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A Beer & the pacific ocean

Posted by Anna Atlea · October 26, 2016

A Beer With the Pacific

I have one piece of advice for those of us blessed enough to live within sight of the Pacific Ocean. Never waste an Autumn sunset. It truly is the best time of year. Nobody really considers the Winter to be prime time due to the cold, which is understandable, and those who live in LA are will be more than familiar with the “June Gloom” associated with the spring months. Summers may be considered prime time, but honestly who can put up with the great influx of tourists that the season attracts? That of course leaves us with the fall. Just as other parts of the country are settling in and hunkering down for what they know will be a long and trying 3-4 months of winter chill, we Californians, specifically Southern Californians from my perspective, give a relaxing sigh of relief to know that the beach has returned to the locals while still maintaining a comfortable enough temperature for all the regular beach life that we know and love. Now being the Irish/Italian descendent that I am, I love to acknowledge and celebrate these extra special times with a touch of the dirty water to lift spirits and fill voids, so that is just what I did.

Finding a spot to share a cold brew with the most powerful of the four oceans isn’t a difficult thing to do, but finding the right spot? Now that’s a bit tricky. I won’t pretend to believe that I know what spot would fit you best, but to find my spot I had to do a little bit of searching. I could easily hit the Venice or Santa Monica Piers, two historic spots with bar scenes that could make the transition almost seamless, but that’s not really what I wanted. It couldn’t be a place that just anybody could get to. I needed my rendezvous to be special, a place that only we could find and a place that only we would remember. For that reason, I won’t tell you exactly where we set up shop, but if you’re ever cruising up (or down) PCH in a more remote section of Malibu and can hear a gentle “Kershhhhh-shhawwwwww” bank onto the coastline calling your name, then I highly encourage you pull over and stop to share a cold one.

I popped a squat right at the edge of the land with a twelve pack of bud light (just in case it was one of ‘those nights’) and gazed dreamily out over the waves as the sun began to set.

At first she was quiet. I was quiet too. It was probably the beauty of the rays reflected off her glistening white caps that left me silent, but I was content to just stare deeply into her magnificence and contemplate my own existence rather than to press her for answers. I don’t think we spoke at all through my first two beers (I wasn’t counting how many she had) and I only mustered up a comfortably relaxed sigh midway through my third to try to break the awkward silence in the hopes of a journey into deeper conversation.

She answered my sigh with nothing but a brilliant explosion of red orange and pink as she swallowed the bright burning orb of light into her essence. Her movements then became darker, more mysterious and somehow more enticing. Everyone gets to see her dolled up for daytime in the summer, but I was getting more.

As the beers rolled back I got more comfortable and, to my dismay, brought up old lovers. Guys, you know how it is. We’re not supposed to. We’re really not, but when you begin to feel comfortable with a new romantic interest, you can’t help but to bring up previous ones who have hurt you. It’s a weird mix of vulnerability and puppy-dog longing that makes us do it, but my girl handled it like a champ. I told her about the first girl I loved, who I thought would be with me forever.

“Sherrrrrrrrrrr wahhhhhhhhhhhhh sherrrrrrrrrrr” was her reply.

I went into the dynamics of the dancer that had moved across the country, breaking my heart in the process.

“Pershhhh kerrrrrr shawwwwwwww” she sighed understandingly.

I even broke down and discussed the reasons my most recent love interest had not worked out, something you should never do by the way.

She answered with a long silence. Took all that I had said into her mind, meditated on it and…..

“Kowwwww raahhhhhhhh shhherrrrrrrrr”

Every time I threw her the wrongs that someone had done to me, she threw them right back on my lap. I had begged her to tell me that the responsibility for these failure had lied elsewhere and rather than a misplaced agreement (something that some women seeking approval will do) she threw it all back in my face for me to decide. Sure she had been there to witness the so-called wrong doings, she was always presents. She was the ocean and I lived five blocks away, but that didn’t mean that she would place judgement on a situation from a perspective that was not her own. I really couldn’t thank her enough for that.

Once we got all of my shit out of the way, the conversation turned into something of much more substance than misplaced adolescent heart break. She told me about the moon. How they had loved each fiercely in the early days of our planet to the point where now the mere position of the moon in the universe could make her calm as a clear mirror or vicious as a raging storm. She was scared that she would never truly get over that relationship. I won’t say that she cried, but you could feel the emotion was there with the way her waves started to crash harder out from the shoreline. I couldn’t comfort her, the best that I could do was listen.

I must have listened half the night. We lost track of time as you will when you find deep conversation with beings that share the vibrations that you have chosen for your existence. I didn’t finish the full twelve, but more were gone than were left and I the cold of early fall told me it was time to go. She waved goodbye and I left with a deeper understanding of her life than I had begun with. It may not have been necessary, but the alcohol had left us both vulnerable enough to share and we had connected in a way that would not have been possible without it.

As I got back into my car and pulled back onto PCH, I looked out my window and thought of the immense pressure she must feel. To be the ocean? To be the Pacific? We expect a lot from her, and that cannot be an easy task.

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Top 11 Weirdest & Strangest places in California

Posted by kay smythe · October 26, 2016

Weird California: Our List of the Weirdest Place in The Golden State

These places are not necessarily scary. Neither are they normal. In the scariest month of the year, sometimes we don't want the obviously terrifying. With the horrors of the general election less than a few weeks away, some of us Californians want the weird and wonderful of our States.

So here is your comprehensive list of the most bizarre and funky that our state has to offer. Some of them have a personal twist, built from my predominantly scientific background. Others are just downright crazy cool. Whatever tickles your flavor, make sure to check it out on your next roadtrip or lazy Sunday in the best place on the planet!

The Underground Tunnels of Los Angeles

Los Angeles, a thriving hub of good-will and respect (said no one, ever) is also home to some of the greatest F-Us to the system of all time. During Prohibition, 11 miles of service tunnels beneath the streets of Downtown Los Angeles became basement speakeasies. With innocuous frontages, these tunnels allowed drunks and lovers and Angeleno drinkers to move about the city without the fear of getting caught. How was the whole thing supplied? Well by the Mayor of course!

The Salton Sea

Okay, so this is technically a saline lake, not a sea. However, this spot near the Mexican border of Southern California, is really quite strange. This salt lake is much saltier than the sea and has been through various stages of life throughout the last three million years. In the last hundred of these years, the sea has been a popular fishery in the 40s, a hang-out spot in the 50s, and is now being destroyed through the failures in human manipulation of the planet and climate change. It is now like a ghost town unto itself, with dead fish and birds lining the shores along with a plethora of human stuff left behind.

The Museum of Death

This place is exactly what it sounds like. Not for the faint hearted, the Museum of Death is home to a huge collection of images featuring the Manson crime scenes, photos from the Dahlia Murders, various pieces of serial-killer artwork, and much more. Full-size replicas of execution devices and a collection of other weird things used to hurt human beings also reside within the walls of the museum. I'm thinking of taking my friend Lizzie later this year. She's not a weirdo or anything, we are just running out of things to do other than drink and see live music.

The Sailing Stones of Racetrack Playa

Geology rocks, we all know this. What really rocks, is when geology gets weird. Case and point: the sailing stones of Racetrack Playa. For years, these rocks moved with absolutely no evident cause. Trails behind the stones prove that they have rolled, but there are few geological and meterological phenomenon that move rocks of this size without disturbing all of the land beneath it, making trails mostly invisible. A few years back, a group of researchers monitored the group of rocks (which they named, obviously) for seven years and found that winter ice flows were likely to be the cause of the movement. One of the stones is called Karen, which is very inventive for a geologist

(PS – Geography graduate author, so I can be mean to geologists).

Salvation Mountain

More of a glorified heap, Salvation Mountain is a weirdly wonderful part of Californian society. With everyone, no matter how evil they might be, having at least some sort of relationship with God, it was only time before the hippies brought in the bizarre. This mad monument to the Big Man was created by Mr. Leonard Knight after his hot air balloon failed over this sparse patch of desert. Knight is beloved by all who meet him. Despite this, the mountain is coated in thick layers of lead-based paint, so don't lick it.

Sunken City

“Eventually this whole place will collapse into the ocean.” Joked Steve as we cycled along the beach by Santa Monica. I nodded in agreement. The towering cliffs above us a daunting reminder of my years of geographical science and my own near escapes from natural disasters. The very thing that Steve and I predicted happened in 1929 in the coastal town of San Pedro, California. A landslide threw an entire neighborhood of fancy homes to fall into the ocean. The land movement had a peak of 11 inches a day! The fractured foundations and abandoned streets and streetcar tracks. Very weird!

Amboy

Once a boomtown during the golden days of California's gold discovery, Amboy resides along the historic Route 66. When new roadways were developed, making the Route somewhat useless, Amboy emptied. One resident was left behind until he grew bored of the upkeep and listed the town on eBay. Now owned by the same guy who owns Juan Pollo, the only functional part of Amboy is Roy's, an ex-diner and serve station that has now started selling gas again. Travelers who want to take on the heat of the Mojave can still explore the abandoned school, church, airport, and graveyard. It is said to be so silent in the remote little town that the only thing you might hear is the rattle of a train passing by. Bring a full tank of fuel and enough water to last you a few days – just in case!

Byron Hot Springs Hotel

Arguably the most diverse history of this list, the Byron Hot Springs Hotel has been everything from a resort, to a home, to an interrogation center, a monastery, and more over it's history. Now, it lies in eerie ruins. Two incarnations of the property have burned to the ground. The lure of the natural hot springs in the center of the land kept drawing investors back throughout the 1800s and into the start of the 20th century. Though the current owner is said to have plans to develop the site back into it's former glory, many believe that the land is cursed and that it will forever dwell at the end of a long-forgotten road.

The Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes

Buried beneath the sands of the dauntingly enormous Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes are ancient Egyptian artefacts dating back years... 93 years at the time of writing. No, the giant sphinx and various other bits and bobs are not real Egyptian goods, they are props from the set of The Ten Commandments. The filmmaker, Cecil B. Demille, ordered the crew to dismantle and bury the sets after filming in the remote desert location so that no one could copy his excellent silent film's backdrop. A 720-foot long Egyptian palace, 30-feet high Pharaoh statues, and the most accurate depiction of an Egyptian city lie beneath the dunes, just waiting for historians in the 3000s to find and confuse the hell out of!

Berkeley Mystery Walls

This has to be my favorite place on the list! Stretching out across 50miles of the East Bay from Berkeley to San Jose, no one has a clue who built these walls. In some places, the walls are up to five feet in height, made from boulders and various other rock fragments. Some of the individual boulders weigh over a ton, some are in ruins, and some run anywhere from a meter to a mile in length. Spanish settlers originally found the stones, noting that they had no idea how they came to be. They seem to serve no purpose as they are too small for defence. Various historians and scientists believe that the wall was built by Mongolian settlers, but no dating has proved accurate enough for tangible scientific certainty as to who, why, when, or how these walls were built.

The Institute of Mentalphysics

Joshua Tree, California, is known for being a spot of bizarre happenings. This is just one of them. Located across 420 acres of desert, this spiritual center was designed to study the science of the future. Originally built by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1946, the Institute is for those of us who wish to seek a higher sense of consciousness and further understand the science of the mind. The Institute was first created by Ding Le Mei, born Edward John Dingle, a British journalist who spent far too much time getting weird in Asia, much like many Brits continue to today. The retreat is still open and functional, with many guests still visiting the site in order to enhance their mental capabilities – for a fee, of course.

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10 Real Life Haunted California locations

Posted by kay smythe · October 22, 2016

Top 10 Creepy Californian Haunts

California is a very new part of the world. It barely has two hundred years of real history. However, this created the beauty of California. The history is so ripe that those who lived here during the gold rush treated it like the badlands, a small, sweltering hot box of murder, corruption, and fear. The murderous parts of the west, where many came to escape the real world. As time went on it became an enclave of hippies and true freedom of expression. Even in modern day, Los Angeles is the first port-of-call for the cartels trafficking narcotics into America, creating the dark undercurrent that all of us Californians secretly love. Sure, we may not be thrilled with anguish and agony that our Golden State has gone through, but it has definitely made for some chilling tales.

Forget whatever you're doing this Halloween. It's not going to be scary enough. Trust us! This is your comprehensive list of the scariest places in California. However, they're not just scary, they're sinister. Nasty. Awful. Evil. Whatever adjective you'd like to use, it'll fit so long as it freaks you out.

California is the most haunted state in America, so we compiled a handful of our favorite spots for this Halloween. Enjoy!

Los Coches Adobe

This bizarre little historical building in Monterrey County is home of horror and human hatred. Once a mine, Los Coches Adobe was the site of a collapse that took the lives of 30 men, who were left trapped beneath the earth. Visitors have reported everything from strange people dressed in black, climbing trees and playing around, to bodies hanging from the branches. There are also a wealth of other haunted buildings in the area, such as the Old Mission School, and labor camps where the spirits of the dead women roam in the day and night.

Rancho Los Amigos Hospital

Built in 1888 and opened the same year, Rancho Los Amigos Hospital is rated as one of the weirdest, scariest, and most bizarre places in California. The hospital served as a working hospital, allowing the poor and homeless and drunk to work for their stay and care in the facility. The facility has a history of horror. Torrential floods once washed away submerged caskets from the hospital graveyard, which was then relocated (but no one knows where). It was the home for many during the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918. Iron lung filled the wards during the 1950s as the hospital brought in majority polio sufferers. Though the hospital still runs today, seventy acres of the south campus have fallen silent. The US Marine Corps sometimes use the south campus for training drills. During one such exercise, troops found a freezer full of mummified body parts. Though tales of hauntings run rife on the facility, this was once of the most beneficial hospitals in the state. If only things were the same today!

The Brookdale Lodge

Once one of the most popular places to stay in California, the Brookdale Lodge is situated deep in the Santa Cruz mountains. Though it went through many incarnations, it was during the '40s and '50s that Brookdale garnered it's historical significance as a scary spot in California. During this time, Brookdale was home to gangsters and other shady folks. The owners installed secret passages and hidden rooms, with rumors of bodies buried beneath the floor began to surface. The niece of the lodge owner, Sarah Logan, drowned in the dining room creek. A short while later, in 1972, a 13-year-old girlalso drowned in the pool above the mermaid room, forcing it's closure. Now reopened, many have reported sightings of ghosts and ghouls. In total, 49 spirits are said to walk the hallways of Brookdale Lodge.

Beverly Hills Bermuda Triangle

A plethora of very strange things have happened in this affluent neighborhood in Los Angeles. Howard Hughes crashed his plane into a row of houses here. Bugsy Siegel was murdered on the block. Bizarre car accidents have occurred out of nowhere, with no reasonable cause. People have been shot to death in random dive-by shootings. Even modern-day psychics and other clairvoyants who visit the site experience confusing visions of agony and suffering.

Bodie

This is a special place on this list. Why? Because it is the only place I can honestly write about in first person. My family is not adverse to the rumbles and mumbles of strange happenings. I visited Bodie in 2010, six years before I applied and gained my visa. The town was once a hub of gold mining. Discovered in 1849, Sutter's Mill in the western Sierra foothill brought in men and women from across the United States. This caused the boom. Boarding houses, restaurants, saloons, clothes shops, all sorts of establishments were built in Bodie. However, the boom also brought in a disproportionate amount of “bad men”. They were the desperate, the gamblers, the gun-fighters, stage robbers. Bodie was better known for it's lawlessness than it's riches. At one point, Bodie was home to over 10,000 people. Then, after fires and Prohibition and the Great Depression ruined everything that Bodie once had, everyone left. It became a state park in 1962, a mere 113 years after it was built. What is most haunting about Bodie is not it's history, the death and savages that once lived in this Godless place. It is the silence. On a roasting hot day in mid-July, tourists and guides wander the streets in silence. No one says a word in the stark, vast landscape. It is the silence of Bodie that makes it one of the scariest places in the world.

The Holbrooke Hotel

A popular among young ghost hunters in the United States, the Holbrooke Hotel was established in 1862. Since then, it has been a regular for the likes of Ulysses S. Grant, Mark Twain, and a huge number of other authors and entertainers and people of note. There is also a rumor that the infamous Highwayman Charles Boles, was also a guest at one point. Over the last 150 years, the hotel has seen death in all forms. Hauntings of small children, a maid who folds your clothes, apparitions of women, tables full of men, rattling and banging have all be heard in the hotel. In 1927, a man named John Henry Martin committed suicide in one of the rooms by slicing his own throat with a shaving knife. It's no wonder that the Holbrooke Hotel is known as one of the most haunted places in America.

Linda Vista Hospital

Opened in 1909, the Linda Vista Hospital was originally built by the Santa Fe Railroad for it's employees. Situated in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. The building was torn down and rebuilt in 1924 into the modern building we see today. It was rated one of the best hospitals in the state for a long time. Unfortunately, as so many Angelenos know all too well, nothing lasts forever in this ever-changing county. Boyle Heights began to fall apart, and so did Linda Vista. The hospital fell into disrepair, with the quality of the institution collapsing to the point that those working at the establishment, and the owners, didn't think it worth cleaning out. Patient files were left where they lay. Beds remained wherever their last occupant left them. This was noticed by location scouts as the film industry caught wind of the abandonment. To date, over 60 films, TV shows and music videos have been made at the building.

Tyler Street House

Fresno, far from California's most appealing city, is also the home of the Tyler Street House. From the exterior, this property looks like any other. Peaceful. Pleasant. A real family home. However, the interior is far from the same. The Tyler Street House has been the scene of poltergeist activity since the 1980s. Homeowners have reported red eyes peering out of the darkness, objects flying off the walls and from tables and shelves. All of the various families that have owned the house since the 1980s, which is over twenty, have all found a cat bludgeoned to death in the upstairs closet.

The Perelson Mansion

2475 Glendower Place resides in one of the coolest new places to live in Los Angeles, named Los Feliz. However, on December 6^th, 1959, one of the most gruesome murders in American history took place at the address. Dr. Harold Perelson, a renowned cardiologist in California, killed his wife Lillian by beating her with a ball-peen hammer. She died from choking on her own blood. He then went to do the same to his eldest daughter, Judye. Judye survived the first strike, and began to scream for help. She then managed to escape the house and run to a neighbor's property. Dr. Perelson then went into his two youngest children's bedrooms and told them to go back to sleep. He then proceeded to take two doses of Nembutal and two other tranquillizers, which killed him before an ambulance could arrive. Rumor has it that a family rented the house for a year or so after the murders, but no one has lived in the property full-time since the 1960s.

Proctor Valley Road

Guests and locals of California know that most of their lives are spent on the road. It's like a right of passage for every Californian. In my youth, my parents and I would roadtrip around for weeks on end. The highways of the Golden State are almost part of the charm (except the 405 during rush hour... F that!). Proctor Valley Road sits between Chula Vista and Jamul, toward San Diego. Though I have never visited Jamul, my first American love was from there. I now feel so blessed that I never had to drive up this way at night! Stories of ghosts, spirits, and even giant demon-like creatures haunt this patch of land. Many drivers and visitors have been said to pull over for hitchhikers, to find them disappeared as soon as they stop. Very weird.

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Best Romantic Escapes in California

Posted by kay smythe · October 13, 2016

Best Romantic Escapes in California

Even for those attempting to date in Los Angeles county, California is a place for lovers. It is an endless escape for those searching for their idyll. Here in California we love with our souls and those around us.

Inspired by the glowing sunshine and perpetual beauty the state has to offer, we at Calimited have compiled your ultimate list of the best romantic escapes we have in California.

Author Kay Smythe has been published in both national and international press for her works in travel journalism. She holds a degree in social and physical geographies, and is a huge advocate for the treat yourself concept. As both a tourist and a local to California, Smythe has developed the following list of luxury locations for you and your significant other (even if you're currently dating yourself!).

Laguna Beach

The intimate spacing of the Airbnbs (ranging in price from under $100 per night, to well over $2000) or plethora of luxury hotels, Laguna Beach is just a short drive from Los Angeles and San Diego. During off-season, this pretty little town made famous by MTV is a hotspot for local Californian escapees. When my parents came into town last winter, I sent them to the coastal town for some “them” time. It's just OC enough to be posh, but just far enough away from Newport Beach to not be nouveau riche. Best things: seafood, shopping, luxury body treatments at the spas, the crashing ocean.

Napa

You have to be a special sort of crazy to not enjoy a romantic weekend away in the glorious vineyards of Napa Valley. Obviously this is not a recommendation for friends of Bill, but it's still gorgeous. Waking up every morning, you could quite easily mistake the landscape for the valleys of central France. As the sun starts to dip over the valley walls, casting long golden shadows across the fields of vines, you'd be forgiven for thinking yourself living in a dream. Best things: it's very quiet, wine, the food is excellent, wine, year-round beauty, wine.

San Luis Obispo

I defy you to find a better part of California on a lazy Thursday afternoon. Higuera Street near the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa comes alive with everything from fresh foods to live music and more. You'll be spoiled for choice by the multitude of interesting and delicious foods that SLO has to offer. Don't worry if you're only coming for a Friday through Sunday stint, during the other six days of the week San Luis Obispo is just as perfect. Like something out of Weeds (season one), SLO is the quintessential Central Californian town. Spitting distance to the beach and whale watching trips; a stone's throw from the botanical gardens; a short drive to the tackiest and tastiest Taco Temple. Best things: good for all the family, nature, wine tasting, great theatres, bubblegum alley.

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park

Affectionately known as the Land of Giants, Sequoia and Kings Canyon are by far the most dauntingly enormous, yet enigmatically stunning landscapes California has to offer. Escape into nature at this beautiful, enchanting habitat in the heart of California. Allow you and your significant other to be blown away by the sheer scale of the living creatures around you. Whether it's the tallest redwoods, the broadest sequoia, or one of the many mammals that the national parks has to offer, you will both be blown away by the sheer beauty of this state. If hiking isn't your thing, then stroll through the undergrowth, and embrace the scents and sounds away from the city. The accommodation in the parks isn't too bad either! Best things: the trees, the food, the smell first thing in the morning, chipmunks running through the rafters.

Las Vegas (okay, so not quite California, but driving distance all the same)

Sometimes it takes pulling up to an empty truck stop, somewhere on the road between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, to remind you what the trailblazers of America had to endure. As the wind whips across this desolate landscape, you're truly reduce to all that you are: a handful of cells that have combined to create you. In less than a hundred years you'll die and be forgotten, unlike the rows of strata that have pushed their way up over millennia. However, this mildly depressing thought can be erradicated through a quick getaway to Las Vegas! If you're a philistine then Vegas will be nothing but buffets and coke. If you've a head on your shoulders, then Vegas can be so much more. Rent a suite, not a room. Give yourself a spa treatment. Play some cards and win some money. Catch a show. Eat steak at Mastro's. Do Las Vegas properly and it can be the greatest place on Earth for you and your partner to escape reality together. Best things: always an excuse to dress up, huge beds, bigger tubs and showers, spa treatments, shows, steak, free drinks whilst playing.

Monterey

If nature is you're thing, but the national parks are that little bit too far away from the big blue then I recommend Monterey. The world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium is a great place to fall in love with all of the wonders that nature as to offer, as well as each other. Three days in this great spot can encompass everything from incredible seafood on Fisherman's Wharf to whale watching trips along the Pacific coast to a stroll through Pinnacles National Park. In the spring and fall, bring a cosy sweater and cuddle up on the beach to watch the sunset together. Best things: whales, sharks, sea otters, clam chowder.

Lake Tahoe

Okay, so we might be into camping and getting down in the mud every now and again. Other times, just like Vegas, you gotta glam it up a bit. What could be better than the beautiful vistas over Lake Tahoe? Winter or summer, spring or fall, Lake Tahoe is a perpetual beauty. Treat yourselves to a spa hotel. Bring books and games and swimming gear and relax together. Take a dip along the shores of the lake. If you're interested in getting out there, then check out Heavenly Mountain Resort for all the best in skiing, zip-lining, and snowboarding. Hike to Eagle Falls. Visit Vikingsholm. Honestly, this enchanting little enclave of California is worth every penny. Best things: skiing, swimming, boat rides, hiking, luxury accommodation, camping.

Beverly Hot Springs

If your significant other is yourself or a member of the same gender, then I highly recommend the Beverly Hot Springs. Situated just outside of Beverly Hills, these natural hot springs are just one of the geological marvels that California has to offer. Whether you're here on holiday or looking for a break in the stress of day-to-day life, Beverly Hot Springs cannot be recommended enough! The spa treatments are favorites of the patrons, but if you're just like to enjoy the amenities then you will have access to: cold plunge pool, hot pool, steam sauna, dry sauna, showers, rest areas, as well as all of the personal pampering products you might need. These are gender separated, so could be a great opportunity for couples that want to get away from each other for a moment, but still love each other really! Best things: how quiet it is, everything else.

For the die-hard California fan, these might not be your idea of a romantic getaway. One of the spots on the list isn't even in California. Please feel free to comment with your opinion on where the best places are and I'll be sure to check them out!

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3 Best Things to do in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco

Posted by kay smythe · October 10, 2016

3 Best Things to do in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco

By Kay Smythe

The following items are the personal preference of the author. Kay Smythe has been widely published and won awards for her travel writing. Here is what she has to say about the three major cities in California.

SAN DIEGO

Though San Diego is often seen as the dullest of the California triplets, this is a popular misconception of the city. However, there are certain things that will simply not be endorsed on here that you may find on other sites (watch Blackfish for more information).

Balboa Park and Museums

Arguably the best day out in the whole world, bar the Grand Canyon, Balboa Park is a vacation unto itself. With everything from a replica Globe Theatre to one of the best zoos in the world, we highly recommend dedicating a whole day to exploring this vastly underrated part of Californian culture. Back in 1835, the Alta California authorities set aside the 1,400 acre tract of land for public recreation. It is this site where Balboa Park remains today. Though land wasn't officially turned into a park until 1870, it's fate has always been decided.

San Diego Zoo

Okay yes, this is technically in Balboa Park, but this is a whole other day out in and of itself. Home to almost 4,000 animals from more than 650 species, San Diego Zoo is famous the world over. Unlike many other zoos, San Diego was the pioneer in open-air, cageless exhibits that recreate natural habitats for the animals that reside in the zoo. If this wasn't good enough, then the zoo is also one of the few in the world that successfully breed giant pandas!

Beer, beer, and more beer

San Diego is home to so many breweries that it is impossible to find an exact figure. We imagine it is over 100 at this point, but that is probably a conservative figure. Thanks to the joys of Uber and Lyft, day-drinking like Europeans is now possible across the county. Of course we cannot endorse non-stop drinking all day every day, and we certainly don't want to inflict San Diego with all of the drunkards that the world has to offer, but it is a must-do for visitors. Most breweries offer food and other refreshments for friends of Bill. They also give tours of how your favorite micro-brews are produced.

LOS ANGELES

Fear not, this list will not be made up of Hollywood Boulevard and Griffith Park (although this is a favorite). Los Angeles is far from the strictly entertainment-based fandom of visitors, and there are elements of this sprawling county that are relatively unknown to the average tourist. However, these three things are essential for all guests of La La Land.

Driving Mulholland

As well as developing most of the infrastructure that makes Los Angeles a liveable city, Mulholland gave his name to the infamous road that tracts around the hills of LA. The vistas from this road high up above the city will allow you and your tour to see Los Angeles like a king. Look down upon the western side, surveying everything from the Hollywood sign to the Pacific Ocean and embrace the magnitude of the scale. From there, follow the road around to the Valley. On any given day you can watch as the smoke of wildfires billow like an erupting volcano beyond the hills, or look down at where people actually live their day-to-day lives in Los Angeles. For me, this is my favorite thing to do in LA when I have guests.

Venice Canals

Just shut up and relax. Venice is a great neighborhood with loads to offer. You can wander down Abbot Kinney and watch the locals go about their fairly slow and relaxed day. You'll see things you cant un-see on the Boardwalk. Hell, if you're into architecture then Venice should be your one-stop in Los Angeles above all else. The canals (yes, Venice was predominantly canals during it's first incarnation) is one of the most underrated and unobserved parts of the weird little town. Merely a block or so from the main road, the canals are often bathed in silence. Even as an honorary local, it is one of the few places in Los Angeles where I can always be amazed and relaxed.

The Getty

Okay, so this was an obvious one, right? Everything I fly into Los Angeles, I find myself set upon the Getty and the memories it holds. My first Christmas in LA when my parents came to visit. One of my closest friends and clients was one of the eight original architects. This building and the contents it holds is some of the greatest in human history. The art, the views, everything about this building inspires everyone not matter what their demographic. For the youngest children to the oldest pensioner, the Getty is ESSENTIAL for your soul. Go! Go now!

San Francisco

San Francisco is hella awesome. Locals will laugh.

Seriously though, San Francisco is the original California. Who hasn't daydreamed about the Golden Gate Bridge, or whimpered at the horror stories of Alcatraz Prison? This city is rated by many as the best city in the world, and this is a fair statement.

Ride on a cable car

You haven't actually done San Francisco unless you've spent time on one of these historically marvellous contraptions. Unlike other modern transport, cable cars are a social experience as much as they area mode for commuting. Even if you're only going five blocks, please ensure you check out these excellent machines.

Alcatraz

“Why would I want to spend the day in a prison?” Is the response I often receive to this recommendation. There are SO MANY reasons to spend even just half a day at this epic monument to the hideousness of American history. If we do not remember our past, then we are doomed to repeat it. Imagine how the inmates felt looking out at that beautiful skyline on 4th of July. Picture the short history of the Golden State, a beautiful home that is still in it's infancy. Alcatraz, like Hearst Castle or Grant Grove or the Hollywood Sign, is one of the most culturally explicit parts of American history and should be learned about by all visitors of California.

Chinatown

Most cities have one, but San Francisco's is special. The architecture, the food, the scents and smells of Chinatown culminate in a belief that you really are in China. The bustling nature of this enclave makes crossing the road an all-new dangerous pursuit (because the road becomes a sidewalk unto itself). If you're looking for gifts for your loved ones, random items to decorate your home, bizarre ingredients for a new meal, or just about anything else, it can be found in Chinatown. Take time to hang out here. You'll see things you can't unsee.

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