Page 14 - 2020 Travel Guide to California

EDITOR’S NOTE
A Bird’s-Eye View
Sometimes you need to step back to get perspective
on the world around you. I thought of this one morning
as I peered out my window seat at 35,000 feet flying over
the Sierra in Northern California. Below me appeared the
gray-white granite peaks of the Desolation Wilderness
just west and south of Lake Tahoe, their flanks dotted
with pine forest, jewel-like lakes nestled in their crevices.
It took me a moment to identify the landmarks, but soon
I recognized the lakes I’d hiked among just a few months
earlier. My wife and I had backpacked past Loon Lake and
Buck Island Lake to Rockbound Lake where we spent
three nights basking in the joys of the natural world. From
my airplane seat I could see how rugged that terrain was,
and I remembered how much effort it took to get to the
spot that had become home for a few days. Seeing it from
afar made that journey all the more memorable.
When I first arrived in California decades ago, I sought
out places to get a bird’s-eye view. The top of Mount Tamal-
pais (known locally as Mount Tam) in Marin County just
north of San Francisco helped me understand the geog-
raphy of the Bay Area as well as the grandeur of the Pacific
Ocean sweeping across the view to the west. Castle Crags
State Park in the Shasta Cascade region presented the dom-
inance of Mount Shasta, that dramatic volcanic peak that
towers above the surrounding countryside. Glacier Point,
the top of Half Dome and Olmsted Point show you Yosemite
National Park in ways certain to soothe your soul, as do
other peaks and overlooks in the central and southern Sierra
and the coastal ranges all the way to Mexico.
12 2020 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
A step back can make all the difference, as it did
recently when I attended the 19th annual Hardly Strictly
Bluegrass festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
Tucked into meadows surrounded by forest, the multiple
stages hosted performances from across the musical
spectrum over three days. No alcohol sales are permitted
so there’s little rowdiness, music lovers can roam about
at will, and it’s free. As I tapped my toes to the Celtic-rock
band The Waterboys, I realized what a gift this was to the
city from the late Warren Hellman. Tens of thousands of
people enjoy this festival every year.
As you contemplate plans to visit California, no doubt
you’ll find your own “birds’-eye views” that will help you
appreciate the experiences before you. Beach lovers,
wine connoisseurs, foodies, fans of opera and theater
and dance, cyclists and climbers and surfers and all who
love the great outdoors will discover the gifts this state
has to offer.
In these pages we help you prepare, with profiles of the
state’s main tourism regions, essays on history, cuisine,
museums, theme parks and many other topics.
Just about any interest is represented in California. As
you immerse yourself in your favorite activities,
remember to take a step back from time to time. It’ll give
you some perspective and help you doubly appreciate the
experience. It might even turn your trip into something
you’ll never forget.
—LARRY HABEGGER, Editor
ÉRNE Mc CABE