Vacationing in Santa Cruz with our families was an annual summer event, staying at the El View Lodge or Salt Air. We were 14/15 years or age then. My grandparents honeymooned in Santa Cruz in 1904, took the train there, so my family has been going to Santa Cruz for over 100 years now.
There used to be a ride called the Flying Cages, located near where the Pirate Ship is now. Some guys thought they’d impress their girlfriends with their ability to make the Cages go round (by throwing their weight back and forth till the cage makes a full circle) but they couldn’t do it. So my cousins and I showed them how. I started rocking my cage back and forth while the attendant was putting my cousins in their cages, by the time he got to me I was already moving myself back and forth, no need to give me a shove. All 3 of us had the bells ringing, they even had to apply the brakes to slow us down before the time limit expired. We won some beads with a pendant that said “I’m a Swinger”.
