9-Nights California Classics

Monterey, CA

The historic town of Monterey lies on a peninsula at the southern end of beautiful Monterey Bay on the Pacific Ocean about 85 miles south of San Francisco. Formerly the Mexican capital of California and a whaling and fishingport, Monterey is now mainly a tourist town. Sights include the Old Customhouse (1827) and the First (California) Theatre (1844) located in Monterey State Historic Park. Founded in 1770 by the Spanish, it was capital of Alta California and Mexican California until it came under American control in 1846 during the Mexican War.

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park embraces a spectacular tract of mountain-and-valley scenery in the Sierra Nevada, which was set aside as a national park in 1890. The park harbors a grand collection of waterfalls, meadows, and forests that include groves of giant sequoias, the world's largest living things. Highlights of the park include Yosemite Valley, and its high cliffs and waterfalls; Wawona's history center and historic hotel; the Mariposa Grove, which contains hundreds of ancient giant sequoias; Glacier Point's (summer-fall) spectacular view of Yosemite Valley and the high country; Tuolumne Meadows (summer-fall), a large subalpine meadow surrounded by mountain peaks; and Hetch Hetchy, a reservoir in a valley considered a twin of Yosemite Valley.

Solvang

Solvang, California, a Danish-American community in the Santa Ynez Valley less than an hour's drive from Santa Barbara, has windmills—which are lit at night with strings of white lights—and shops built in the Danish style that sell imported Danish china and traditional Danish foods. If you have a sweet tooth, be sure to try Danish waffles—pastries that look like hot-dog buns, filled with buttercream and raspberry jam.

The town, made famous by the 2004 film Sideways, is touristy and overly commercialized but still charming with rows of little houses with crooked chimneys, small-paned windows and roofs made of thatch or copper. You'll also find horse-drawn carriages, golf courses, horse ranches, wineries and racing museums.

The town is home to the Hans Christian Andersen Museum and even has a Little Mermaid statue. You can also get a bird's-eye view of the landscape via a hot-air-balloon ride.

If the busloads of tourists that descend on the town overwhelm you, escape the short distance to nearby Santa Ynez and Los Olivos, a charming Victorian-era town, that together lie at the heart of Central California's wine region.

Los Angeles

Much of Los Angeles lies in a fairly flat basin, surrounded by mountains and ocean. Although the Santa Monica Mountains, one of the most unheralded of the city’s remaining natural treasures, splits LA between the familiar sights of La-La Land to the south and the charmless suburbs to the north, the metropolis is easily traversed. Places for visitors to explore include Hollywood, Mid-Wilshire, the central strip of Wilshire Boulevard with faded Art Deco "Miracle Mile" zone and good museums, and the beach towns of Santa Monica and Venice, where visitors can stroll along the former’s remodeled pier and Third Street Promenade outdoor mall, or visit the latter’s famed Muscle Beach and oceanside Boardwalk. Lengthier trips to LA may include the old-fashioned charm of Old Pasadena, home of ever-popular Rose Parade and Bowl, Downtown, site of much city heritage and setting for what skyscrapers the area does have, the South Bay, the place to find the region’s second biggest city of Long Beach, and Malibu, where visitors can try to get a glimpse of movie stars and assorted celebrities.

San Francisco

Blessed with a viable fog-cooled and sun-kissed climate and a dramatic landscape, the San Francisco Bay Area is a visual feast where neither water nor hills are ever too far away. Add to this the cultural medley: Within every neighborhood, from Santa Cruz to Oakland to Mill Valley, a diversity of tastes and interest is thriving. See it in the cuisine, the bookstores, the arts, and the recreational opportunities. To embrace all San Francisco has to offer get out and explore. Walk the streets, drive across the Bay Bridge, go south down the peninsula to Silicon Valley and cruise along the San Mateo coast. Find great sights, museums, art, culture, and family fun attractions. There is a plethora of attractions and activities to satisfy the desires of every one who visits.