I have a question about lodging in California for those of you who live there or vacation there. We'll be going to a wedding in a bit and will be in the area for probably four days. The wedding itself is at a place call "Roaring Camp", which is a little north of Santa Cruz. The address says "Felton", which must be a small town. There is a "Meet and Greet" the day before the wedding in San Jose (which I think is about a 30 minute drive from the wedding location?) Also a brunch in San Jose the morning after the wedding. We are trying to decide where to stay. As is typical at weddings, we expect to be on our own for the most part. The groom and family will be busy with wedding stuff so I don't think we'll be hanging out, even though they are our close friends for decades.
We're not big into cities, so we were thinking of staying some place closer to the wedding venue, which looks (in pictures) to be in the mountains (or forest). For activities, we prefer outdoor nature stuff over city stuff. Beach's are OK, but not a primary interest for us.
Any recommendations for places to stay and things to do? Cost is not a big concern on lodging. I mean, I don't relish spending $1k per night, but a couple hundred is fine if that's what California costs. We could go nice, or we could go rustic (rustic is not the same as dirty or rundown - I consider it just "older style"). There will be three of us staying, and we will have a rental car.
We're not big into cities, so we were thinking of staying some place closer to the wedding venue, which looks (in pictures) to be in the mountains (or forest). For activities, we prefer outdoor nature stuff over city stuff. Beach's are OK, but not a primary interest for us.
Any recommendations for places to stay and things to do? Cost is not a big concern on lodging. I mean, I don't relish spending $1k per night, but a couple hundred is fine if that's what California costs. We could go nice, or we could go rustic (rustic is not the same as dirty or rundown - I consider it just "older style"). There will be three of us staying, and we will have a rental car.
. We used to go to Santa Cruz often growing up. Last time I mentioned it to my cousin, she told me not to go there as it wasn’t safe due to so many gangs. I don’t say this to be a Debbie Downer, but please stay safe and even as a fella maybe keep to a group and/or at least have someone who knows where you are. 
