Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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California's heart and soul reside in San Diego. Lovely Victorian buildings and restored brownstones
are part of the historic architecture. Mariachi bands serenade diners at Mexican restaurants in Old
Town and visitors are delighted while Shakespeare is performed under the stars at the Old Globe.
Orange County ranges from Silverado Canyon, where stagecoaches ran more than 100 years ago,
to Mission San Juan Capistrano, and to the largest concentration of Vietnamese in the United States.
To the east of Los Angeles is the Inland Empire. Palms sway in front of the Victorian homes.
In the 1880s, Southern California was resplendent with thousands of acres of citrus trees due to the
planting of seedlings by Luther and Eliza Tibbets in 1875. Richard and Pat Nixon married and
Ronald and Nancy Reagan honeymooned at the historic Mission Inn Hotel in Riverside.
Los Angeles County includes the Antelope Valley to the California Poppy Reserve in the
north, and Santa Catalina Island in the south. Herein lies the California Dream. The area reso-
nates with history: from the historic La Brea Tar Pits—where bubbling, sticky tar trapped pre-
historic creatures—to colorful Olivera Street where the city was born, to Mann's Chinese Theater
in Hollywood.
The deserts to the east contrast sharply with lush Palm Springs in the west. Native Americans
and Spanish explorers traveled through the area centuries ago. Today visitors enjoy the natural
beauty and solitude of shifting sand dunes and majestic Joshua trees.
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