Page 10 - 2014 Travel Guide to California

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EDITOR’S NOTE
The Ancient
and the New
Last spring I was resting under a
2000-year-old giant sequoia during a
hike through the forest, listening to
the chatter of school kids. We were on
the five-mile loop trail through the
South Grove in Calaveras Big Trees
State Park in California’s Gold Country,
the scent of pine in the air. The park
protects some of the world’s oldest
and largest trees, and is a place where
pondering the ages and our place in
the scheme of things comes easily.
The kids were engaged with what
they saw and heard and smelled
around them, but they were also busy
entertaining each other in the way
kids do, their social antennae up and
tuned to make sure they fit in. I gazed
at that giant tree that was easily 20
feet in diameter and soared out of
sight in a tangle of boughs and nee-
dles and sky, and I began to think
about the dozens of generations that
had passed in that tree’s lifetime.
Each was just a moment, and now it
was our turn to make the most of it.
We were all graced by the tree’s
presence, and the kids settled down
as we continued our hike, taking it all
in in their own ways, perhaps also
pondering their place in the grand
scheme. But the next day we would
return to our urban lives full of
schedules and commitments, and I
remembered that message to make
the most of it.
And in California there’s so much to
make the most of. We’re privileged
here because we have easy access to the
ancient natural world of the giant
sequoias, or Death Valley National
8 2014 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A
Park, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National
Park or even the La Brea Tar Pits in the
heart of Los Angeles. But we also have
access to all that’s new, in technology,
architecture, design, art, theater, opera,
music, film, food, sports, you name it.
We have the Pacific Ocean to play
in and its beaches to comb, the Cen-
tral Valley and its bounty of fruit,
nuts and vegetables to enjoy, desert
oases to bask in, manicured golf
courses to challenge our skills,
mountains to ski down or climb up,
some of the best restaurants in the
USA and, of course, some of the
world’s finest wines (not to mention
the World Series champions two of
the last four years!)
So when you think about Cali-
fornia, do you want a deserted beach,
a theme park for the kids, a romantic
urban adventure, an escape to a
desert or seaside resort? In these
pages we help you prepare, with pro-
files of the state’s main tourism
regions, essays on history, cuisine,
museums, theme parks and many
other topics, plus eight resource
pages with information on hotels,
driving distances, average tempera-
tures, California Welcome Centers
and much more.
One thing’s for sure. When you
come to California, you’ll be able to
choose among the ancient and the
new, and everything in between. And
maybe ponder your place in the
scheme of things.
—L A R RY H A B EG G E R , Editor
2014 TRAVEL GUIDE TO
CALIFORNIA
PRESIDENT & GROUP
Joseph P. Turkel
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
ART DIRECTOR
WRITERS
CIRCULATION
MANAGER
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
CALIFORNIA OFFICE
ACCOUNT MANAGERS
CANADIAN OFFICE
Larry Habegger
Judi Scharf
Mark Tzerelshtein
David Armstrong
Susan Brady (Resources)
Laura Del Rosso
Bill Fink
John Flinn
Don George
Marcy Gordon
Lenore Greiner
Robert Kaufman
Maribeth Mellin
Jill K. Robinson
Jan Rodricks
Bonnie Smetts
Lavinia Spalding
Matt Villano
Jacqueline Yau
Judy Zimola
Julia Wall
Gloria Mungo
1288 Columbus Ave.
Suite 292
San Francisco, CA
94133
TEL: 1-888-700-4464
FAX: 416-497-0871
E-MAIL: tigc@rogers.com
californiatravelguide.travel
Collier C. Granberry
Marshall Rubin
Dexter Taylor
The Travel Guide to California is published by
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Printed in Canada
ISSN 1926-304X (Print)
ISSN 1927-7245 (Online)
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