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Santa Cruz: Home to an Authentic Mission

There are places named Santa Cruz, or Holy Cross, in nations as diverse as Argentina, Jamaica, and Portugal, but to see the Mission Santa Cruz, a key part of North American history, you must travel to Santa Cruz County in the state of California. Today, the city of Santa Cruz serves as the county seat and most populated city there, with a roster of permanent inhabitants approaching 60,000.

Santa Cruz is situated along the northern reaches of Monterey Bay, slightly more than an hour's drive from San Francisco. This means that tourists booked into holiday homes in Santa Cruz can easily take day trips to see such sites as the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium and Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, where they can also enjoy a ride in one of the city's historic cable cars.

Mission Santa Cruz

By far the biggest tourist attraction in Santa Cruz, however, is the mission established by the Spanish back when California was a possession of the Spanish crown. Built in 1791 and named for the Catholic celebration known as the 'feast of the Exultation of the Cross', the mission served for generations as a site where priests sought to convert the local Ohlone and Yokut Indians to the Catholic faith. The mission is now a museum that features fascinating displays about the construction and architecture of the mission as well as the role it historically served in the Santa Cruz community.

Other tourist draws to Santa Cruz include the redwood forests near the coastline and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, which is an amusement park located along the seashore.