California dreaming

California has always been a dream. In the 19th-century people went to California for gold and fortune. In the middle of the 20th-century, Hollywood was the dream of many, so therefore many tried their luck and went to Los Angeles for fame and fortune. Nowadays California is more than a dream; it became a mindset and a destination for many reasons.

The dream vacation for most people is a road trip through the diverse state on the west coast of the United States. The easiest way to get to California is a flight to Los Angeles. With its famous neighborhoods of Santa Monica, Long Beach, Pasadena, and Hollywood it was featured heavily in TV shows and movies, displaying the good life in the sun.

If you drive south from Los Angeles you will get to San Diego, which is directly on the border to Mexico with Tijuana on the other side. While the countryside near the ocean can be full of nature, the east side of California is barren and dry. Northeast from Los Angeles you can find the world-famous Death Valley, National Park. The park is very unique since it is a barren desert with almost no visible life. It is streaked by two major highways and the scenery of the empty streets and countryside around it is often displayed in photographs and pictures.

In the Death Valley are many highlights, even though it might seem as it has nothing to offer. One is the Badwater Basin, which is 86 meters beyond sea level. Another highlight is Dante’s View – the viewpoint with the widest view. It is 1.700 meters above sea level and overlooking the Badwater Basin.

Just west of the Death Valley National Park you can find the Sequoia National Forest, Sierra National Forest, Yosemite National Park, and the Stanislaus National Forest. If you are interested more in the nature of California, you will find peace and tranquility traveling south to north through these parks and forests. You can travel along from Bakersfield in the south over Fresno up to Sacramento in the north with the breathtaking nature just east from the road. If you want to visit and travel all of them, make sure that you plan enough time, especially if you want to hike around the mountains.

A round trip through the sunny state on the pacific coast would lead you highly likely from Sacramento south to San Francisco and San José and then back again to Los Angeles. The cities are always worth a visit with their vast range of culture and architecture. If you want to have a unique travel experience, you should go further north to California. The nature in North California is very fruitful and you can find local artists in the small towns around the hills and forests. The region is not as densely populated as the region in the south, but once you talk to the locals in the towns and villages, they will tell you the secret spots of their region, that is never published in a tour guide.