Showing the California Love: Donate For Fire Victims and Please Visit Soon

My home state of California has seen its share of issues the past few years; most notably with fires. The recent Camp Fire in northern California was especially devastating. The fire near Thousand Oaks/Malibu also was extremely damaging.

But folks in California are a resilient bunch, and the state consistently bounces back from whatever issues pop up. I was in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara (an area hit by fires last year) a few weeks ago and everything was pretty much back to normal.

Of course, most areas of the state weren’t affected in any way. And the areas that were hit by the recent fires aren’t major tourist centres, so folks wanting to get away from winter or who simply want to explore the amazing offerings of California have nothing to worry about.

Visit California this week launched a celebrity-filled Public Service Announcement and campaign to spread the California love and try to generate donations to the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org/calove), as well as inspire people to volunteer and ultimately visit the state to help those affected communities heal. Check out the PSA here.

With that in mind, here’s a look at ten places in the state I think visitors would love. They’re all places I’ve been to several times or at least once, and all within the past few years.

If you love California like I do, please try to help. And be sure to join in on social media, using the hashtag #CAlove. Thank you.

BUELLTON AND SANTA BARBARA

The town of Buellton has one of my favourite restaurants in California, Hitching Post II. For about $30 you’ll get a fantastic steak done over a wood fire, baked potato, appetizer, salad, garlic bread and a veggie tray. The steaks are amazing, and they serve fantastic local wines. I stayed recently at a fun, casual place called Flying Flags, where they have RV’s as well as nice cabins with room for four people, full kitchens, living area, side patio and front porch. Oh, and bbq’s! In Santa Barbara proper, Tyger Tyger is a fabulous, inexpensive restaurant with outstanding Asian food. My wife and I had a great sunset cruise with the folks at Santa Barbara Sailing Center. You’ll also find a series of lovely wineries in the so-called Funk Zone of downtown Santa Barbara, including Kunin.

Sailing off the coast of Santa Barbara. JIM BYERS PHOTO

SACRAMENTO

Spurred in part by folks fleeing expensive rents in bigger cities, Sacramento has come a long way in the past few years. You’ll find exceptional restaurants serving super-fresh local ingredients (the most fertile farms in the state are in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys). Grange Restaurant and Bar is an outstanding spot inside the super-cool Citizen Hotel, an artsy, boutique property. The new Kimpton Sawyer hotel has a sexy, Hollywood or Miami feel, complete with a terrific outdoor pool complex for those Sacramento summers. You’ll find excellent wineries just minutes from downtown, including Clarksburg and Bogle. It’s not far from here to the town of Paradise, which was devastated by the Camp Fire. Click HERE for a story I wrote about a year ago.

The sleek and sexy Kimpton Sawyer hotel in Sacramento, California. JIM BYERS PHOTO

HIGHLAND PARK

This is a very cool, emerging area of Los Angeles, reached in just a few minutes on the city’s growing (and vast) network of public transit lines. I think it took us less than 15 minutes to get here from downtown L.A. last month. Triple Beam is a marvellous pizza place that serves Roman-style slices by weight. You want a snack? Order a sliver. You want a meal? Order several slices. We had a wonderful slice with mushrooms and truffle oil when we visited. The area is filled with great vintage shops, including The Bearded Beagle. Café Birdie serves terrific food. And Highland Park Bowl might be the coolest, most atmospheric bowling alley on the planet; filled with old-style charm, dark wood and a chic bar. You’re only a short drive to Thousand Oaks from here, so please stop in for a meal or some shopping; you’ll be doing the local economy a world of good.

OAKLAND

My home town has come a super long way in the past few years and is now home to some of the best dining spots in the state. I had a great meal not long ago at Shakewell in the Lakeshore District, which also makes terrific cocktails. In the trendy Temescal area, Bakesale Betty serves up tasty fried chicken sandwiches, which you take outside and eat at an outside table that’s actually an old, colourful ironing board. Very funky and very tasty. There’s great shopping around the corner in Temescal Alley. Over at Jack London Square you’ll find a ton of restaurants and also a series of urban wineries that are part of the city’s Urban Wine Trail. Dashe has some lovely wines, as does Rosenblum, which also has a nice outside patio. Work off your lunch or wine with a long walk around Oakland’s beautiful Lake Merritt. Click here for a story I wrote a while back.

Lake Merritt in Oakland, California. JIM BYERS PHOTO

TEMECULA

This is very much a wine-growing area on the rise, a region sandwiched between San Diego and Orange County that has more than 40 wineries; with lots more on the way. Danza Del Sol makes lovely wine, as does Falkner (there’s also a huge, shady park-like area attached) and Leoness Cellars, which has a fine dining spot as well as the winery. Try a hot air balloon ride over the vineyards with A Grape Escape. The Pechanga Resort and Casino has very good food and large, comfortable rooms along with a large casino and a golf course. Old Town Temecula is a charming, old-style, pedestrian friendly downtown. Here’s a story of mine from earlier this year.

A hot air balloon ride is a great way to enjoy Temecula, California. JIM BYERS PHOTO

SANTA CRUZ AREA

Only an hour or so south of San Francisco, this is one of my favourite parts of the state. The beaches in Santa Cruz and Capitola are beautiful. The latter features beautiful, rainbow-coloured homes you can rent and has a wonderful downtown for shopping and dining. A short drive away is Shadowbrook, a legendary restaurant that’s built on the side of a hill next to a pretty creek. You can walk down to the restaurant via a lovely garden or take a short funicular ride. Good food and great fun. The patio is sensational in good weather. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has a gorgeous old carousel and a wooden roller coaster that’s a wild and rickety ride. Looking for something a little quieter? Try a steam train ride through the redwoods north of Santa Cruz with Roaring Camp Railroads; a great family activity. Or stop at Wrights Station for lovely whites and soft, fruity Pinot Noir. The drive from Santa Cruz north to San Francisco on Highway One will take you past stunning beaches and small, charming towns. I particularly love the beach at Davenport Landing. Here’s a story I wrote earlier this year.

Davenport Landing, California sits on a fine stretch of coastline north of Santa Cruz. JIM BYERS PHOTO

SONOMA COUNTY

Napa probably has the stronger name identification, but the Sonoma wine-growing area is phenomenal. It’s also a bit more casual in my mind. Sonoma also has the benefit of a wonderful coastline, with fabulous drives along the Pacific Ocean near the fun town of Jenner. The town of Sonoma has a beautiful mission and great restaurants. Stop in at The Girl and The Fig for a fine meal, or sample the wines at Predator Ridge, one of dozens of amazing wineries in Sonoma County (and one that suffered fire damage itself in 2017). https://nationalpost.com/travel/more-relaxed-and-more-diverse-than-napa-sonoma-county-offers-much-to-discover-in-food-and-wine

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