California Travel

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California Travel

One should tour California at least once. Start from San Diego. (Other San Diego websites are: sandiego.org and visitors guide). The San Diego Zoo. is a good place to stop. After visiting downtown and the harbor area proceed to La Jolla (Also another La Jolla website). The Scripps Institute. is there. From there you can travel to Palm Springs or Oceanside. Legoland is in Carlsbad. From there, one can travel to San Clemente, then Dana Point. Laguna Beach (artist community) is further north.

Fashion Island and Balboa Island are in Newport Beach (Another Newport Beach site). Take either the 45 or 90 minute harbor tour. From there go to Disneyland.The South Coast Plaza are located in Santa Ana. Proceed to Knott's Berry Farm. Proceed to Long Beach (Another Long Beach site). Select from a variety of restaurants on Pine Street, then proceed to Shoreline Village and the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific and the Queen Mary.

From there travel to Ft. MacArthur museum in San Pedro after getting something to eat at Ports O' Call (Harbor cruise, helicopter ride there. You can also go to Catalina Island (Another Catalina Island website.) Visit either Avalon or Two Harbors. From there go to Alpine Village (for European influences) located in Torrance. Visit Del Amo Fashion Center and spend a night at the Torrance Marriott.

The following morning travel west on Torrance Blvd. and park down near the beach spending time in
Redondo Beach at the Pier (Another Pier link). Drive through South Redondo (lots of small shops) and begin your ascent to the Palos Verdes Peninsula (Go to the top to see a sample of monstrous mansions) and return. Drive north on Pacific Coast Hwy and spend some time in Hermosa Beach. Visit the pier area. Proceed to Bristol Farms on Rosecrans Ave (Manhattan Village, a mall, is also in the area) and continue to the pier in Manhattan Beach.

After visiting the South Bay area, select tours in the Los Angeles (the stars homes, to Farmer's Market near CBS studios on Fairfax, the museums if you'd like, the Getty Museum, Go to Venice and Santa Monica .See the pier and the 3rd Street Promenade) Make sure you see Universal Studios. Up north you can take the coastal route taking Highway 1 all the way to San Fransisco.

Stop in Santa Barbara, Lompoc, Vandenberg AFB, and Solvang along the way.San Luis Obispo and Morrow Bay are next. Also see Monterey, Carmel, Half Moon Bay on the way. Continue north and then swing around after seeing places along the coast and come down through Shasta County and then from Sacramento (Old Sacramento is an interesting historic area) head east to Lake Tahoe, then proceed down Hwy 395 (turn off for a visit to Yosemite).

Contributions

Poem of the south bay

Robin Bryant rbryant@usdm.net 07/16/2001

Hi my name is Robin Bryant. I am contacting you on behalf of the San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau. I found your web site while surfing and noticed that it is a great resource for California travel information. Therefore, I would like to suggest this web site.

The San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau web site provides a wealth of unbiased information on attractions, travel, hotels, meetings and conventions, history, sports, tours and more about the San Jose, California area. I believe that the San Jose web site would benefit your users by providing them an additional link about the area.

Barbara Gordon. yaya@lightspeed.net 02/10/2000

*California Missions
*Coast art gallery between San Simeon and Montera
*Wine Country (Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino)
*Richardson Grove in the Redwoods (Northern Ca.)
*Lake Isabella ( Whiskey Flats Days , ski resort - Shirley Meadows
__fish you can catch: cat fish, Trout, Bass, Croppie, Blue Gill,
__and Carp. fishing derby in March)
__Kern river (white water rafting,
__Kern Valley Bioregions Festival in April
__Kern River Turkey Vulture Festival in Sept.
__Mountain bike races in March
__Slalom Kayak Race in April
__Spring art festival in May
__Dirt Diggers
__ Kernville Motorcross in June
__Fall arts and crafts fair in Sept.
__Personal watercraft races in July
__Rod run in Oct.
__ Fat tire Festival mountain bike races in Oct.

Karen Keuhl. KayKay@accex.net 02/12/2000 The Central Coast

"After your tourists leave Santa Barbara on their way up the coast, they must stop in Solvang
in the Santa Ynez Valley . Solvang is a Danish community right out of Hans Christian Anderson.
Many village shops, with windmills attached, have authentic Danish food and goods for sale. An
interesting stop and the food is great! And right off of Hwy 101.When in the area, Los Olivos
is just over the hill and is where Return to Mayberry was filmed with Andy Griffith and Don Knotts.
There's another day to add to the trip! Los Alamos is a great old stage coach stop of years gone
by but looks as it did in the 1800's. Rightoff the 101 Freeway about 25 miles north of Solvang
the Union Hotel, once a brothel, was and still is a favorite stopover for weary travellers, has
great food, great hospitality and a lot of atmosphere of the old west. The rooms are of original
decor. Next door is a mansion moved from Nipomo that was converted into several different
rooms as a hotel. Each room has a theme: '50's room has a bed in a Cadillac convertible.

The TV is a drive-in moving screen and the speaker is a drive-in speaker stand. There's a Roman
room, Egytian room, Gypsy room, Ship room, French room, and a few more to choose from. All
have hot tubs and all meals and beverages are served through dumbwaiters, so the guests
don't have to leave their rooms or see a soul other than who they are with if they choose.
Each room is very unique and an experience to suit any mood. A great place to spend a night.
On the way up the coast, another great place to stop and at least see is the Madonna Inn.
It is pink and can be seen right off the 101 Freeway as you go through San Luis Obispo .
This is another hotel with various theme rooms, from the Caveman room to the simple Daisy
room. Just to wonder around the hotel grounds and restaurant is a pleasure-trip in itself. They
also serve up delicious delicacies to tempt the pallet. Their homemade pies are outrageous!
Cambria Pines by the Sea , San Simeon and Hearst Castle are a must for anyone travelling up
the coast of California on Highway 1. You can add another day to the trip right there!! While
visiting this part of the Central Coast between Cambria and San Simeon, there is a stretch of
beach near the lighthouse where the elephant seals come to stay. There are different groups
at different times of the year. In the winter and spring, the moms and younguns come to
sunbathe. And in the summer, the batchelors can be seen. You can almost walk right up to
them, but the volunteer caretakers warn you not to go within 15 feet of them.

Paso Robles has some great wineries. Wine tasting rooms and cellars abound. PR
is inland about 20 miles from Morro Bay. Also, if your tourists are interested in
California Missions, the Central Coast has some fabulous places to visit. The best
are in Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez, Lompoc, San Luis Obispo, and San Miguel. All are
state run and have been rebuilt to look like they did when Father Serra wondered up and
down the region. Most have special seasons when they have native Indians, padres and
villagers dressed in period costumes actually working in the Missions and surrounding
villages just like they did in the 1800's. It's very interesting to see how California
was in the early days."

Prepared by Don Di Tomasso