social life | PUC Blog

By: Dana Negro

When you think of the Napa Valley, surrounded by beautiful vineyards and majestic forest beds, you don’t immediately think of the beach but you might be surprised.

As someone born and raised in a beach town, the thought of spending my college years away from easy access to sand and waves was enough to give me pause. But what I came to find is PUC is in the PERFECT location—whether you love to hike the forest, ski the slopes, or yes, catch a wave—you’re just a short road trip away. And because I’m kind, I’ll spare you the googling and tell you five of the best beaches near PUC. You’re welcome!

Dillon Beach (1 hour and 25 minutes from PUC)

Would you like to know the absolute best thing about Dillon Beach? It’s a dog beach! That’s right, there are puppies everywhere. Pack up your car with some blankets and friends, swing by Giugni’s for some sandwiches, and head off for an afternoon of relaxing and puppy-petting. Pro-tip: Official beach parking is $10 so unless you want to park in town and take a nice walk, you’ll need to bring some cash. Have everyone in the car chip in!

Goat Rock Beach (1 hour and 30 minutes from PUC)

Goat Rock is probably the beach most frequented by PUC students. Every year the Student Association, as well as multiple student clubs, have both church and vespers services here. Pro-tip: The area is a harbor seal birthing place between March and July so during those months we wouldn’t necessarily recommend going for a swim, BUT it’s a great spot to view incredible sea life and maybe catch a cute seal pup on camera.

Fort Point Beach (1 hour and 51 minutes from PUC)

Surfs up! While Fort Point isn’t the closest beach in the San Francisco area, it’s worth the extra drive simply for its beautiful location. Fort Point Beach lives right under the famous Golden Gate Bridge which guarantees a great view and great photo opportunities! Head towards the city, grab a board, and hang ten. Pro-tip: If you’re not from around here, it’s important to note: you’ll want to bring a jacket and if you’re surfing, a wetsuit!

Capitola Beach (2 hours and 49 minutes from PUC)

Located in the heart of the quintessential beach in Santa Cruz County, Capitola is by far not only my favorite beach but also my favorite place on earth. Take a break from the ocean by wandering in and out of the cute little village shops, grab a slice from the famous Pizza My Heart’s original location, or treat yourself to some local ice cream. You really can’t go wrong. And if you’re looking for that perfect photo opportunity, you don’t have to look far, with a row of brightly colored buildings locals refer to as “The Venetians” right on the water’s edge, you really can’t take a bad shot. Pro-tip: Wait till sunset for even more stunning photos.

Glass Beach (2 hours and 50 minutes from PUC)

Do love collecting sea glass? Spending time looking for that bright cobalt blue color? Or maybe just looking at and taking photos of it? Glass Beach is pretty famous for its coastline covered in colorful glass pieces smoothed from years in the sea. The glass makes up about half the shore and mixed with the dark-colored sand, is a pretty remarkable sight. Pro-tip: It’s actually illegal to remove any cultural or natural features from a state beach so be sure to take lots of photos and selfies!

Well, there you have it, folks! Five fantastic beaches for when you really need some ocean therapy and time away from campus. For more information about life in Northern California, visit our NorCal page on the PUC website!

Hi! I’m Kristen Beall and I have a few thoughts I wanted to share with you.

I am just about to wrap up my Pacific Union College career in just a few short weeks. I could not be more excited to start this next step in life but that means leaving behind my beloved school. Over the past four years I have fallen in love with not only our beautiful campus but the beautiful people as well. When I say “beautiful” I am not talking about outward appearances, but inward. PUC has attracted some of the most genuine and loving people I have ever met. As one of the student chaplains on campus I have come into contact with multiple students/faculty from all different
backgrounds and I have learned something from each one of them. PUC has provided me with a lot of opportunities to get involved such as being a student chaplain, student ambassador, desk worker, tutor at the TLC tutor, and as a Life Group leader. All of these “jobs” have been such a blessing to me. I was able to help students with their homework, life problems, and even their decision on coming to PUC.

If you are reading this then you must be either planning on joining the PUC family or
at least interested in what this school has to offer; I hope I can help reassure you
that PUC is where you need to be. You see I was not planning on coming to PUC. In
fact, I was enrolled at a community college for five weeks before deciding 5 days
before school started to make PUC my home. It took some adjusting, as any
relocation would, but after settling in I fell in love with the school. There are so
many opportunities to get involved and if you take advantage of these then I
guarantee your experience will be just as amazing as mine was. If you like sports
you can join a collegiate team or intramurals for some friendly competition. If sports
are not your cup of tea we have multiple music opportunities such as wind
ensemble, orchestra, gospel choir, and many other groups to join including a jazz
band! PUC also has many clubs on campus such as the Mabuhay Club, Math Club,
Chess Club, and more.

There are so many opportunities PUC has to offer but the last one I’d like to focus on
is campus ministries. Getting involved with the campus ministries team was the
best decision I have made at PUC. The group that I have worked with is an amazing
group and I couldn’t be more proud of the spiritual leaders they have become.
Whatever your passion is, whatever you enjoy doing, we will help you make it into a
ministry. Yes, there are specific jobs that need to be filled but more importantly we
want to accommodate to you and the needs of the campus. There are multiple
chaplains around campus that are always willing to talk and help in any way they
can. There are no prerequisites, just stop in the office and we’ll get you plugged in!

If you would like more information about campus ministries and other ways you can get involved at PUC, take a look at the Campus Culture page on our Admissions site. You can also check out the Student Association Facebook page for upcoming events such as banquets, vespers speakers, and more.