luz Del Valle's season begins in early September, while Gizdich Ranch announces its u-pick dates as fruit becomes available. And obviously, a trip to Gizdich isn't complete without stopping for a slice of pie.
Once the apple baskets are full, it’s officially pumpkin season. Luckily, Santa Cruz County has plenty of great patches to choose from.
Rodoni Farms is hard to beat for the setting, with rows of pumpkins overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Post Street Farm is a convenient Santa Cruz favorite filled with festive decorations, pumpkins and plenty of photo opportunities.
Crystal Bay Farm in Watsonville offers organic pumpkins, u-pick sunflowers, weekend music, food trucks and Halloween decorations.
The Great Pumpkin Patch on Soquel Drive is an easy, family friendly option, especially for families with younger kids.
Downtown Santa Cruz kicks off October with a full day of fall festivities, including live performances, artisan booths, farm stands, food, carnival games and crafts. It’s an easy way to get into the fall spirit while supporting local businesses.
One of Aptos’ favorite annual events brings together local restaurants, wineries and breweries for an afternoon of food, drinks and live music at beautiful Aptos Village Park. Come hungry and spend the afternoon sampling some of the best flavors Santa Cruz County has to offer.
Classic Thunderbirds take over the Santa Cruz Wharf for a day of vintage cars with an ocean backdrop. Walk the wharf, check out the cars and make a day of it with lunch or drinks overlooking the Monterey Bay.
Summer may technically be over, but Capitola gets one more big celebration by the sea. The 32nd annual Monte Foundation Fireworks Extravaganza lights up the sky over the restored Capitola Wharf. The show is free and makes for a pretty perfect excuse to spend an October evening in Capitola Village.
Celebrate the return of the monarch butterflies to Natural Bridges with arts and crafts, kids' activities, live music, information about monarchs and butterfly gardens, and even hand-cranked monarch pumpkin ice cream. The event is free and is a fun way to welcome one of Santa Cruz's most magical seasonal visitors.
Spend a few fall evenings at the movies during the Santa Cruz Film Festival. The festival features narrative films, documentaries, animation, environmental stories, experimental work, student projects and locally produced films, along with filmmaker Q&As and opportunities to learn more about what happens behind the scenes.
Sip, stroll and shop your way through Pleasure Point while supporting local businesses along the way. Starting at 3811 Portola Drive, this neighborhood event is a fun excuse to grab a few friends and spend the day exploring one of our favorite corners of Santa Cruz.
Come hungry! Professional and amateur chefs compete for the title of Best Chili at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's annual Chili Cook-Off. Sample your way through the entries and enjoy a classic fall day by the beach.
Apple season also means cider season. Try locally made hard cider at Santa Cruz Cider Company in Watsonville, Tanuki Cider in Soquel or Hallcrest Vineyards and Scrumpy Ciders in Felton. It's basically Fall in a glass!
Experience Harvest Season in the Santa Cruz Mountains
Fall is harvest season in wine country, making it a great time to explore the wineries of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Grab a glass of Pinot Noir and take in the scenery at local favorites like Beauregard Vineyards, Soquel Vineyards, Big Basin Vineyards, Windy Oaks or Alfaro Family Vineyards.
Local wineries take over some of Downtown Santa Cruz's favorite shops for an afternoon of tasting and exploring. Check in to receive your wine glass and map, then make your way from business to business sampling wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains and other Northern California producers. Our recommendation? Make dinner reservations downtown afterward and turn it into a full afternoon and evening out.
Head into the Santa Cruz Mountains for an evening in Downtown Boulder Creek filled with local art, seasonal crafts, live music and food and drinks available throughout town.
Celebrating its 18th anniversary, the Santa Cruz Sea Glass & Ocean Art Festival brings together more than 50 artists and makers. Shop genuine sea glass, jewelry, ceramics, photography, soaps, sea salts, fabric art and other ocean inspired creations while supporting the local marine environment.
Some of the year's most dramatic tides arrive along the Santa Cruz County coastline in November. At high tide, watch the ocean surge against the coastline and seawalls. Then return at low tide when normally submerged areas and tide pools are exposed and teeming with life.
Every fall, thousands of monarch butterflies arrive at Natural Bridges State Beach and cluster together in the eucalyptus grove for the winter. On cooler mornings they can gather in enormous groups among the branches, while warmer afternoons often bring more activity. It's one of those uniquely Santa Cruz experiences that never really gets old.
Cooler evenings and earlier sunsets make fall one of our favorite times for a beach bonfire. Grab some friends, blankets, firewood and marshmallows and head to a local beach where fires are permitted for a cozy night by the ocean. Be sure to check current State Parks or local regulations before heading out since fire rules and permitted locations can change.
If you live here, you already know: fall is when Santa Cruz sunset season really starts showing off. Head to the coastal bluffs around Seascape, West Cliff, East Cliff or your favorite stretch of coastline and stay until the sun goes down. Want to make more of an occasion out of it? Book an evening sail with Chardonnay Sailing Charters and watch the sunset from the Monterey Bay.
Take a walk through one of Downtown Santa Cruz's most beautiful historic neighborhoods. Walnut Avenue is lined with Victorian homes, mature trees and some of the city's most interesting architecture. When the leaves begin changing in fall, the whole neighborhood feels a little extra magical.
Once the first real rains arrive, the forests of Santa Cruz County start coming alive with mushrooms. Chanterelles and countless other varieties can appear throughout the mountains, making fall and winter a great time to join a guided mushroom walk with a local naturalist. Unless you really know your mushrooms, we'd leave the actual foraging to the experts and enjoy the hunt instead.
One of our favorite things about living in Santa Cruz County is that every season feels completely different without ever really having to give up the beach. You can spend a fall morning picking apples in Watsonville, wander through a pumpkin patch overlooking the ocean in the afternoon, and finish the day watching the sunset from the cliffs. Whether you check off every item or just pick a few favorites, we hope this list gives you an excuse to get out and enjoy our little corner of the Central Coast this fall.
Happy Fall from all of us at EF Homes!