#65:
Hi Friends!
Another Saturday with another list of things going on in California. While we probably miss many things, we try to bring the ones we think are worthwhile.
Enjoy the weekend and the coming week!
Be Well! Stay Safe!
Mark & Patti
P.S. By the way, we now have totes available in our store. Click this link to see everything we have available.
How to spend the perfect day in Richmond with stellar tacos, waterfront views and goats
by Madeline Wells, SF Gate
Richmond’s mix of cuisines stems from its diverse population, from the thousands of Southern Black and white people who migrated to Richmond during World War II to work in the city’s bustling shipyards to the Mexican, Central American and Laotian immigrants who arrived in subsequent decades. It’s also home to breathtaking waterfront parks, from the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline with its panoramic views to off-leash dog paradise Point Isabel.
How many of you enjoy visiting strange, off-the-beaten-path, but famous locales? Hopefully, most of you do. If not, there's still time to get into visiting places like the one below. We're making it a point to check it out this spring on a trip south.
Miniature Taco Bell - San Diego
by Gastro Obscura
RIGHT BY A FULL-SIZE TACO Bell drive-thru, astute drivers in San Diego will notice a more diminutive version. Modeled after the the city’s first franchise outlet, which mimicked the local Mission-style architecture.
San Diego’s first Taco Bell was open from 1965 to 2008, but this tiny version serves as a lasting tribute. It’s remarkably detailed, right down to the replica of the fast-food restaurant’s sign.
Taco, Taco, Taco
10 Best Family Camping Sites in California
by Visit California.com
A family camping trip is a great way for parents and kids to reconnect through the unplugged joys of fresh air, exercise, and nature’s beauty. Camping families share a lot more than roasted marshmallows. They step away from their screens, relax into unstructured schedules, converse without distractions, and create memories that last a lifetime.
A key part of a successful camping trip is choosing a setting your family will enjoy. Soulful seascape? Ancient redwood forest? Moonlit desert canyon? California’s landscapes check all the boxes, so pick your favorite. Ifyou want to camp on the coast, the Golden State’s western edge delivers hundreds of miles of sand and sea. If your family prefers the mountains, head for the Sierra Nevada’s alpine lakes and saw-toothed peaks. And if you’d like to camp on an island, California offers that too.
Were you a tree climber as a kid, or even now? I miss climbing trees. As kids, we would climb chestnut trees to collect the nuts and battle each other. Of course, we also had to gather enough for my grandparents so they could roast them for a treat around the house.
If you still enjoy climbing some big, big trees, how about climbing redwood? Below is your invitation to relive your childhood only bigger.
This week, you can legally climb a redwood in the Bay Area
by Fiona Lee, SF Gate
Climbing redwoods is illegal in national and state parks. However, these climbs take place on private property in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Los Gatos, where Tree Climbing Planet, the company offering the climbs, has the permission of the landowner.
Climbers scale an old-growth redwood called Grandfather, which soars over 200 feet high. Somewhere between 700 and 1,000 years old, the tree was specifically chosen because it already has damage from chainsaws from the previous landowner, a logger, while other redwood trees in the grove were pristine, says Tim Kovar, the expert tree climber behind the tours.
How America's most bizarre KFC ended up in California
by Paula Majía, SF Gate/Los Angeles
Naturally, Kentucky Fried Chicken is known more for its fast food than for the cutting-edge architectural design of its franchise locations (though one location in Marietta, Georgia, is particularly wacky). Yet this KFC that overlooks Koreatown, boasting a second-floor balcony with tall windows and an unusual exterior, is a notable exception. Since it opened in 1990, the building has drawn derision, been the butt of endless memes, and even clocked in at No. 24 on a Los Angeles Times readers poll of the 25 most beloved landmarks in Los Angeles — beating out icons like the Petersen Automotive Museum.
One More (strike that) A Few More Things
The “Ninja Loop” For You Runner’s