Eric Peterson

THE GREAT

AMERICANRoad Trip

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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Pfeiffer Beach

Sunset, Big Sur

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C A L I F O R N I A

N o r t h e r n C a l i

C e n t r a l C a l i

S o u t h e r n C a l i

M a p

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C A L I F O R N I A

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Golden Gate Bridge,

San Francisco

California is the end of the road, where the blacktop slams to a halt at the beach and the Pacific Ocean. The state is in many ways the ulti-mate road-trip destination—temperate, idyllic, and jam-packed with world-class tourist draws.

En route from San Diego to the Redwood Coast, you can zip through Disneyland, Hol-lywood, and Haight-Ashbury and cruise the coastline all the way in between. This is where they make movies and microchips, where they grow everything from oranges to artichokes.

California’s beaches are the stuff of legend; inland, its natural terrain varies from siz-zling deserts to alpine peaks, from prime-val forests to deep canyons. Culturally, it’s similarly diverse, a true melting pot of every-thing from celebrity glamour to hippie chic.

I will embrace the first opportunity to get to California and it is altogether probable that when once there I shall never again leave it.

GeorgeStoneman

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Redwood National and State Park

PLACES OUTLINED

You haven't lived until you've died in California”

Mort Sahl

N O R T H E R N C A L I

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R E D W O O D N A T I O N A L A N D S T A T E P A R K SOrick

The Primeval Forests of Redwood are home to some of the world’s tallest trees, topping out at 367 feet. Everything is of an outsize scale here, from the banana slugs on the trail to the ferns growing next to it. The parks also include nearly 40 miles of unblemished coastline, frequented by sea lions, colo-nies of birds, and migrating gray whales.

Much of the development of the U.S. 101 in the Red-wood area feels like a holdover from a road trip of the past. Paul Bunyan stands sentry in front of the kitschy Trees of Mystery, while one-log structures, vin-tage roadside motels, and legends of Bigfoot abound.

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Coast Redwoods

on Coastal Trail

GIANT REDWOODS //Live up to 2,000 years old //Have branches up to 5 feet in diameter //Bark grows up to 12 inches thick //Can reproduce either by seed or by sprout

GIANT SEQUOIAS //Live up to 3,000 years old //Have branches up to 8 feet in diameter //Bark grows up to 3 feet thick //Reproduce by seed only

The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always...”

John Steinbeck

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PLACES OUTLINED

C E N T R A L C A L I

Cornerstone Gardens

Winchester Mansion

Fisherman’s Wharf

Monterey Aquarium

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C O R N E R S T O N E G A R D E N SSonoma

23570 Arnold Dr. Sonoma, CA 95476707-933-301010 a.m. to 4 p.m. free admissionhttp://www.cornerstonesonoma.com/

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The founder of the first gallery-style garden exhibit in the United States, Chris Hougie, was inspired by the International Garden Festival at Chaumon-sur-Lo i r e in France . The nine-acre Corner-stone brings to life the

concept of landscape as art form and offers an ever-changing array o f g a rdens and a r t that allows visitors to experience the work of the world’s leading landscape architects. S o m e t i m e s s u r r e a l , s ome t imes cu t t i ng -edge, these gardens are always a pleasure to see.

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Wine is the most civilized thing in the world.”

Ernest Hemingway

Sonoma hills

and vineyards

Enjoy Sonoma's rustic surround-

ings amidst the backdrop of a dy-

namic wine region that is home

to award winning wineries, stately

redwoods, magnificent coastlines,

Infineon raceway, and plenty of

shopping. Unwind at your hotel

or cozy bed & breakfasts, or spend

the day hiking, kayaking, biking

or wine tasting at boutique win-

eries off the beaten path. What-

ever you choose, Sonoma is a gem.

S O N O M A

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W I N C H E S T E R M Y S T E R Y H O U S ESan Jose

In 1884, a soothsayer told rifle heiress Sarah Winchester that she would die when she stopped building her house. Not daring to disbelieve the prediction, Winchester kept con-tractors busy working on her San Jose mansion for her remaining 38 years. The result is a maze

of rooms, with stairways that lead to ceilings and doors that open to walls or to steep drops. One upper-story door opens directly to the outside.

When the hammer-ing stopped after Winchester’s death in 1922, there were:

//160 rooms

//10,000 windows

//2,000 doors

//47 fireplaces

//40 staircases

//3 elevators

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San Francisco’s most popular

tourist destination has been the

heart of its fishing and crab-

bing industry for more than

a century. Often accessed by

the world-famous San Fran-

cisco cable cars, Fisherman’s

F I S H E R M A N ’ S W H A R FSan Francisco

Wharf is home to a plethora of tour-

ist attractions, including a wax museum,

an aquarium, a frolicking population of

sea lions, and AT&T Park, the home

of baseball’s San Francisco Giants.

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In this tank, the aquarium was the first in

the world to grow live California Giant

Kelp. Visitors are able to inspect

the creatures of the kelp forest at

several levels in the building

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The Monterey Bay Aquarium attracts almost two million visitors every year, and it’s easy to see why. Located in the converted for-mer Hovden Cannery (which canned squid and sardines until the early 1970s) on Mon-terey’s legendary Cannery Row, the facility is the home of more than 550 species of plants and animals. Among the exhibits are live penguin shows and a living kelp forest.

M O N T E R E Y B A Y A Q U A R I U MMonterey

886 Cannery Row Monterey, CA 93940831-648-480010:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.Adult $34.95Child $21.95 (Age 3-12, under 3 free)Student $31.95 (Age 13-17 or college ID)Senior $31.95 (Age 65+)http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/

MORE INFO

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Hollywood Sign

Venice Beach

PLACES OUTLINED

S O U T H E R N C A L I

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S O U T H E R N C A L I

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H O L L Y W O O D S I G N

Before it became an icon of impending celebrity to newcomers with stars in their eyes, the Hollywood sign was a real estate pro-motion that actually read “Hollywoodland.” The last for letters didn’t survive, but the first nine did—albeit barely: By 1973, the sign was falling apart—one ‘O’ had toppled down the hill, and an arsonist had set fire to an ‘L’—prompting a $250,000 reconstruction.

Hollywood

For many visitors to LA, there is no more cov-eted photo than a shot of the sign. Though it is visible from all over the city from it’s perch on Mt. Lee, it can actually be surprisingly difficult to get a good shot of it. People are not actu-ally allowed to hike or get near the sign, which is set behind restric-tive gatessecurity cam-eras, and park rangers.

http://www.hollywoodsign.org/

MORE INFO

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Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.”

Marilyn Monroe

P A R A M O U N T S T U D I O S

A film and television produc-

tion/distribution company,

consistently ranked as one

of the largest (top-grossing)

movie studios. Paramount

is the fifth oldest existing

f i lm studio in the world.

You can go on a tour and

see the longest operating

and only remaining studio

in Hollywood, and get to

see behind the scenes of

some of the more celebrat-

ed movies and TV shows

of the past few decades.

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Named and modeled after Venice, Italy, when founded in the early 20th century, the Los Angeles neighborhood of Venice and the beach of the same name were once home to a Pacific cousin of New York’s Coney Island. The amusement park is long gone, but Venice Beach in many ways remains the face of L.A. to the rest of the planet and the end-point of many road trips.

Today, Venice Beach is one of the funki-est stretches of coastline in the country

V E N I C E B E A C HLos Angeles

and a paradise for shoppers, surfers, people-watchers, and beach bums. Outdoor enthusiasts flock to Gold’s Gym, a famous outdoor weight-lifting mecca, and a 22-mile bike and skating path along the beach.

Just a few blocks from the boardwalk are a pair of landmark odd-ball buildings: an office designed by Frank Gehry with a giant bin-oculars sculpture a the entrance, and the Venice Renaissance building, which features a tutu-clad clown above the front door.

As one went to Europe to see the liv-ing past, so one must visit Southern California to observe the future."

Allison Lurie

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SACRAMENTO

NAPA

OAKLAND

SAN JOSE

MONTEREYFRESNO

BAKERSFIELD

SANTA BARBARA

LOS ANGELES

PALM SPRINGS

SAN DIEGO

SACRAMENTO

NAPA

EUREKA

OAKLAND

SAN FRANSCISCO

SAN JOSE

MONTEREYFRESNO

BAKERSFIELDSAN LUIS OBISPO

SANTA BARBARA

LOS ANGELES

PALM SPRINGS

SAN DIEGO

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H A U N T E D P L A C E S

W O R L D ’ S L A R G E S T

B E S T R E S T A U R A N T S

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BROOKDALE LODGE, Brookdale

THE NATIONAL HOTEL, Jackson

ALCATRAZ ISLAND, San Francisco

THE QUEEN MARY, Long Beach

WHALEY HOUSE, San Diego

It is rumored to be haunted by Sarah Logan, a niece of the owner, who drowned in the creek within the lodge in 1912. It is no longer open to the public.

The Queen Mary is an ocean liner that sailed the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967. The ship in 1967 was transformed into a hotel. The most haunted area of the ship is the engine room where a 17-year-old sailor was crushed to death trying to

This hotel dates back to the 1800s and is rumored to be haunted by many spirits. The most well known is Flo. Today Flo's ghost stays mostly upstairs where guests report doors slamming, lights turning on and off. If you spend the night, check the notebook in your room to find out what others have reported about her.

For 29 years, the prison kept the country’s most notorious criminals put away from the rest of the world. Now during the day, the old prison is a bustling place, filled with tourists, but at night, the building is filled with the inexplicable. Many believe that the prisoners who died here haunt the grounds.

The Whaley House is an 1857 Greek Revival style residence, and according to the Travel Channel’s show America’s Most Haunted, this house is the most haunted in America. The Whaley House grounds was reportedly haunted even before the house was built. The first ghost to be reported was the ghost of James “Yankee Jim” Robinson who was hanged in 1852.

ARTICHOKE, Castroville

YOYO, Chico6

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THERMOMETER, Baker

DONUT, Inglewood

DINOSAURS, Cabazon

The World's Largest Yoyo is located in the National Yo-Yo Museum, which is located in a store named “Bird in Hand”. It is in the Guinness Book of World Records, mostly because it actually works. Some other Yoyos made were technically larger, but don’t actually ‘Yo’.

The World’s Largest Artichoke was built by Ray Bei in 1963. It stands 20 feet tall and 12 feet across. Castroville is the Artichoke Capital of the United States. There’s even an annual Artichoke Festival and parade, and Marilyn Monroe was crowned the very first Artichoke Queen in 1947.

The World's Largest Thermometer is 134 ft.-tall, symbolic of the record high temperature in the US, in Death Valley—134 degrees Fahrenheit in 1913. It juts up next to Bob's Big Boy in Baker, a small town near the "Gateway to Death Valley."

Randy's Donuts is largest donut and stands in the LA area, and appears in many films, TV shows, and tourist photos. Designed by Robert Graham, Randy's was built in 1953 is the only remain-ing example of the now-defunct Big DoNut chain.

From the Interstate Highway 10, the uncommon view of the giant dinosaurs is an irresistible magnet. But tourists are not the only ones compelled to stop. Well within a convenient day-drive of Los Angeles, the Cabazon Dinosaurs are a media spotlight often appearing in commercials, music videos, film and print ads. There is also a dinosaur museum located here.

OSTERIA MOZZA, Los Angeles

FRENCH LAUNDRY, Yountville

CHEZ PANISSE, Berkeley

GJELINA, Venice15

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FLOUR + WATER, San FranciscoThe owners call pasta their focus, and it's excellent and unusual. But they also serve some of the country’s best Neapolitan pizza, including a textbook Margherita and a spicy Salsiccia (tomato, sausage, gaeta olives, smoked caciocavallo cheese, and chile).

Chef Thomas Keller approaches contemporary American food with classical technique, and his French Laundry establishes new standards for fine dining in this country. In 2012, Keller and the French Laundry received a coveted AAA Five Diamond Award, just another honor to add to the pile.

Nancy Silverton teams up here Italian-food moguls Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich in this lively urban restaurant, complete with a mozzarella bar, unusual pasta (calfs brain ravioli, spaghetti with marinated white anchovies), and main dishes ranging from sea trout with lentils to grilled pancetta-wrapped quail.

Celebrating 40 years in business and still going strong, Chez Panisse was instrumental in changing the American food scene; before this restaurant, practically nobody in America served only fresh local foods and wrote menus daily, according to the season.

Chef Travis Lett’s modern American cuisine is firmly rooted in the abundance of farmers market findings, and fire pit and wood-burning oven speak to the restaurants ardent rusticity, much like the typical patrons unshaven faces and shabbily artful outfits. Crispy, thin-crust pizzas and a roster of creatively prepared vegetable dishes reveal a minimalist sensibility that requires lots of attention to detail.

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