CEPHAS PICTURE LIBRARY / ALAMY ©Sonoma Valley Wine tasting (Trip 6)Fabulous
Food & Wine
Rock-star chefs’ menus
feature produce from local
farmers, fishers, ranchers
and artisan food makers.
And wine? Although Napa
and Sonoma Valley are the
most famous, California’s
other wine countries more
than hold their own.(^4) Alice Waters’
Culinary Tour Loop the
Bay Area, sampling farmers
markets and California
cuisine.
(^6) Sonoma Valley
Napa’s rustic-chic country
cousin is a patchwork of
farms and vineyards.
(^7) Russian River &
the Bohemian Hwy Pop
champagne corks and tipple
biodynamic pinot noir and
old-vine zinfandel.
h Santa Barbara Wine
Country Where the hit
movie Sideways romped,
find a gateway to seriously
sophisticated vintages.
History
Gold mining is the
usual reason given for
the madcap course of
California’s history. Yet
Native Americans, Spanish
missions, Mexican pueblos
(towns) and later waves of
global immigration have
all left traces to dig deeper
for, too.
l Highway 49 Through
Gold Country Follow the
footsteps of 19th-century
gold seekers, bordello
keepers and outlaws.
s Mission Trail Trace
the path of Spanish
colonialists and Catholic
priests through ‘Alta
California.’
w Life in Death Valley
Where the dreams of miners
and pioneers are just ghosts
today.
(^3) Earthquake Trail San
Francisco’s 1906 quake is
not the only time California’s
fault lines have really shaken
things up.
Beaches
California spoils you
with over 1100 miles
of Pacific coastline.
Northern beaches are all
about crashing waves,
rocky tidepools and
solitary strolls along
the continent’s edge. If
you’re dreaming of golden
strands lapped by frothy
surf and bronzed bods
hanging out in lifeguard
huts, head to SoCal.
q Disneyland & Orange
County Beaches Over 40
miles of surf, sand and sun
in the OC.
r Fun on the San
Diego Coast Take your pick
of ritzy or bohemian beach
towns.
g Around San Luis
Obispo Steal away to the
Central Coast’s laidback
beaches.
a Northern Redwood
Coast Walk the rocky
headlands past tidepools
and barking sea lions.
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