California Travel Guide
California's allure is understandable. It really is warm and sunny most of the year, movie stars do abound in Los Angeles, and you can't swing a cat by its tail without hitting a rollerblading babe in Venice Beach. This part of the California mystique -- however exaggerated it may be -- does exist, and it's not hard to find.
But there's more -- a lot more -- to California that isn't scripted, sanitized, and broadcast to the world's mesmerized masses. Beyond the glitter and glamour is an incredibly diverse state that, if it ever seceded from the Union, would be a productive and powerful nation. We've got it all: redwood forests, an incredibly verdant Central Valley, the Sierra Nevada, deserts, a host of world-renowned cities, and hundreds of miles of stunning coastline.
And despite the crime, pollution, traffic, and earthquakes for which California is famous, we're still the golden child of the United States: America's spoiled rich kid everyone else either loves or loathes. (Neighboring Oregon, for example, sells lots of license-plate rims that proudly state, "I hate California.") But, truth be told, we really don't care. Californians know they live in one of the most diverse and interesting places in the world, and we're proud of the state we call home.
Granted, there's no guarantee that you'll bump into Arnold Schwarzenegger or learn how to surf, but if you have a little time, a little money, and -- most importantly -- an adventurous spirit, then Erika, David, Harry and I will help guide you through one of the most fulfilling vacations of your life. The four of us travel the world for a living, but we choose to live in California, because there's no other place on earth that has so much to offer.
