Wilma and Frank Costa shared a sweet ride back in time Thursday
to the place where their romance officially began more than six
decades ago.
J.M. Brown
Wilma and Frank Costa shared a sweet ride back in time Thursday to the place where their romance officially began more than six decades ago.
After snapping their picture inside the old-fashioned photo booth at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk – just as they did on their first date in 1945 – the Aromas couple walked outside to find a surprise from family members gathered to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary.
Relatives hired the city’s new pedicab driver, who was decked out in a black bow tie and black jacket, to pedal the Costas downtown and along the rain-spackled waterfront before delivering them to the wharf for a sunset dinner. As they listened to 1940s tunes from driver Tom Horner’s iPod, a rainbow appeared as the octogenarians huddled close along West Cliff Drive, peering out over the rain-kissed surf in a cab adorned with twinkling holiday lights.
“This is one we’ll remember,” said Wilma, an 83-year-old retired nurse. “We’ve always had a special place in our hearts for this place.”
Creating warm memories is precisely why Horner, a 51-year-old motor coach driver living in Hayward, got back into the pedicab business this summer after a long break. He operated a pedicab service for 10 years in San Francisco before hanging it up after the dot-com bust, but he felt compelled to start it up again in Santa Cruz this year to provide a fun transportation alternative for residents and tourists alike.
He’s given hundreds of rides since July, when he first launched eMotion Pedicabs by circulating the downtown and beach areas. The name of his burgeoning business carries a double meaning.
The “e” represents the bike’s electrical assistance. There is a 600-watt motor in front and 250-watt motor in back, powered partially by a solar panel that acts as the seat canopy. The motors help the pedicab reach a top speed of 20 mph.
But Horner also hopes the ride, made smooth by bumper shocks, elicits “emotions” that will keep customers coming back again and again.
“The couple had a wonderful time,” he said of the Costas, after dropping them off at Gilbert’s Firefish Grill. “Telling me they had an experience they’ll never forget, that’s an emotion. I like to make a difference.”
The Costas’ daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and David Monk, found Horner’s business online. While bicycle-powered cabs have come and gone in Santa Cruz over the years, Horner’s is believed to be the only one presently operating in the city. There is one in Capitola.
“We got lucky,” David Monk said.
Horner takes reservations and can accommodate up to three adults or two adults and two children. He will customize the ride for special events and plug in customers’ iPods so they can enjoy their own soundtrack.
Frank Costa, an 87-year-old former dairyman who until last year operated Costa’s Candy Cane Tree Farm in North Monterey County, said the ride around Santa Cruz was “really something. I didn’t know something like that existed.”
After Frank first laid eyes on Wilma at a skating rink in Watsonville, he asked her father for permission to drive her home, but her father said no. However, during the next month, after having Frank checked out around town, her father agreed to let the two go on a date at the Boardwalk. They were married 10 months later, and now have five children, seven grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.
Seeing their favorite sights go by at the pedicab’s slow pace brought back a flood of memories for the couple, who said the secret to their long-lasting relationship is pretty darn simple.
“I love her,” Frank Costa said. “I still do.”
