Travelrific® Travel Journal
Picture postcards in prose.™ Check out the blogroll on the front page for official merchandise and other resources!Archive for california
An Emblem of San Francisco
By Linda Tancs
An emblem of the skyline in San Francisco, California, Coit Tower is a fluted concrete column rising from the top of Telegraph Hill. Historically, Telegraph Hill was a visual landmark for sailors entering San Francisco Bay since its discovery in 1775. It takes its name from a semaphore telegraph erected on its summit in 1850 to alert residents to the arrival of ships. The tower is named for Lillie Hitchcock Coit, a wealthy eccentric who bequeathed funds for its construction, which was completed in 1933. The observation deck (accessible via elevator or 13 flights of steps) provides 360-degree views of the city and bay, including the world-famous Golden Gate Bridge. Tickets can be purchased at the tower up to one hour before closing time.
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Seal Viewing in California
By Linda Tancs
California’s Año Nuevo State Park is prized for its Natural Preserve, a place where up to 10,000 elephant seals return to breed, give birth and molt. April through August is molting season, when elephant seals come ashore to shed their outer layer of skin and fur. This “molting” process takes from four to six weeks per animal as they rest along the beaches. Starting April 1, guided tours are not required to see the seals although a free permit is required. Then you can walk out to the viewing areas on the Año Point Trail. At each of the viewing areas, there is a docent to explain what you’re seeing and answer questions. At other times of the year (the breeding season), a guided walk is required. The farthest viewing area is a 4-mile roundtrip walk from the parking lot, with one tall sand dune to walk over. The park is a quick 21 miles up Highway 1 north of Santa Cruz.
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A Rite of Passage in Carlsbad
By Linda Tancs
The advent of spring in Southern California is marked by a very special attraction in North San Diego County. That’s where you’ll find 55 acres of ranunculus flowers laden like a rainbow at Carlsbad Ranch in Carlsbad. Heralding the season for over 60 years now, the display blooms for approximately six to eight weeks from March to May. A popular tourist attraction, it’s best to visit on a weekday to avoid the crowds. Be sure to buy a ticket online in advance.
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A Golden Site in California
By Linda Tancs
Coloma, California, is one of the most significant historic sites in the nation. That’s where James W. Marshall discovered gold in 1848 on the South Fork of the American River in a valley that the Nisenan Indians knew as Cullumah. About 70% of the town of Coloma is included in Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, where you can pan for gold. The park features buildings that have survived the gold rush and includes a museum with gold-rush-era exhibits and other historical information. You can take a walking tour of the park as well as a short lesson on gold panning.
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A Giant of American Letters
By Linda Tancs
Winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature, American John Steinbeck has been hailed as “a giant of American Letters.” Among other things, he wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Grapes of Wrath, and the novella, Of Mice and Men. In his hometown of Salinas, California, you’ll find the National Steinbeck Center, a museum and memorial dedicated to his creative legacy and one of the country’s largest literary museums dedicated to a single author. The facility offers a wide range of programming featuring visiting scholars and speakers. Allow at least two hours for a self-guided experience, which includes a brief orientation by a docent or staff member.
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All Things Rosie
By Linda Tancs
Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park was established in Richmond, California, to tell the story of Home Front workers in the United States during World War II. “Rosie the Riveter” and her “We Can Do It” motto came to symbolize the 6 million women who entered the workforce to perform roles traditionally held by men who left their occupations for the front lines. Those roles included mechanics, welders and riveters. The park includes a number of historic places in Richmond to drive by, view or visit. The Rosie the Riveter Memorial in Marina Bay Park is the touchstone of the park. Shaped like a vessel, it includes quotes from “Rosies” and a World War II timeline. An actual vessel worth seeing is the SS Red Oak Victory Ship, the last surviving ship built in the Kaiser Shipyards. For an overview of the site, be sure to visit the Education Center at 1414 Harbour Way South.
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The Prized Home of a Playwright
By Linda Tancs
Eugene O’Neill is America’s only Nobel Prize-winning playwright. At the height of his career, he chose to make Tao House his final home. Located in Danville, California, the house and grounds comprise the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site. This is where he wrote his most memorable plays: The Iceman Cometh, Long Day’s Journey Into Night and A Moon for the Misbegotten. Due to its location in a private, gated community, the site is only accessible via a National Park Service shuttle from the nearby Museum of the San Ramon Valley.
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Classic Cars in Los Angeles
By Linda Tancs
One of the world’s largest automotive museums, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California, specializes in automobile history and related educational programs. A must for any car enthusiast, the museum’s collection encompasses both classic and vintage cars, including movie/TV cars (a no-brainer considering the location). The facility also boasts a basement collection known as The Vault, where, for an extra fee, you can see over 200 of the rarest vehicles ever assembled. Visitors will see turn-of-the-century cars, head-of-state vehicles, American classics, the personal rides of Hollywood legends, award-winning hot rods and many others.
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Livermore’s Centennial Light
By Linda Tancs
Can a firehouse be a tourist attraction? That’s certainly the case at Fire Station #6 in Livermore, California. That’s where the world’s longest-burning incandescent light bulb, as recognized by Guinness World Records, is still shining for over 120 years (albeit at a mere four watts these days). Invented by Adolphe A. Chaillet, it’s a handblown bulb with carbon filament. The station must be occupied for the bulb to be viewed inside; if the crew is out on a call or training, then you can still see it through the front right apparatus door window.
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The Mountains Are Calling
By Linda Tancs
Named for ecologist and mountaineer John Muir, the John Muir Wilderness in California stretches for 100 miles along the crest of the Sierra Nevada. Muir was a staunch advocate for the area’s preservation and is widely known for saying, “The mountains are calling and I must go….” And many continue to go, especially the 30 million or so who live within a few hours’ drive of its snow-capped mountains, deep canyons and vast expanses of glacially-carved terrain. The region is approachable from both sides of the Sierra Nevada. Most visitors, however, enter from the east at various points along highway 395, from the town of Mammoth at the north end down to Whitney Portal above Lone Pine at the south end. Mount Whitney (at around 14,500 feet) is the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states.
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Billed as the Great North American Eclipse, a total solar eclipse will cross North America on April 8, 2024, passing over Mexico, the United States and Canada. The path of the eclipse begins in Mexico, entering the United States in Texas, and traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The eclipse will enter Canada in Southern Ontario, and continue through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. This will be the last time any solar eclipse will be visible within the United States until 2045.
Be prepared! So long as supplies last, you can purchase eclipse glasses and other accessories, like a phone app and photo filter, from American Paper Optics, a NASA-approved manufacturer. The link in the preceding sentence is an affiliate link, which means that if you click on the link and purchase merchandise from the page, then I may receive a small commission.
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