Category: California

Point Reyes

If the weather is fine there is no finer place to explore than Point Reyes National Seashore, a spectacular wilderness area stretching along the sea (www.nps.gov/pore). If you happen to be in the area on a weekend, in addition to taking advantage of the free ranger programs, call ahead (415-663-1200) to inquire about special field trips (such as tidepool studies, bird watching, and sights and sounds of nature) that are offered for a fee. The ranger station, located in a handsome redwood building at the entrance to the park, has maps, leaflets, books, a museum, and a movie theater where a presentation gives interesting information on the park. Be sure to stop here before your explorations to obtain a map and study what you want to see and do. A short stroll away from the ranger station is the “earthquake trail” where markers indicate changes brought about by the 1906 earthquake. Also within walking distance is the Morgan Ranch where Morgan horses are raised and trained for the park system.

Point Reyes Lighthouse

If the weather is clear, a drive out to Point Reyes Lighthouse is a highlight that should not be missed. As you drive for 45 minutes across windswept fields and through dairy farms to the lighthouse you realize how large the park really is. When you arrive, it is a ten-minute walk from the parking area to the viewing area. From there, steps lead down to the lighthouse. Be prepared: it is like walking down a 30-story building and once down, you have to come back up! In late fall and spring it is a perfect place from which to watch for migrating gray whales.

When spending the night in the area select a B&B in Inverness or Point Reyes Station. When in Point Reyes Station consider dining at the Station House Café, a delightful restaurant with delicious, imaginative food, served in its dining room or on the tranquil, brick-paved, cottage-garden patio.

Running through the heart of Pasadena is Colorado Boulevard.  Long before freeways came to dominate the Los Angeles landscape it served as a small piece of the much romanticized Route 66.  But now it’s more famous as the route along which Pasadena displays its annual New Year’s extravaganza, the Rose Parade — a pageantry of flower filled floats that advertise the areas balmy winter weather.  And smack the heart of Pasadena sit its historic downtown (around the intersection of Fair Oaks and Colorado) an area know to locals as Old Town—the perfect area to dine and shop.

Norton Simon Museum

Norton Simon Museum

Nearby points of interest include the Norton Simon Museum and the Huntington Library with its beautiful botanical gardens (a short drive away, see below).  There’s plenty of reason enough to visit and consider using Pasadena as a base, riding the Gold Line to Union Station and El Pueblo de Los Angeles and from here taking the Red Line to Hollywood and Highland to visit Hollywood Boulevard (Mann Chinese Theatre, Kodak Theatre, El Capitan Theater).

Huntington Library, Art Gallery, and Botanical Gardens, the 207-acre estate of the late Henry Huntington should not be missed. Huntington’s enormous home is now a museum featuring the work of French and English 18th-century artists. What makes the museum especially attractive is that the paintings are displayed in a homelike setting surrounded by appropriately dramatic furnishings. Nearby, in another beautiful building, is the Huntington Library—a real gem containing, among other rare books, a 15th-century copy of the Gutenberg bible, Benjamin Franklin’s handwritten autobiography, and marvelous Audubon bird prints. The gardens of the estate merit a tour in themselves and include various sections such as a rose garden, a Japanese garden, a camellia garden, a cactus garden, an English garden, and a bonsai garden. Located at 1151 Oxford Road in San Marino, the estate is open Tuesday through Friday noon to 4:30 pm, and Saturday and Sunday 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. For information on special events and shows call 626-405-2100, www.huntington.org.

The Huntington

The Huntington

The Norton Simon Museum of Art is without doubt one of the finest private art museums in the world, set in a beautiful Moorish-style building accented by a reflecting pool and manicured gardens. Norton Simon and his actress wife, Jennifer Jones, share their incredible collection of art including paintings by such masters as Rubens, Rembrandt, Raphael, Picasso, and Matisse. The museum, open Thursday through Sunday noon to 6 pm, is located at 411 West Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena. (626-449-6840, www.nortonsimon.org)

Besides an idyllic climate San Diego offers a wealth of attractions and amusements.

San Diego Zoo

Balboa Park is without a doubt one of the highlights of downtown San Diego. Here you find THE attraction the world famous San Diego Zoo, (619-234-3153, www.sandiegozoo.org). For a good orientation of the zoo take either the 40-minute bus tour or the aerial tramway. Most of the more than 3,000 animals live within natural-style enclosures with very few cages. The Children’s Zoo is especially fun, with a nursery for newborn animals and a petting zoo. But Balboa Park offers much more than its splendid zoo. There are fascinating museums and exhibits within the 1,400-acre park the Museum of Man, the Aerospace Museum, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Timken Art Gallery, the Natural History Museum, the Reuben H. Fleet Space Theater and Science Center, the Hall of Champions, the Museum of Photographic Arts, and the beautiful wooden Botanical Building. Most of the museums are housed in picturesque Spanish-style buildings. (619-239-0512, www.balboapark.org)

San Diego Ferry

While in San Diego take the bridge or the ferry over to Coronado, an island-like bulb of land tipping a thin isthmus that stretches south almost to the Mexican border. Here you find not only a long stretch of beautiful beach, but also the Del Coronado Hotel, a Victorian fantasy of gingerbread turrets and gables. The Del Coronado, locally referred to as “The Del,” is a sightseeing attraction in its own right and makes an excellent choice for a luncheon stop.

The Embarcadero is the downtown port area located along Harbor Drive. From here you can take a harbor cruise or visit one of the floating museums tied up to the quay, part of the San Diego Maritime Museum. These include the Star of India, built in 1863, a dramatic tall-masted ship that carried passengers and cargo around the world. (619-234-9153, www.sdmaritime.com)

Old Town is where San Diego originated. The area has been designated as a city park and several square blocks are accessible to pedestrians only. Make the Historical Museum your first stop and orient yourself by viewing a scale model of San Diego in its early days. Old Town is most interesting to visit as many of the buildings are open as small museums, such as the Machado-Stewart Adobe, the Old School House, and the Seeley Stables (an 1860s stage depot with a good display of horse-drawn carriages). If you are in Old Town at mealtime, you can choose from many attractive restaurants. Just southeast of the intersection of Hwys 5 and 8, parking is well signposted.

Seaport Village

Old Town San Diego

Adjacent to the Embarcadero is Seaport Village, a very popular tourist attraction and fun for adults and children alike. Situated right on the waterfront, it has little paths that meander through this 23 acre village of shops and restaurants built in a colorful variety of styles from Early Spanish to Victorian. Street artists display their talents to laughing audiences.

San Diego’s marine display is in Mission Bay Park. Set in a 150-acre park which includes a 1-acre children’s playland, Sea World features one of California’s famous personalities, Shamu, the performing killer whale who delights everyone with her wit and aquatic abilities. Penguin Encounter is a particularly fun exhibit where you watch comical penguins waddling about in their polar environment, while Shark Encounter presents one of the largest displays of sharks in the world and provides the terrifying thrill of being surrounded by these efficient killing machines as you walk through an acrylic tube. (800-380-3203, www.seaworld.com)

Sea World San Diego

We love to visit San Diego while staying just up the coast in La Jolla at Scripps Inn or The Bed & Breakfast Inn at La Jolla.

Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk

Shop till you drop along Pacific Avenue with its boutiques and galleries then head for the Santa Cruz’s beautiful white-sand beach with its bustling boardwalk and amusement park that includes a heart-stopping wooden roller coaster and an old-fashioned carousel.

At Lighthouse Point the Santa Cruz Surfing museum traces over a hundred years of surfing in Santa Cruz.

Monarch Butterflies come home to Natural Bridges State Park during the winter. With its famous natural bridge the park is an excellent vantage point for viewing shore birds, migrating whales, and seals and otters playing offshore. Further along the beach, tidepools offer a glimpse of life beneath the sea.

Just a stroll from the boardwalk we love to stay at West Cliff Inn.

Half Moon Bay, Feed & Fuel

Half Moon Bay Feed & Fuel

Gargantuan pumpkins, parades and street fairs attract hordes of visitors to this small coastal town in October. Yet there’s so much more to Half Moon Bay than this annual event. Stay in the area and discover it for yourself: visit San Francisco for the day, look a giant Elephant Seal in the eye, explore an old-time country store, dine on all things artichoke, play world class golf, go tide-pooling, ride a horse along the beach and watch the sun set over the ocean. Sounds tempting? See below for details

Time your arrival at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve with low tide so you can explore this refuge for plants and animals that are especially adapted to live at the edge of the ocean.

Besides galleries, country shops and restaurants Half Moon Bay has an authentic country store, Half Moon Bay Feed and Fuel, selling saddles, rabbits, chickens, animal feed, and farm implements.

Two challenging golf courses are located just south of Half Moon Bay at Ocean Colony. The old Links course, designed by Arnold Palmer is $95.00 Monday through Thursday and $115 Saturday, Sunday and holidays. The new Ocean course, designed by Arthur Hill is $115. Monday through Thursday and $135. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays.

From January to March , take a guided whale watching tour with Huck Finn Sportfishing tours from Pillar Point Harbor.

Half Moon Bay is one of the few places you can ride horses on the beach unescorted. Pony rides for children, beach, trail, sunset rides and guided tours are available at Sea Horse and Friendly Acres Ranch.

If it is approaching a meal time, 17 miles south of Half Moon Bay, visit Duarte’s Tavern in Pescadero famous for its artichoke dishes and fresh fish. Founded in 1894 it’s a local landmark.

Año Nuevo State Reserve

Año Nuevo State Reserve

Thirty miles south of Half Moon Bay Año Nuevo State Reserve is home to elephant seals whose huge males, with their trunk-like snouts, reach a whopping 6,000 pounds. From mid-December to the end of March park docents conduct a 3-mile round-trip hike to the breeding grounds of these car-size mammals. Reservation lines open in October for the following season (800-444-7275). If you are not able to book several months in advance, call the park directly at 650-879-2025 and they may be able to advise you if last-minute tickets are available.

Favorite places to stay are the Old Thyme Inn in Half Moon Bay and Seal Cove Inn in Moss Beach. Both of these inns are ideally located for a day trip to San Francisco.

Old Thyme Inn, Half Moon Bay

Seal Cove Inn, Moss Beach

Santa Barbara

You can plop yourself down in a café on State Street and watch Santa Barbara parade by or you can explore every detail of this delightful city by following the driving tour published by the Chamber of Commerce (805-965-3023, www.sbchamber.org). The route is well marked and gives you an overall glimpse of the city as you drive by beaches, the wharf, the old downtown area, and affluent suburbs. The brochure also outlines what is called the “Red-Tile Walking Tour,” which guides you through the town centre’s Mediterranean style streets. It takes discipline to stay on the path as you pass a multitude of shops filled with so many tempting things to buy. The highlight of the tour is the Santa Barbara County Courthouse, a magnificent adobe structure with a Moorish accent.

You definitely must not leave town without visiting the splendid Mission Santa Barbara, which is located at the rise of the hill on the northern edge of town. This beautiful church with two bell towers faces a large park laced with rose gardens. As in many of the other missions, although the church’s main purpose is for religious services, a museum is incorporated into the complex with examples of how life was lived when the Spaniards first settled in California.

When is Santa Barbara we enjoy staying at The Cheshire Cat.

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara Mission

Sonoma barracks

Sonoma barracks

Sonoma is a gem of a town. By simply exploring the boundaries of its main square you glimpse some of California’s interesting past. On the square’s northern edge sits the Sonoma Barracks, Mexico’s provincial headquarters for its northern frontier under the command of General Vallejo. The adjacent wood-frame Toscano Hotel has been restored and on weekends guides lead interesting tours through the rooms.

Sonoma Square

The nearby Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma, the last Franciscan mission built in California, was restored in the early 1900s. The long, low adobe building across the way, the Blue Wig Inn, originally built to house soldiers assigned to the mission, enjoyed a more colorful existence as a saloon and gambling room during the Gold Rush days.

In addition to the historic sites on Sonoma’s plaza, there are numerous shops, restaurants and boutiques to investigate, including some wonderful specialty food stores where you can purchase picnic supplies.

Sonoma Mission

Round and about there are some excellent wineries to visit. Among them Buena Vista, Gloria Ferrer, Viansa and Benziger in nearby Glen Ellen.

Stay in town at the delightful Inn At Sonoma or enjoy a countryside retreat at Beltane Ranch in Glen Ellen.

Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe

Tucked in a high valley, Lake Tahoe is a vast, blue, icy-cold lake ringed by pine forests and backed by high mountains. The lake has about 70 miles of shoreline, a maximum depth of 1,645 feet, and a summer temperature of about 65 degrees. When people from the San Francisco Bay Area say they are “going to the mountains,” Tahoe is usually where they’re heading. There are many unspoilt areas where you can enjoy the exquisite beauty of the lake and its surrounding stunning scenery. For bikers and joggers, a marvelous, seemingly endless trail traces a path along the lakefront and down the Truckee River.

Lake Tahoe

Tahoe City combines rustic, folksy shops, restaurants, and everyday stores with two quite interesting tourist attractions: Fanny Bridge and the Gatekeeper’s Cabin. Fanny Bridge is very close: just turn right at the supermarket, and there it is. You will see immediately the derivation of “Fanny” when you see the tourists leaning over the railing to watch the trout gobble up the food tossed to them. The other attraction of Tahoe City, the Gatekeeper’s Cabin, sits on the bank of the Truckee. The rustic old cabin, once home to the man who controlled the river level, is now an attractive small museum operated by the local historical society.

Hugging the shoreline, Hwy 89 opens up to ever-more-lovely vistas as the road travels south. Nine miles south of Tahoe City brings you to Sugar Pine State Park with its many miles of hiking trails, and camping and picnic sites. In summer you can tour the nicely furnished Ehrman Mansion, once the vast lakeside summer home of a wealthy San Francisco family.

Vikingsholm

You will know by the sheer beauty of your surroundings when you are at Emerald Bay. The road sits hundreds of feet above a sparkling, blue-green bay and miles of Lake Tahoe stretch beyond its entrance. Center stage is a small wooded island crowned by a stone teahouse. A 1½-mile trail winds down to the lake—it seems a lot farther walking up—and in summer you can tour Vikingsholm, the 38-room lakeside mansion built in 1929 and patterned after a 9th-century Norse fortress. It is the finest example of Scandinavian architecture in America and is filled with Norwegian furniture. (www.vikingsholm.com)

Just beyond Emerald Bay a trail leads from the parking lot up a ¼-mile steep trail to a bridge above the cascading cataract of Eagle Falls which offers fantastic views of Lake Tahoe. A mile farther up the trail is Eagle Lake, in an isolated, picture-perfect setting.

Cottage Inn and Sunnyside Restaurant and Lodge are excellent places to stay.

Yosemite

Yosemite

The main attractions of the over 1,000 square miles of Yosemite National Park lie within the narrow 7-mile-long Yosemite Valley, an awe-inspiring monument to the forces of nature, is bounded by magnificent scraped granite formations—Half Dome, El Capitan, Cathedral Rock, Clouds Rest. And over the rocks, cascading to the valley far below, are numerous high waterfalls with descriptive names such as Bridalveil, Ribbon, Staircase, and Silver Strand. Below the giant walls of rock the crystal-clear River Merced wends its way through woodlands and meadows of flowers. Undeniably, this is one of the most beautiful valleys anywhere in the world.

Try to stay in Yosemite Valley. From hotels through tented cabins, all accommodations in the national park are controlled by the Yosemite Concessions Services (YCS)—for information call 209-372-0200. It is necessary year-round to make reservations well in advance by phoning 559-252-4848 or www.yosemitepark.com. Visit their homepage on the National Park Service website at www.nps.gov.

If your taste in hotels runs to grand, stay at The Ahwahnee. Yosemite Lodge provides more moderately priced accommodations in both cabins and motel/hotel-type rooms. Still less expensive are the tented camps that provide canvas tents on wooden board floors. The budget choice is regular camping. But please remember—space is very limited in every category and reservations are essential. The Wawona Hotel lies 30 miles from the valley.

Ahwahnee Hotel

Ahwahnee Hotel

As an alternate to the park consider staying in Groveland at the Groveland Hotel or at a B&B Hotel Charlotte. If you pine for a French chateau then the Chateau de Sureau in Oakhurst will fit the bill.

You’ll be given an information packet as you enter the park: a remarkable number of guided walks, slide shows, and educational programs—look over the possibilities and select the ones that most appeal to you.

Once you are in the valley, park your car and restrict yourself to travel aboard the free shuttle buses as you can do most of your sightseeing by combining pleasant walks with shuttle-bus rides. Alternative modes of transportation are on horseback on guided trips and by bike (bicycles can be rented). Because the valley is flat, it has miles of paths for biking—a very unstrenuous, efficient way of getting around.

Be warned that during the summer months Yosemite Valley is jammed with cars and people—spring and fall are much more civilized times to visit.

Within the park, but beyond the valley floor, are many areas of great natural beauty. Situated just inside the park’s southern perimeter is the Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. It was here that John Muir, the great naturalist who fathered the idea of the national park system, persuaded President Theodore Roosevelt to add the 250-acre grove of trees to the Yosemite park system. A tram winds through the grove of sequoias as the driver tells the stories of these giant trees—some of the largest in the world.

To the south of the valley Hwy 41 climbs for about 10 miles (stop at the viewing point just before the tunnel) to the Glacier Point turnoff. It is a 15-mile drive to the spectacular Glacier Point—a vista point over 3,000 feet above the valley floor. From Glacier Point everything in the valley below takes on Lilliputian proportions: the ribbon-like River Merced, the forest, meadows, and waterfalls all dwarfed by huge granite cliffs. Beyond the valley a giant panorama of undulating granite presents itself. The ideal time to visit for taking photographs is early in the morning or evening. Rangers at Glacier Point offer evening interpretive programs.

Julian

Julian Jail

Julian is a small town that can easily be explored in just a short time. What is especially nice is that, although it is a tourist attraction, the town is not “tacky touristy”. Rather, you get the feeling you are in the last century as you wander through the streets and stop to browse at some of the antique shops, visit the small historical museum in the old brewery, and enjoy refreshment at the soda fountain in the 1880s drug store.

If you want to delve deeply into gold mining, just a short drive (or long walk) away on the outskirts of town is the Eagle Mine, founded by pioneers from Georgia, many of them soldiers who came here after the Civil War. Tours are taken deep into the mine and a narration gives not only the history of the mine, but the history of Julian.

Julian, sunset

When visiting Julian in the fall, you can enjoy another of the town’s offerings—apples. Although you can sample Julian’s wonderful apples throughout the year (every restaurant has its own special apple pie on the menu), the apple becomes king during the fall harvest. Beginning in October and continuing on into November, special crafts shows and events are held in the Julian Town Hall. If you visit one of the packing plants on the edge of town you can buy not only apples, but every conceivable item that has apples as a theme.

It is only a short drive north from Julian on Hwy 79 to Santa Ysabel where you turn right at the main intersection. At this junction you see Dudley’s Bakery, a rather nondescript-looking building that houses a great bakery: loyal customers drive all the way from San Diego just to buy one of their 21 varieties of tasty bread.

When you have finished your tour of town take time to visit and  taste the offerings at some of the  fine boutique wineries that have cropped up in the Julian vicinity.

Orhcard Hill Country Inn, Julian, California

Located just off Main Street, Julian’s Orchard Hill Country Inn is an excellent place to stay. The luxurious Inn mixes the best of a five star hotel with the intimacy and friendliness of a highly rate Bed and Breakfast Inn. Orchard Hill Country Inn offers private cottages as well as smaller guestrooms in the elegant main Lodge. Delicious dinners are served on selected nights in the romantic setting of the lodge.

Julian scenery