Market time in SLO town

The weather is warming up in San Luis Obispo and a spring evening is perfect for a stroll through SLO-town's vibrant downtown core. And what better time to go than a Thursday evening, to catch the remarkable Thursday Night Farmers Market. “The market attracts people from every walk of life – college students, families and visitors, and city officials appreciate the impact the Farmers Market has on the local economy,” says Diana Cotta of the San Luis Obispo Downtown Association, which organizes the Thursday Night Farmers Market.

I make it a point to visit every time I'm in SLO. Not because I need the veggies, but because the event is a real window into the town's character. On the surface, it features fresh, locally grown produce, food vendors, arts and crafts, informational booths, and entertainment. It's all pretty family-friendly, especially in summer when it stays light so late.

But underneath, its really like a giant town hall meeting, without the debates and backed by fragrant aromas of barbecue. There's always a dash of politics–sometimes including a few real characters—so you'll usually find someone with a booth declaiming or promoting some issue, local or otherwise. Local heroes and important issues are celebrated, with Fire Prevention Night, Law Enforcement Night, Mother’s Day Flower Give-a-Way, Downtown Brown’s Birthday, Halloween Events, and even The Great Pumpkin contest. Want to know what they care about right now in SLO? Come to the market.

Of course, you won't go hungry, either. Street food here is amazing: ribs, chicken and sausages, pizza, vegan food, slow roasted corn-on-the-cob, crepes, tamales, churros, and strawberry desserts. And the scene is always lively: entertainment ranges from local dance groups, live bands, solo artists, climbing wall, to a bounce house.

So when you head to SLO town for a wine country weekend or to pick up your student from college, don't forget to linger on a Thursday night, for a look at the real character(s) of San Luis Obispo.

Details: San Luis Obispo’s Farmers Market (open 6-9 p.m. every Thursday, except for Thanksgiving) occupies six blocks on Higuera Street, between Osos and Nipomo Streets. To help plan a getaway to San Luis Obispo County, call the San Luis Obispo County Visitors & Conference Bureau at 800/634-1414 or visit www.SanLuisObispoCounty.com.

Pacheco State Park Wildflower Hikes

This land, south of San Jose, has been a horse and a cattle ranch since 1843 and remains fairly untouched in spots. For the intrepid California travel girls among us, Pacheco State Park is not that far off the beaten track and offers some breathtaking views: the Central Valley to the east and the Santa Clara Valley to the west. It also serves up some great wildflower displays, from fairy rings of flowers edging vernal pools to swaths of poppies and lupine on hills overlooking San Luis Reservoir.

Park naturalist Jennifer Morgan will help you find the wildflowers on free guided hikes every Saturday and Sunday in April (no hike on Easter Sunday). And you’ll learn about the Native American and pioneer uses of plants and rich history of Pacheco Pass. It’s one of the newer and less developed parks and the trail system is still being worked on, so its good to have a guide here.

Details: The hike is about 2 miles long and is classed as moderate. Time: 10:00 a.m. – noon every Saturday and Sunday in April (no hikes Easter Sunday, April 12th)starting March 29.

Pacheco State Park is located 18 miles west of Los Banos and 20 miles east of Gilroy on “Dinosaur Point” Road off of Highway 152. Turn south onto Dinosaur Point Road, then take the first right, through the park gate. Fees: $5 day use fee per vehicle

Getting a Taste of Yountville in the Napa Valley

The best part of last weekend's Taste of Yountville (part of the Napa Valley's annual Mustard Festival)? We got to nibble on tasty treats from restaurants so highly rated, travelers come from across the globe just to dine there.

Yountville has more Michelin stars than any other small town in the state, and all the biggies are represented here. Some 15 area restaurants and some 20 wineries, along with mustard, olive oil, and other vendors ply us with goodies. We nibble bites from some of the top restaurants in the Napa Valley: pork rilletes from the French Laundry, brownies from Bouchon Bakery, and a variety of goodies from Bistro Jeanty, Brix Restaurant among others.

Afterward, we wander the neighboring V Marketplace, full of stores designed in Foodie-Heaven, like Napa Style (complete with wine tasting bar and upscale deli). There's even time to poke our heads into one of the newest (and, apparently, greenest) hotels in the valley: Bardessono. It's handsome, but in a spare and cold sort of way, with lots of angles, stonework, and fountains. Still, at $450 a night (starting rates), this peak is probably the closest I'll ever get to a stay here.

New dining in Yountville: Bottega

Days later, my friend JoAnn is still raving about our recent lunch at Bottega, the hot new Yountville restaurant by Food Network star and Napa Valley local, chef Michael Chiarello. "What a treat!" says JoAnn. "It was really awesome to be able to try the food at Bottega—everything was fabulous." Now JoAnn, a magazine stylist and taste-maven, is not unaccustomed to fine food, so her raves mean something. Here's how our day unfolded:

We're here for the Taste of Yountville, and annual food-and-wine tasting event that takes over the streets of this tiny town. But we're early, so first we stop for "a bite" at Bottega, where we're greeted at the table by general manager Joel Hoachuck, who is a pretty distinctive guy--I mean, you can't miss the curly moustache and twinkling dark eyes as he roams through the restaurant. He looks a bit like the Agatha Cristie detective, Hercule Poirot. And, like Poirot, he unravels a few mysteries (in this case, about the house specialties).

To describe the food as Italian cuisine is to leave out so much. The menu is divided into Stuzzichini (bites to share), Antipasti, Pasta, Secondi (main course) and Contorni (vegetable side dishes). Turns out, what Bottega really specializes in is giving diners a slice of Italy: house-cured meats, housemade pasta, olives, cheeses and so on. The menu is a kind of "greatest hits" of micro-regional Italian cuisine; Chef Chiarello includes his picks of the best dishes from across Italy and anchors them with artisanal, heritage, or house-made ingredients. And our intended "bite" becomes a four-course meal!

Our faves: Organic Prosciutto “house cured” and light and flavor-packed, accompanied by a cup of Lambrusco ($11). "The Lambrusco is a wine that's not well known here, but used right, it's a light and refreshing accent," Joel tells us.

By now, Joel really has our attention, so when he insists we try the Ricotta Gnocchi ($14) topped by salsa pomodoro alla nonna and pecorino, we're all ears. "There's no potato in it and its light as fried air," he says. He's right--they practically float. And for our entree, we agree to split the garlic roasted Dungeness Crab crab (with saffron aïoli and bruschetta) for $29 was big enough that we split it between us.

For dessert, we enjoyed the warm chocolate cake (with its fun presentation), but the lemon tart with huckleberries was our fave by far.

"I don't eat this way every day," says JoAnn, "but I could get the hang of it really

quickly! And Joel also added so much fun to the tasting." So when you go, be sure to look for Joel and take note of his enthusiastic recommendations--he knows his stuff.

Details: Bottega, 6525 Washington St. (at V Marketplace), Yountville; 707/945-1050 or www.botteganapa.com. Reservations advised. For more lodging and dining ideas, visit the Yountville Chamber of Commerce.

Next week: our Taste of Yountville adventure...

California's Smithsonian: Sacramento

I've seen Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian Institution —an American heritage and history repository and a collection of some 14 museums and alone worth the trip to D.C. But on a recent weekend in California's capital, it struck me that Sacramento has quietly gathered a Smithsonian-like array of impressive art and history museums. And our state capitol building is every bit as lovely as the US Capitol (ours was modeled after the federal structure, after all).

Unlike Washington's clustering of edifices along a grassy mall in the center of town, Sacramento's are spread out all over town. Yet, in a long weekend, you can visit an awesome array of museums, lauding everything from the history of air travel, rail travel, or military might, to one the finest collections of early California paintings. Some cool new exhibits are open now and a number of major exhibits are right around the corner. Take the kids on a faux-D.C. weekend and you'll have a capital time.

Start at the neoclassical style California State Capitol Museum building, built between 1861 and 1874 and gloriously renovated in the mid-1980s. The dome rises 220 feet above the roof, as does the stately dome of the U.S. Capitol; a shining gold ball on top reflects the state's Gold Rush history. If you have school-aged kids, the art and artifacts are a fun distraction—while they're really learning about how laws are created.

Continue the early California theme and hit the Crocker Art Museum, housed in an 1870s jewelbox of a home; it has one of the best collections of California art around. Head upstairs and gaze at Charles Christian Nahl’s Sunday Morning in the Mines, Thomas Hill’s Great Canyon of the Sierra, Yosemite, and William Hahn's Market Scene, Sansome Street, San Francisco. You'll feel as if you've taken a tour of the golden state, from the mines to the mountains, circa 1870 or so. The grand, Italianate mansion is a work of art itself. Take a moment to scan its coffered ceilings and intricate tilework.

The California Hall of Fame opened just last December in the California Museum. It's an inspiring part of a museum that lauds California's history and innovations. And the artifacts are pretty cool: John Wayne's cowboy boots, Jane Fonda's Oscars, Tiger Wood's golf shoes. There's even an early electric car.

But if you're into way cool machines, it's tough to beat the next two museums: the Aerospace Museum of California and the California State Railroad Museum. The Aerospace Museum sits on the former McClellan Air Force Base and boasts dozens of carefully restored military aircraft; right now they're featuring a clever NASA-designed exhibit called Space: A Journey to Our Future (through Sept. 6). The day I visited, the kids there were not that interested in the moon rock, but couldn't be torn away from the full-sized space habitat and work pod.

Set in Old Sac, the birthplace of the Transcontinental Railroad, the California State Railroad Museum is America's most popular rail museum. You can ride a train (on summer weekends), roam through a Pullman sleeper car that feels like it's moving through a nighttime landscape, and hop aboard a steam engine or two. The kids (or maybe even the dad) might enjoy Small Wonders: The Magic of Toy Trains, a display of over 1,000 vintage toy trains that's too big for any basement. And of course, you can even take Amtrak to visit the rail museum; an active rail station is across the street.

Want more? There's the California Military Museum, State Indian Museum, IMAX Theatre, Governor's mansion, Sacramento History Museum, Sutter's Fort, Towe Auto Museum, and, well, you get the picture. For more, visit the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau.


Details
Where to stay: There's a lot to like about the recently-opened Le Rivage Hotel; its a 4-diamond hotel (seen at left and above) with a spa and all the luxury amenities you could ask for: marble bathrooms with soaking tubs, 42-inch flat screen TV, swanky Italian bed linens; outside are balconies, bocce courts, fire pits overlooking the water. Right on the Sacramento River, the hotel is just a short ride down the adjacent bike trail from Old Sac, and soon a water taxi will begin stopping at the hotel and dining spots along the water.

If you prefer to stay downtown, check out the Citizen Hotel, a beautifully restored grande dame that's now a Joie de Vivre property they describe as "20th century grace redefined by 21st century urban luxury". The beds are super-comfy and the hotel staff is helpful; but ask for a room on the quiet side (there's a noisy nightclub nearby).

Dining: If you're looking for new and cool, Zagat's rates Mulvaney's Building & Loan as one of the top five restaurants in town, so it has been discovered. But its still fun, quirky, intimate, and it feels like a find because, well, its so hard to find (we dare you to spot the sign-still uninstalled on our visit). I sampled the house-smoked salmon and homemade potato chips: yummo! And in the Citizen Hotel, the Grange Restaurant focuses on "organically raised meats and poultry and the freshest produce available from the Central Valley," in a very clubby, Old Sac atmosphere.

Free fun on Saturday in Napa Valley's Yountville

Step into gourmet Heaven today—Saturday— in Yountville (in the heart of the Napa Valley). The Taste of Yountville features 15 area restaurants (several bearing Michelin stars), 20 local wineries and an array of mustard and olive oil producers on hand for tastings.

The event is free, from 11- 5 PM and includes live entertainment and an arts and crafts show; but you do need tasting tickets (available on site for $1 each) to sample the goodies. Wines from the Yountville appellation may include Andretti Winery, Bell Wine Cellars, Domaine Chandon, Hill Family Estate, Jessup Cellars, St. Supéry, and others.

I’ll be there, foraging with a couple of foodie friends. And I will write a wrap-up next week, but don't miss the event waiting for my story–make a daytrip today!

Details: www.yountville.com.

San Francisco's Japanese Tea Garden in bloom

I've never seen such awesome blooms. The Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park is bursting with flowers right now.

My friend Linda and I went to see the cherry trees and apples trees, and they are indeed beginning to blossom, pouring out clouds of delicate pinkish-white flowers.

Designed by Baron Makoto Hagiwara as a temporary exhibit for the city's 1894 Midwinter Fair, the 5-acre garden is now a much-loved part of the San Francisco landscape.

The cherry trees are dotted throughout, as delicate accent pieces to the streams, sculptures, and bridges (like the stylized Moon Bridge‚ a favorite photo spot in the garden).

But what knocked us out were the azaleas: loaded with blooms in intense colors. Splashes of port wine reds, sangria scarlets, and cabernet purples. Set against the carefully pruned dwarf trees, these vibrantly hued bushes stand out like punk rockers at a Bach recital. Bring your camera.

Details: Garden admission is $5, $3 kids. Or visit free: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9-10. Go early for a more tranquil, tourist-free garden. For more info, check the San Francisco Convention and Visitor's Bureau website.
Lunch stop: Marnee Thai, at Irving and Lincoln, 415/731-9999. It boasts of its "authentic Siamese cuisine", and sits just a few blocks outside the park. We enjoyed the samosas and curry chicken.

California wildflower news

Some of the best things in California life are free, and that includes our awesome wildflowers. For the latest wildflower updates, call the Theodore Payne Wildflower Hotline, active every weekend March thru May at 818/768-3533. New reports are posted every Friday.

In Southern California, they say there are still great displays in Anza Borrego Desert State Park outside San Diego and in the Living Desert Preserve in the Palm Springs area. Poppies are starting to pop in Montana de Oro State Park and in the fabulous Antelope Valley California Poppy Preserve.

And for a big adventure, hop a ferry from Long Beach out to Catalina Island for the wildflower bonanza. A tour along Summit Rd. will reveal some dazzlers: Eschscholzia ramosa (Island poppy), Lupinus albifrons (silver bush lupine), and Ceanothus arboreus (felt-leaved ceanothus). Make it a daytrip or a weekend getaway. For lodging, ferry, and tour information, try the Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Family daytrip: a hike and a mission

Every California parent knows that it's coming: that day when your fourth grader will have to study California's historic chain of 21 missions. So why not make it fun for the whole family and plan a day around a mission outing? And heck, you might even figure out that these charming old adobe buildings are kind of neat to visit even if you don't have a kid currently studying them.

Recently, I spent a day exploring a lesser-known nearby site, Fremont's Mission San Jose and topped it off with a hike up nearby Mission Peak. The cost: $3 ($2 for kids) in the donation box at the mission (the park is free), so it's almost free fun for the whole day (don't forget your picnic lunch).

The mission is a pretty cool re-creation of the 1809 church, completed in the 1980s using real adobe bricks and careful methods; it was the last reconstruction of an entire mission done in California.

The hushed, dark intorior of the church is bright with a gilded reredo (altar) and lots of painted garlands and floral decorations on the walls. Look up at the church's chandeliers (kind of gaudy-looking) and you'll notice they're mismatched, a mark of the reconstruction's historical accuracy. It reflects how the remote outposts received their decorative objects in their earliest days: a bit here, a bit there, and if it didn't match, so what? There's also a model of a monk's room or cell (stark), a neat cemetery, and a scale model of the mission with a cutaway section so you can peek inside.

The hike to the summit at Mission Peak Regional Preserve takes about 5 hours, but the beauty of this park is you needn't go to the top to have an enjoyable day. If you've got youngsters along (or you're slightly out of shape), you can get breathtaking views of the south bay after just a few minutes on the trail.

Yes, that means the trail rises steeply, so bring hiking poles if you've got 'em and set a leisurely pace. I saw tons of families with little kids there the day I visited (some with in strollers, obviously planning to walk just to the first viewpoint and then spread a picnic). I hiked for a while, then sat down to just scan the skies, look out to the bay, and watch the hang gliders who launch here spin in lazy circles.

Details: Mission San Jose, 43300 Mission Blvd., Fremont; www.missionsanjose.org.
Mission Peak Regional Preserve is accessed from the east end of Stanford Ave. off Mission Blvd.,
Fremont; note that parking is tough on weekends, so arrive early. But go soon: the hills are fresh and green and the days are sunny and cool; this is not a hike for a warm summer day.
Fremont is in the south east bay; easiest way to reach the mission is via I 680 and Mission Boulevard.

St. Patty's Day secret: a new way to sip GUINNESS®

Hello tall, dark, and handsome! The icon of Ireland is celebrating its 250th anniversary: GUINNESS® stout was established in 1759 in Dublin. And there's no better time to lift a tall glass of the cool, dark beverage than today: St. Patrick's Day.

In the past, the tasty beverage was promoted as (get this) a health food, as shown in the period poster at left. But what is in it? “Our key ingredients - other than inspiration - are roasted, malted barley, hops, yeast and water,” says the website.

It looks black, but if you hold the drink up to the light, you'll see its really a dark ruby red; the malted barley is roasted much like a coffee bean, which is what gives the drink its deep color.

GUINNESS® stout has never been quite as popular with the gals as it is with the guys, in part because "it's so heavy" as my friend Dierdre says. So here's a way to lighten up and still have your stout: blend equal parts GUINNESS® and champagne for a delicious little drink called a Black Velvet. Helloooo handsome!

Poster image: courtesy GUINNESS®

Mustard fest in the Napa Valley

The wild mustard is in bloom all over northern California right now, but nowhere does it look more, well, delicious than when it carpets the vineyards of Napa Valley, simply because it signals the start of the Napa Valley Mustard Festival (now through March 28). The festival's a really good excuse to sample so many flavors of the bountiful Napa Valley.

One big even happens this weekend (Mr.14-15): the Marketplace at Oakville's Robert Mondavi Winery (11-5 daily). Of course, there will be wine tasting, music, art and food booths and cooking demos. It's not inexpensive ($35 in advance, $40 at the door) but that includes 8 tickets for food and 5 for wine tasting.

Next Saturday, Mr. 21 from 11-5, Yountville rolls out the yellow carpet with itws own 16th Annual Taste of Yountville. It's an all-Yountville showcase, featuring traditional samplings of gourmet restaurant fare, olive oils, vinegars, mustards, fine wines, and micro-brews. Buy tasting tickets on-site. Live entertainment will filter throughout Yountville’s downtown area.
Details: For more information, check the web at www.mustardfestival.org or call the Yountville Chamber of Commerce at 707/ 944-0904.

Wildflower hikes in San Luis Obispo County

From Carrizo Plain National Monument in the east to Montaña de Oro State Park in the west, San Luis Obispo County is awash in color. Wildflowers are already showing their heads now, thanks to recent rains, and the show lasts through early May, carpeting hillsides, splashing across grassy meadows, and fringing coastal bluffs. Take a wildflower guidebook and a picnic, and hit the trail with the kiddies. Your only problem: where to go. Check out the ‘Wildflower Hotline’ at www.theodorepayne.org/hotline.html for updates on where wildflowers are blooming in California. Some top color spots:

Montaña de Oro State Park. Hike the Coon Creek Trail to see the buttercups and goldfields Montaña de Oro (mountain of gold) was named for. Wildflower checklist: Arroyo Lupine, Hummingbird Sage, Johnny Jump-ups, Purple Nightshade, Sticky Monkey Flower, Rush-Rose, and Meadow Rue. Where: The park is six miles southwest of MorroBay.

Estero Bluffs. Estero Bluffs is a relatively new tract of land managed by California State Parks. Wildflower checklist: California Poppy, Buttercups, Goldentops, Everlasting, Purple Nightshade, Peony, Johnny Jump-ups, Red Maids, Sticky Monkey Flower, Popcorn Flower, Fiddleneck, and Western Pearlwort. Where: Located north of Cayucos off Highway 1.

Shell Creek Area. Located on private property that allows public access, this is a natural flower bed bursting with color. Wildflower checklist: Fiddlenecks, Redmaids, Primroses, Chinese Houses, Indian Paintbrush, Owl’s Clover, Ceanothus, Pincushions, Larkspurs, Shooting Stars, California Poppy, Goldfields, Lupines, Blazing Stars, Baby Blue Eyes, Indian Warrior, Cream Cups, Woolly Blue Curls, and Violets. Where: Shell Creek is located off Highway 58 on the way to Carrizo Plain National Monument from San Luis Obispo.

Carrizo Plain National Monument. This vast plain (shown above) is one of the last vestiges of what the San Joaquin Valley used to look like—a carpet of grasses and blossoms. In spring, the monument is alive with wildflowers. Wildflower checklist: such as California Poppy, Goldfields, Owl's Clover, Phacelia, Baby Blue Eyes, Lupine, and Coreopsis. Where: Located in the far reaches of eastern San Luis Obispo County about 60 miles from Highway 101.

Need help planning a getaway to San Luis Obispo County? Call the San Luis Obispo County Visitors & Conference Bureau at 800/ 634-1414 or visit www.SanLuisObispoCounty.com.
PHOTO: Curt Bentzinger, courtesy of San Luis Obispo County Tourism.

Heavenly tours on Angel Island

The reopening of the Ellis Island of the West—the US Immigration Station at Angel Island State Park— has unocked an historic treasure. The museum tells the moving story of the trials of immigrants who were detained here, oftentimes for weeks or months, between 1910-1950.

You'll come away with a picture of Angel Island as a Pacific gateway for immigrants and the broader Pacific immigration that took place on the West Coast (as opposed to the largely European influx that streamed through Ellis Island).

Some detainees (most were Chinese) carved their stories in poetry on the wooden walls and many of the poems are still visible today. Other stories of the "paper sons and daughters" have been painstakingly recreated and are finally told in the graphics and artifacts of the new Barracks Museum.

One goal: to help people to understand what it was like to come through the Immigration Station and go through medical exams, personal interrogations, and sometimes lengthy detainment. Inside the barracks, historically furnished rooms will give visitors a feeling for the cramped quarters; lighting of the poetry—carved or inked into the barrack walls—lets visitors discover the enormous effort put forth by the Chinese and other immigrants to document their experiences.

Last week, the U.S. Immigration Station at Ellis Island and the Angel Island Immigration Station were officially joined as sister parks. That means they will share information and collaborate on enhancing the historic story of immigration to the United States, tying together two of the main immigration entry points to the United States during the early 1900s. A guided tour can be a memorable history lesson for the kids, and, for adults, a sobering reminder of past immigration struggles. Lighten up the day with a picnic on the island and a hike to the top for splendid views.

Details: This month, guided barracks tours were offered to groups, but all March tours have already sold out. In April, both individuals and groups can tour the barracks from Wednesday through Sunday. Groups of 10 or more can reserve tours, with open spaces made available on the day of the tour to individuals on a first-come, first-served basis, by calling 415/ 435-3522. Get more info on getting to the park by clicking here.

PHOTO: Courtesy California State Parks, 2009

Finnegan's free fun: whale watching

The spring migration of thousands of gray whales is underway. This miraculous journey begins in Alaskan waters and moves south along California's coastline to birthing and breeding waters in Baja California. Then in spring, the whales—now accompanied by their young calves—reverse course and swim north along the California coast to return. All through March, you might spot the state's official marine mammal— the gray whale—heading north.

These animals are huge (up to 50 long and 45 tons each) but because their babies are with them, they hug the shore for protection from predators on the return trip. And that makes a number of California State Park offer prime viewing locations. And the cost: a nominal park entry fee (which means its practically free).

“Whale watching is an exciting family adventure,” says Ruth Coleman, director of California State Parks. “I would suggest a little research on whales along our coast to get the kids primed, and then find a safe spot where crashing waves won’t interrupt your adventure. And, bring the binoculars!” Look for the whales' spouts of vaporized water (up to 12 feet high) as the whales surface every three to five minutes to breathe.

To find any California state park, go to www.parks.ca.gov/.

Some key spots:
HUMBOLDT COUNTY Patrick's Point State Park (Palmer's Point and Wedding Rock), Trinidad: (707) 677-3570 MENDOCINO COUNTY Mendocino Headlands State Park: (707) 937-5804; MacKerricher State Park (Laguna Point) on the Mendocino Coast three miles north of Fort Bragg: (707) 964-9112 or (707) 937-5804
MONTEREY COUNTY Julia Pfeiffer Burns State park (Vista Point, Highway 1): (831) 667-2315; Point Lobos State Reserve: (831) 624-4909; Point Sur State Historic Park: (831) 625-4419
ORANGE COUNTY Crystal Cove State Park: (949) 494-3539
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY Montaña de Oro State Park: (805) 528-0513 San Simeon State Beach: (805) 927-2035 SANTA BARBARA COUNTY El Capitan State Beach: (805) 585-1850
SAN DIEGO COUNTY Silver Strand State Beach: (619) 435-5184

PHOTO: Courtesy California State Parks, 2009