Fresno!

Why go...Bread-basket of California!  Underground gardens!  Oak trees!  Basque food!


Fresno!  Forestiere underground garden; this is a hand carved, underground home and garden built by a Sicilian immigrant in the early part of the 1900s to resemble the catacombs of Europe!  Vinyard Farmers Market!  


Visalia!  Kaweah Oaks Reserve!


Kernville!  Float down the beautiful Kern River in an inner tube!  Soak in the hot springs in Lake Isabella.


Bakersfield!  Basque food!  Bakersfield has the largest Basque population outside of Europe!

Placerville!

Why go...Gold rush history!  River rafting!  Wineries!  Caves!


Mother Lode River Center!   You can raft down the rapids or the mellow part of the river!  Mellow, please!


Story Winery


Iron Stone Winery; drink while panning for gold!


Marshall Gold Discovery Park.  See where gold was discovered!

Gold Bug Park; see a real gold mine!

Tour the local caves; tours range from all walking to mostly crawling!

Empire Mine; gold mine, historic cottage and gardens, living history museum, blacksmith!

Eden Vale Inn.  Extremely beautiful bed and breakfast!

Colombia!  Colombia is the best preserved gold rush town in the state!  The whole town is a living history museum!  Saloons, panning for gold, stage coaches, etc.

Sacramento!

Why go...Oldest city in California!  Gold was discovered nearby in 1849, and triggered the largest human migration in history!  A fun, historical town.



Citizen Hotel 


Sutter's Fort!  Built in 1839, this is the original European settlement in the area!  See what life was like back then at this living history museum! 



Dive Bar!  Aquarium with mermaid above the bar!  The world needs more mermaid attractions!  

Creative Juices is a wine bar that supplies painting material while you drink!  Drink and paint!  How fun!

Historic Old Sacramento! This organization does a ton of cool things including historical tours, ghost tours of the city, and underground tours!  Sacramento has an extensive underground to explore because the current city street was actually built over the original city street!

Delta King River Boat!  This historical river boat has a mystery dinner theater!  I love the idea of snooping around a boat looking for the culprit!


Old City Cemetery.  Beautiful historic cemetery.  The perfect mix of beautiful and spooky. Lots of awesome, historic tours available! 


Old Sacramento!   A historic district preserved from it's original days, now a touristy spot.  It has lots of neat museums, including a recreation of a 19th century hardware shop! 


Railbridge Cellars.  A wine bar with an upstairs and underground!  Mellow and pretty!

Davis...

UC Davis Arboretum.  They have a myriad of themed garden.  I love the idea of strolling through all these diverse and beautiful settings in the same day.

UC Davis California Raptor Center!  Go to an open house and meet the resident birds!  

Chico!

Why go...beautiful swimming holes, star parties, snow shoeing, caves!

Bidwell Park has a beautiful pool built along side the natural creek, as well as beautiful swimming holes scattered throughout the park!  So pretty!  I wish all city pools were this lovely!

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.  Moonlight kayaking and star parties!  Historic house and cemetary!   

Lava Beds National Monument.   Awesome living history events!  See the ice cave and the fern cave!


Lassen Volcanic National Park.  Snow shoeing! Horseback riding!  Dark Sky Festival Star Party!   Stay in the park at Drakesbad Guest Ranch.