Things to Do in Watsonville

With a relentless focus on practice, San Jose Batting Cages lets players improve their hitting, pitching, and fitness to better prepare for their next outing on the diamond. Whether working through in-season regimens or off-season training, batters perfect their swing in indoor and outdoor baseball and softball cages, and hurlers enter the pitching lanes to hone their fastball against imaginary Ming Dynasty vases. Cages stay open until 8 p.m. each night, helping players blow off post-work steam or just squeeze in a few swings before hitting the hay. A staff of instructors helps athletes develop all aspects of their game through hitting and pitching lessons as well as team and group clinics.

Lucky Fest helps revelers safely usher in America's greenest holiday by gathering 25 custom-built pubs along a single stretch of 11th Street. Each makeshift mead hall has taken on a unique theme for St. Patrick's Day. Guests can visit Grace O'Malley's Fantastic Voyage to enjoy a drink at a 16th-century pirate-themed alehouse built on a converted clipper, then swing past MacGowen's Karaoke Bar to belt out a favorite tune or deliver a rousing pep talk backed by Pointer Sisters tracks. Funny bones are tickled by visiting comedians from around the country during a drop-in at Patty O'Flynn's Comedy Shop, while the Irish Bar Bar Shop's barber chairs welcome visitors to stop in for a quick trim before they head to The Docks to pose for a souvenir photo with the Sea Maiden of the Celtic Sea.

The beauty of little ladies blossoms at Hollywood Princess, a party facility that hosts birthday galas, boutique soirees, and general revelry for girls aged 4–12. Burgeoning beauties revel in grown-up style glam, while friendly staff members polish nails to a sparkly sheen, create striking up-dos, or help hands cull their own scented gloss. To extend the adventure, the boutique also stocks a broad selection of princess wands, girls birthday boutique clothing such as pettiskirts, birthday number tops, custom tutus along with a wide variety of all holiday clothing.

During her childhood, Cheryl Brown learned everything she could about horses. She joined the Hacienda Hi-Riders horse drill team and participated in 4-H club meetings before majoring in animal science for her first year at Cal Poly, Pomona and writing Mr. Ed's memoirs. Eventually, Brown's love of animals took a back seat to her love for the arts as she switched gears and graduated with a master's degree in art education, which blossomed into a 15-year career as an art teacher as well as a YMCA instructor and a Girl Scout leader.

At Art and More Day Camp, she aims to excite and enlighten youngsters with an endless array of art classes, outdoor activities, and horseback-riding lessons. The spacious facility, which brims with cats and other four-legged friends, comes outfitted with a fenced-in pool, a bounce house, and foosball tables and welcomes kids as young as 3 for one-hour sessions or half- or full-day camps.

Brown's favorite class, Parent with Young Child Art Time, has adults and their preschoolers joining creative forces as parents learn the stages of development and little ones create and play. More than 17 art classes provide an outlet for mini adults to learn a range of art skills that include the basics of drawing, how to create collages, and the art of papier-mâché-ing a younger sibling's mouth shut. Brown also teaches youngins how to properly ride a horse during private and group lessons, during which she bestows her many years of riding experience.

Perched at the helm of Monterey Waterfront & Cannery Row Tours, author, historian, and fourth-generation Monterey native Tim Thomas leads tour-goers on a voyage back through time. He enlightens groups on the area's past, stopping frequently to appreciate the people and occupations that have made the bay a cultural cornucopia. Fisheries seize the spotlight during the primary tour, which focuses on Monterey's ascension as one of the world's biggest fishing ports because of its fishermen's ability to talk the salmon into jumping into the boats. By special arrangement, tour-takers can also reel in facts during a jaunt through Nihonmachi—or Japan Town—or a spooky-story-packed exploration of the Monterey Cemetery.

When Forest Roberts was 9 years old, he built a boat in his backyard with money saved from his paper route. Since 1989, Roberts has participated more officially in the maritime industry, working water-related jobs from commercial diving to boat building—and often living aboard boats—before opening his sailing-charter company in 2006. Today, California Classic Sail operates from Santa Cruz on the shores of Monterey Bay, earning praises from previous passengers and a Santa Cruz Sentinel feature story.

Roberts’s background in the building industry helped him recognize the superb craftsmanship in his current yacht, Sarah. The builder, William Garvie—who named the vessel after his granddaughter—constructed the 52-foot-long boat based on a line drawing published in an early 20th-century yachting-magazine spread. Made of wood instead of the fiberglass many modern boats are made of, its vintage style and wood hull set it apart from other Santa Cruz charter vessels. Dubbed a “Sharpie” for its long, narrow shape, rather than an ability to leave permanent wakes, the graceful yacht zips through the bay waters on chartered trips for groups of up to six. Passengers can relax onboard as Roberts steers, or choose to learn basic sailing maneuvers through hands-on instruction. Roberts can also tailor trips to special occasions such as engagements and birthdays, and can sail during many times of day, including more-scenic mornings and sunsets.