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Welcome
to California
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California - San Diego - Links |
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California
"The Golden State"
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Publicized and idealized all over the world,
CALIFORNIA really does live up to the myth. More than just a terrestrial paradise of sun,
sand, surf and sea, it has high mountain ranges, fast-paced glitzy cities, primeval
forests and hot dry deserts. The landscape is imbued with history, ranging from rock
carvings left by indigenous Native Americans to the eerie ghost towns of the Gold Rush
pioneers.
In some ways, the West Coast is the ultimate "now" society. Anywhere so
vulnerable to the constant threat of the Big One the earthquake that will one day drop
half the state into the Pacific is bound to have a sense of living for the moment.
However, its supposed superficiality is largely fictitious. Though home to such
reactionary figures as Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, it has also been the source of
some of the country's most progressive political movements. The fierce protests of the
Sixties may have died down, but California remains the heart of liberal America, at the
forefront in issues such as environmental awareness and social permissiveness.
Economically, too, the region is crucial, whether in the long-established film industry,
the recently ascendant music business, or even the financial markets.
California is too large to be fully explored in a single trip, but
in an area so varied it's hard to pick out specific highlights. Los Angeles is far and
away the biggest and most stimulating city: a maddening collection of freeways, beaches,
seedy suburbs, high-gloss neighborhoods and extreme lifestyles. From Los Angeles you can
head south to the smaller, up-and-coming city of San Diego, with its broad, welcoming
beaches and easy access to Mexico; or push inland to the desert areas, most notably Death
Valley, a barren and inhospitable landscape of volcanic craters and salt pans that in
summer becomes the hottest place on earth.
Most people, though, follow the shoreline north up the central coast: a gorgeous run that
takes in lively small towns like Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. California's second city,
San Francisco, at the top end, is about as different from LA as it's possible to get: the
oldest, most European-looking city in the state, set on a series of steep hills, its
wooden houses tumbling down to water on both sides. It is also well placed for the
national parks to the east, such as Yosemite, where waterfalls cascade into a sheer
glacial valley, and Sequoia/Kings Canyon with its gigantic trees, as well as the ghost
towns of the Gold Country. North of San Francisco the countryside becomes wilder, wetter
and greener, approaching Oregon through spectacular and almost deserted volcanic
tablelands.
The climate in southern California consists of endless days of sunshine and warm dry
nights though LA's notorious smog is at its worst when the temperatures are highest,
from July through September. All along the coast mornings can be hazily overcast,
especially in May and June; in exposed San Francisco it can be chilly all year, and fog
rolls in to ruin many a sunny day. In winter it can rain for weeks on end, causing massive
mudslides that wipe out roads and hillside homes. Most hiking trails in the mountains are
blocked between October and June by the snow that keeps California's ski slopes among the
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San Diego
America's Finest City
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There’s no
pressure in San Diego to do anything other than enjoy yourself. The work-hard, play-hard
ethic may be prevalent, but the accent is strongly on the second part of the equation.
Indeed, the city, with its easily navigable central area, scenic bay, 42 miles of beaches
and plentiful parks and museums, is hard not to like from the moment you arrive.
Always vibrant and active, downtown San Diego is much the best place to start exploring.
Since the late 1970s, several blocks of Twenties architecture have been stylishly
renovated, while the sleek modern bank buildings symbolize the city’s growing
economic significance on the Pacific Rim. South of Broadway, the Gaslamp District, once
the heart of frontier San Diego, is now filled with smart streets lined with classy cafes,
antique stores, art galleries and, yes, gas lamps – albeit powered by electricity.
Across San Diego Bay, the isthmus of Coronado is a well-scrubbed resort community with a
major naval station occupying its western end, accessible from downtown via the San Diego
Bay ferry ($2 each way). Further out from downtown you’ll find Balboa Park’s
large collection of museums; the state historical park at Old Town San Diego; the
increasingly lively neighborhood of Hillcrest; and La Jolla, an elegant beach community at
the city’s northern end.
Relatively free from smog and jungle-like freeways, SAN DIEGO, set around a gracefully
curving bay, represents the acceptable face of southern California. The second biggest
city in California may be healthy, affluent and conservative, but it's also amiable,
easy-going and far from smug. Though it was the site of the first mission in California,
the city only really took off with the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in the 1880s, and
in terms of trade and significance it has long played second fiddle to Los Angeles.
However, during World War II the US Navy made San Diego its Pacific Command Centre, and
the military continues to dominate the local economy, along now with tourism.
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San
Diego County
California Wolf Preserve
- in the Mountains of San Diego
County, The
California Wolf Center is a truly unique education and conservation center
focusing on the North American Gray Wolf. We
promote conservation of gray wolves and all wildlife through education, exhibition,
participation in captive breeding programs, and studies
of captive-wild wolves.
Cuyamaca Rancho State
Park - Descanso - offers beautiful pine and oak forests, broad
meadows, and little streams that are a special delight in the generally dry Southern
California landscape. Headquartered in Descanso.
Palomar Mountain State
Park - Palomar Mountain - features spectacular views of the Pacific,
camping, picnicking, hiking, and fishing in Doane Pond.
Lakeside
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28-08-2011
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