|
Albany - Small town, couple of major streets and a kickin' bowling alley on New Year's Eve. (Dec. '03) Alturas - An investigate report into a primitive practice known as the Great Pit River Duck Race. (Jul. '01) Baker - Home of the world's largest thermometer, and gateway to Death Valley. And that's about it. (Mar. '02, May '03) Barstow - One of the cities still alive and kickin' along the historic Route 66. (Mar. '02, Apr. '03, May '03) Berkeley and UC Berkeley - Home of the Cal Bears and a Nuclear Free Zone since 1986. (Dec. '03) Big Oak Flat - A church, accountant and web designer -- they've got a bit of everything (Feb. '08) Blythe - The first place in California you see when coming from Arizona along I-10. (May '03) Bonita - In Spanish, "bonita" is beautiful. In California, "Bonita" means small town between Sunnyside and Chula Vista. (Aug. '03) Boron - Not a big town, and has very little to do with the element boron (sign). (May '03) Calico Ghost Town - More a commercial tourist trap than a solid historic place, but nice if you're into that sort of thing. (May '03) California City - Nestled amongst the desert and at least 10 mines from anything is this nice little town. (May '03) Cambria - A quiet little town, sweeping views and a simple story. (Sep. '08) Capay - Just a teeny little town along Highway 16, west of Woodland. (Aug. '04) Carlsbad - The home of lots of stuff, but I didn't see anything... just Legoland, which is why I went there. (Dec. '03) Casa de Oso - An unincorporated little town, but a home to a very nice Catholic church. (Aug. '03) Castroville - The self-proclaimed Artichoke Capital of the World. Go figure. (Nov. '03) Catalina - A lovely outing on Catalina island, floating out there in the greater Los Angeles area. (Nov. '01) Cayucos - A quaint town dotting the Pacific Ocean and whose history is long and largely uneventful. (Sep. '08) Chester - 2,000 people, home of the Chester Manor Motel, and near Lassen National Park -- yea! (May '04) Chinese Camp - A Gold Rush-era town that has thus far refused to close down (Feb. '08) Chiriaco Summit - Founded by a handful of folks, including the Chiriaco family, but very little else besides the Gen. Patton museum. (May '03) Chula Vista - To boldly plant palm trees in the face of popular convention, and create the Third Street shopping area: Chula Vista. (Aug. '03) Clear Creek - A cute little town nestled amongst the trees in the southwestern part of Lassen County. (May '04) Copperopolis - Just one of the myriad of little towns sprinkled in the state's Gold Country. (May '09) Corning - A cute little town, and it even has a city pool. (May '02) Coronado - Nestled on the peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and the Coronado Bay sits this lovely little town. (Aug. '03) Coulterville - Rustic downtown, quiet trailer home park, some neat old-looking buildings (Feb. '08) Death Valley Junction - It is in this town you turn west from Highway 127 to Highway 190 to reach the park. They also have a place that sells sandwiches. (May '03) Death Valley National Park - It's not just a fun-sounding name, it's a cool place to visit. (May '03) Desert Center - Not a whole lot here, but with just 125 people, what do you expect? (May '03) Donner Pass - Not just a summit moment (while in the mountains, anyway), but the site of the famous Donner Party. (May '02) Disneyland and California Adventure - A visit to a Southern California namesake, and its newly opened neighbor (Mar. '01) Dublin - A small town feel and an obsession with Ireland for some reason. (Mar. '05) El Cajon - Here's your change to think of your own short caption for El Cajon. Go on, start thinking. (Aug. '03) Escalon - Not a big town, but not a tiny one, either. (Nov. '03) Esparto - The home a clever, if not previously used, ploy to reduce speeding through town. (Aug. '04) Farmington - Quite literally a teeny town on the crossroads of a small highway and a large roadway. (May '09) Hamilton Branch - A teeny town with a grand view of Mt. Lassen. (May '04) Harmony - Population 18, and still kicking. (Sep. '08) Hearst Castle (er, State Park) - The homestead of publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst. (Sep. '08) Hollywood - The home of movies, stars, and, at least the day we were there, fog. (Nov. '02) Imperial Beach - As you can guess, it's a beach town, a mere five miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Bien! (Aug. '03) Indian Casino - It's neither the quality nor the pay-outs of Reno or Las Vegas, but I went anyway. (Aug. '04) Jamestown - Okay, so no one WANTS to go to Jamestown, yet, here we were. (Nov. '03) La Grange - A nice little town, complete with midget water towers (Feb. '08) La Mesa - Public transportation system and a fire house. This SimCity like place is coming along nicely... (Aug. '03) Livermore - A couple dozen wineries in and around the city, if you're into that sort of thing. (Mar. '05) Magic Mountain - In Valencia along I-5, this was my disappointing theme park experience. (Jul. '04) Montara - A small little town between here and there along Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway). (May '07) Mariposa - The last city of substance before you arrive at Yosemite National Park. (Sep. '04) Moccasin - A teeny town with a large installation of the Hetch Hetchy Water & Power system here (Feb. '08) Mojave - Birthplace of the Voyager (the 939 pound plane that flew around the world in 1986 without refueling). (May '03) Monterey - The City by the Bay that isn't San Francisco... (Sep. '03) Morro Bay - A cute little town perched just inland of a big ol' rock. (Sep. '08) Mt. Shasta - At 14,162 feet, it's a nice little hill. Of course, pretty to look at, but no worries about me trying to climb it. (May '01, May '02) Mountain House - A curious place, a new town popping up in the Central Valley area. (Oct. '06) Needles - A particularly warm day in what is apparently a long series of hot days in Needles. (Jul. '06) Oakdale - Home of the Hershey factory... and other things, too, I guess. (Nov. '03) Paso Robles - A nice little town of 27,000 people, and the home of Harris Stage Lines. (Sep. '03) Placerville - Old Hangtown, frought with history and more than a few hangings (duh). (Jan. '04) Pleasanton - One of those fancy-pants towns, though I didn't quite find their source of pride. (Mar. '05) Rancho Tehama - A cute little town tucked into the hills, 11 miles west of nowhere. (Dec. '05) Redding - I'll return and look around more when it ain't so dang hot (90°F and very humid. (May '02) Riverbank - I didn't actually see a river alongside the town, but that's not to say there isn't one. (Jul. '04) Sacramento - The state capitol, and current home of newly elected Governor Schwarzenegger. (Jan. '04) San Diego - America's Finest, according to the police cars. And home of San Diego State University (SDSU). (Aug. '03) San Diego Wild Animal Park - It's always nice to see animals in their natural habitat while still being completely caged in. (Nov. '01) San Dimas - A small city amongst several others in Los Angeles County. (Oct. '06) San Francisco - It's cold and gray in the summertime, but you save a fortune on air conditioning. (Sep. '03) San Francisco Cable Car Museum - The only town still with cable cars, the only museum of its kind. (Aug. '05) San Luis Obispo - 45,000+ people, a major university, and not a single drive-thru fast food place. (Sep. '08) San Simeon - The former staffing quarters of the Hearst ranch, now just a teeny-tiny little town. (Sep. '08) Sand City - With a population of just 270 people, you'd think they all live in the expansive shopping area. (Dec. '03) Santa Barbara - Between the sea and Michael Jackson pre-trail hearings, we found a quaint little city. (Nov. '03) Santee - Well... I was there, honest. But didn't find too much to make me sit up straight and taken notice. (Aug. '03) Sausalito - A lovely view of San Francisco from several places. This town is nice too. (Jul. '05) Seaside - Appropriately named, this place runs along side the Pacific Ocean via the Monterey Bay. (Dec. '03) Shoshone - Population 100, a public pool, and a cafe that offers something called "internet." (May '03) Six Flags Magic Mountain - In Valencia along I-5, this was my disappointing theme park experience. (Jul. '04) Sonora - A historic town from Gold Rush era, still lots of brick buildings 'round these parts. (Nov. '03) South Lake Tahoe - A great place to ski, view big lakes, or be dangerously close to Nevada. (Jan. '04) Spring Valley - Just one of them suburbs tucked between other suburbs. (Aug. '03) Sunol - A teeny town nestled into the hills, somewhat forgotten but still quite cute. (Mar. '05) Sunnyside - One of those places you find without looking... and where you don't stay long. (Aug. '03) Susanville - The biggest little town for miles and miles up in Lassen County. (May '04) Sutter Creek - A rich history is just one of the offerings of this teeny Central California town. (Mar. '06) Sylmar - Concrete, palm trees and fast food... welcome to Southern California. (May '04) Tahoe City - Conveniently located alongside Lake Tahoe and a handful of ski resorts. (Jan. '04) Tecopa - Ever heard of those places that are little more than a wide spot in the road? Here's such a place. (May '03) Tecopa Hot Springs - A sister city of the wide spot in the road, this one has a resort place (amidst its own wide spot in the road). (May '03) Tehachapi - Home of 10,000 people and 5,200 state prisoners. (Mar. '03) Tracy - The town's on the grow -- they just got a drive-thru Starbucks place. (Mar. '05) Westwood - A small town with big possibilities. (May '04) Woodland - This town is touted as historic, but it has an opera house dating to 1895, so it can't be all bad. (May '02) Yermo - Distinctive for nothing in particular, but lots of evidence of things that used to be thriving in town. (May '03) Yosemite National Park - It's got lots of granite and millions of visitors annually. Including me. (Sep. '04) Zamora - I was amused to find the town of 58 people, elevation 52, and that it did actually sprawl nearly two city blocks. (Apr. '04) |
Home | About Me | Legal Disclaimer © all rights reserved, allaboutfrank.com