Category Archive: California

Hollywood Bowl Concerts: Amphitheater Beneath the Stars

An evening of music under the stars doesn’t get much better than when you’re sitting in one of the most legendary natural amphitheaters — the Hollywood Bowl.  And if your California holidays permit, scheduling in a concert or visit to this venue is a wonderful summer treat. The Hollywood Bowl was originally built in 1922 and it first consisted of simple wooden benches set against the natural hillside of Bolton Canyon.  That same year the first Hollywood Bowl concerts were scheduled when the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra began its first season of “music under the stars,” a tradition that continues today as the Bowl serves as the summer home of the orchestra. Fast forward to today:  With seating of about 18,000, the Hollywood Bowl is the largest natural amphitheater in the United States.  It is still the summer home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and […]

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In Photos: California State Capitol Building, Sacramento

Sacramento is the capital city of California and home to its Capitol Building, a classical revival style patterned after the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.  The Capitol Building and its grounds are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.     At the center of the building is the rotunda, which divides the State Senate and Assembly into north and south wings.  The rotunda is 128 feet tall, from the basement of the building to the height of its inner dome.  The Rotunda serves as a ceremonial space, but also as the starting point for most visitors to the Capitol.   In this area you can sign up for a tour, enjoy a look at some of the decorative murals and interior décor, or look up at the beautifully detailed ceiling. At the center of the rotund is Columbus’ […]

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Alcatraz: The Rock in the San Francisco Bay

Channel your inner Al Capone or “Machine Gun” Kelly with a visit to Alcatraz Island on your next stay in San Francisco.  Located in the San Francisco Bay, about a mile offshore, the island served as a lighthouse and military site before becoming a Federal prison in 1963. Alcatraz operated as a federal penitentiary for 29 years, and during that time housed prisoners who had been problems at other locations.  Some of the most infamous criminals in history were housed there, and it is claimed that no prisoner ever successfully escaped.  Both Capone and Kelly were imprisoned on The Rock, which today is a historic site under the auspices of the National Park Service, and just like then, there is only one way on and off the island. Alcatraz Cruises is the only company authorized by the National Parks Service […]

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Splendor in San Francisco: Visiting the Palace of Fine Arts

In the middle of San Francisco’s Walter S. Johnson Park, sits the Palace of Fine Arts, an easily recognizable piece of San Francisco architecture.  You’ve likely seen it in many photographs, with attractive shots both by day and by night, so you’ll want to make plans for visiting the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California. The Palace was designed as part of the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition, an event hosted by San Francisco to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal.  It was also seen as an opportunity for San Francisco to rise from the ashes of the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire. A site was chosen in what is now known as the Marina District, and architect Bernard Maybeck designed the Roman-themed/Greek-styled Palace of Fine Arts.  Exposition exhibits are temporary and therefore made with collapsible materials, so […]

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Forture Cookie Factory Tour in San Francisco

Many cities with large Chinese and Chinese-American communities have fortune cookie factories, and many provide tours.  If you are in San Francisco’s Chinatown, you can find a fortune cookie factory tour at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, in an alley historically known for its brothels and gambling.  You can smell the fortune cookies being made, so just follow the wafting smell of sugar wafer, and you won’t be able to miss the fortune cookie factory. At the factory, the cookies are still made the old fashioned way — by hand. The cookies themselves are formed by batter poured into a mold, making a flat, 3-inch wafer.  After they cook on a griddle-like, rotating machine, they are picked up either by hand, or with chop sticks, and a fortune is inserted into the center of the wafer.   They are then […]

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5 Awesome Day Trips From San Francisco

A guest post for today, Black Friday, as I take a long weekend off to enjoy time with family and friends.  With these great ideas to get you thinking, there’s no reasons not to get away from San Francisco for a fun day trip. —- San Francisco is a wonderful place to visit not only because of all the things to see in the city, but because there are plenty of day trips you can take as well. San Francisco is located within 2-3 hours of many other must-see Northern California attractions. Here are five ideas for awesome day trips from San Francisco that will be sure to please visitors with a variety of interests. Napa Valley – Located in Napa County north of San Francisco, Napa Valley is one of the top wine regions in the United States. It […]

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30 Free Things to Do in Santa Barbara

In honor of Buy Nothing Day, Friday, November 26th, this post will try to convince you that the best things in life are free – even when it comes to travel!  So let go of your need for expensive 5-star hotels, gourmet meals, and spa treatments.  While there’s nothing wrong with enjoying those delectable luxuries (and I do enjoy them), sometimes you need to get back in touch with reality by traveling on the cheap – or free. There are plenty of things to do and see for FREE, even though you might be traveling to an expensive part of the country.  With its beautiful location on the ocean, and its lovely temperate weather, Santa Barbara is often referred to as the American Riviera, and common sense tells you that’s not going to come cheap.  Still, this seaside community located […]

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Dinner & Movie at Foreign Cinema

Long the classic date, dinner and a movie usually requires delicate timing.  And early dinner and a late movie?  Or an early movie and a late dinner?  With both choices fraught with potential for timing disasters and arguments, why not do both at the same time — at San Francisco’s Foreign Cinema. Movies, which start at dusk, are screened in the covered outdoor courtyard.  Seating is available in the courtyard, inside by the fire, and upstairs in the semi-private mezzanine that overlooks the dining room.  In addition to the dining room, cocktails and a complete menu are served in the main bar and on the patio.  The menu and wine list, which changes daily, are heavy on California-Mediterranean cuisine, and features a good selection of plates suitable for sharing. If you’re not ready to call it a night after dinner and […]

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Latino Culture on LA’s Olvera Street

Olvera Street, also known as El Pueblo Historic Monument, is the birthplace of the City of Los Angeles.  The block-long street, one of the oldest in the city, features historic buildings lining a traditional Mexican style plaza, and is home to one of the most colorful marketplaces that you’ll ever see. The street was originally a short lane called Wine Street.  The lane was eventually extended, and the name changed to honor Agustin Olvera, the first county judge of Los Angeles.  Although it became a dirty, unused alley for a period of time, the area was eventually rehabilitated, closed off to vehicles, trees were planted, and a large wooden cross was put up at the south end of the street. Olvera Street officially opened on Easter Sunday 1930, and provided a place for Mexican American vendors to sell their goods […]

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The Floating White House in Jack London Square

The USS Potomac was used by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as his presidential yacht, and to this day it is affectionately referred to as the “floating White House.”  The ship was  a 165-foot Coast Guard cutter before it was commissioned by the US Navy in 1936 and put to its new purpose. FDR hated to fly, preferring to travel by ship or train, and the USS Potomac was outfitted to accommodate his mobility issues.  It could cruise along at speeds of 10-13 knots, and FDR would often hold informal strategy meetings aboard, enjoying the privacy and seclusion the yacht provided.  Visiting dignitaries were entertained on the yacht, and at least one of FDR’s famed radio broadcasts originated from on board.  There were many “secret” meetings held aboard, only some of which have been made public, leaving us to speculate about […]

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