The Train to Christmas Town

It's hard to describe Santa Cruz to people--the vibe, the beauty, etc.  On the surface it looks like a cute little surfing town, and the more time you spend here the more familiar you get with the zaniness.  Once you are here for a while you see the weirdness come out...one example is that homeless men won't ask you for money, but they will ask if you want to play cards.  It's a small thing, but it says a lot more about the place in general, ya know.  

This holiday season, we are getting a sense of the structural weirdness of this place.  All weekend, at nearly every point throughout town, from about noon to 8 pm you can hear the loudest freakin' train horn I've ever heard blowing repeatedly every few minutes.  This is apparently "the train to Christmas town."  "Sun of my life" notes that the county made the decision to purchase this train because of the business opportunity it presented...although no train to an actual location, like San Jose or San Francisco, (that might actually be a significant business opportunity) is in the works.  

Apparently people board the train and ride around for an hour or so while elves come through the train cars and serve cookies and hot cocoa.  It sounds pretty adorable for kids...but the train itself sounds like the end of my sanity on the weekends.