“Restaurant” is a derivative of the Latin word “restore.” Inns were places where travelers could have a simple meal, then hit the road for a continuation of their journey. Today, with the arrival of modern-day tourism, travelers often visit destinations for history, cultural and gastronomic components. Yes, food is the spice of life, and we asked our members to list their favorite state destinations for pleasures of the palate. It’s fun for our readers to see another side of our writers, who have been delivering original content not found anywhere else on the globe.

Richard Carroll – T-Boy Writer:

Louisiana Cooking.

Every trip through Louisiana our taste buds are jumping with delight. Louisiana, highlighted by New Orleans, the most European city in the United States, also have the most distinctively original regional cuisine in the country. The creative cuisine is influenced by Creole and Cajun cooking, and dining for us in New Orleans is an American treasure. Dishes invented in the city include Po’ Boy, Oysters Rockefeller, Oysters Bienville, Banana Foster and more. The Cajun Gumbo, Jambalaya, and various crayfish creations are the heart of the city’s cuisine.

New Orleans chefs explain that when the Cajuns migrated from Nova Scotia, the lobster decided to follow and by the time they arrived they had lost so much weight they were renamed crayfish. A resident added, “We have some 2,800 restaurants in New Orleans and if they’re not good they don’t last for three months, crayfish or not”  We have dined from open-air street stalls, where college kids with their foamy Go Cups are roaming the streets, to Armauds, steps off Bourbon Street in the heart of the French Quarter. The famed restaurant in a restored turn of the century building, family owned since 1918, and one of the grande dames of New Orleans, serves award-winning French-New Orleans inspired cuisine. A dress code is enforced, collars for men, and so we found that diners were tastefully dressed in this elegant room enjoying Creole cuisine while listening to live Dixieland jazz.

We feel that Louisiana and New Orleans for aficionados of creative cooking will not disappoint.

Ringo Boitano – T-Boy Writer:

A taste of California history.

It almost seems unfair to list California as my favorite food state destination. With a landscape of approximately 163,696 square miles, it is the most populous and the third-largest U.S. state by area.

The state’s geography is immense with the Sierra Nevada’s Mt. Whitney at 14,505 feet, the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states, to the Mojave Desert’s Death Valley, its lowest. Throw in the long Pacific coastline and Salinas Valley, coined the Salad Bowl of the World, plus the urbane euphoria of Cioppino, Ranch Dressing, Avocado Toast, Cobb Salad, French Dip Sandwich, Uramaki (California roll), and even the Fortune Cookie, which all proudly claim California as their birthplace – and you’ll find California’s gastronomic history to be both innnovative and monumental. Native-Americans were the first to arrive with a diet based on fruits, corn, pumpkin, shellfish and beans, followed by the Spanish, who brought the exotic flavors of garlic, peppers and olives, and then the migration of fortune seekers during the 1849 California Gold Rush, creating a fushion of culinary traditions, influenced by dishes from the U.S. East Coast, Latin-America, China and Italy.

And this leads us to Chez Panisse, the Berkeley-based restaurant originated by Alice Waters and film producer Paul Aratow, who ushered in the farm-to-table movement in 1971. The restaurant’s style of cooking emphasized ingredients rather than technique, using food that was fresh and seasonal, grown locally and organically. And because the ingredients were obtained nearby, the food took on a very Californian character, hence creating what is known today as California Cuisine.

Fyllis Hockman – T-Boy Writer

There is no other food!

And just to make a short story shorter. I live in Maryland. By definition that means hard shell crabs with Old Bay. There is no other food!

James Boitano – T-Boy Writer:

Favorite state for a food experience: Louisiana. 

Though I’ve only been there once, Louisiana seems to have quite the edge over other states. Sure, you can find any cuisine in the world in New York, but Louisiana has the trio of local good eating. First off, you get the best of Southern ‘comfort food’. Mac n Cheese, grits, fried chicken, red beans and rice: what’s not to love? And on top of that, Louisiana has the double Creole and Cajun experience. Both down-home and sophisticated. Crawfish, andouille smoked sausage, alligator, gumbo. Something for every mood… if you are hungry.

Phil Marley – Poet:

They have to be from Montréal to be REAL bagels.

Okay, I’m aware that Québéc is a Canadian province, not a U.S. state, but Montréal is the place of my birth and here are some of my favorite gastronomic memories.

Little Italy: Montréal’s Piccola Italia is the second largest Little Italy (after Toronto) in Canada. The community is filled with Italian cafés, restaurants and bars, specialty food shops, cultural landmarks, and Jean-Talon Market, Montréal’s most vibrant open-air food area.

Montréal Bagels: I once took a homeless man, a Montréal expat living in Vancouver, for coffee and asked if he would like a bagel, too. He declined, replying, Those aren’t real bagels, they have to be from Montréal to be REAL bagels. In Montréal you will you hear it pronounced bah-gal and yes, they are different. In contrast to the New York-style bagel, which also contains sourdough, the Montréal bagel is smaller, thinner, sweeter and denser, with a larger hole, and always baked in a wood-fired oven. It contains malt, egg, and no salt, and is boiled in honey-sweetened water before being baked.

Montréal Smoked Meat: Most Yanks know all about pastrami and corned beef, but what is smoked meat? Well, it’s basically beef brisket that has been dry-cured, but then soaked (unlike pastrami) to desalinate it before seasoning and smoking. The seasoning is apparently a secret, for no one will divulge anything else other than it makes the most delicious sandwich on the planet. Schwartz’s (circa 1928) is the oldest deli in Canada and is considered an institution, though others will make a case for the newcomer, Reuben’s Deli and Steakhouse, at only a mere 50 years of existence.

Québécois Poutine: This Québécois specialty consists of fresh-cut fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It emerged in Quebec, in the late 1950s in the rural Centre-du-Québec region. My father believed the name poutine originated from the English word pudding (French, pouding), used to describe a mixture, a particularly messy one, of the three food items. It made sense to me for in Québec, the term poutine  is slang for mess. And, yes, it is a mess, a mess of delightful flavors and textures. Some deem its high caloric character to be essential in dealing with the particularly cold Québec and Ontario winter weather. Its popularity has spread to upscale restaurants and fast-food chains alike, including Canada’s Burger King and McDonalds. Today, poutine has become a symbol of Québécois and Canadian cuisine and culture. For that, I am proud – and ten pounds heavier.

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Ed Boitano – T-Boy Editor

Apples are also good for eating.

I am embarrassed to the point of shame when discussing my favorite food items from my home state of Washington. As an unruly adolescent, I considered the bounty of food available throughout the state to be something that was on the entire world’s table. Crab apples, cherries and blueberries were designated as throwing objects in war games between other neighbors, even at the risk of facing my mother’s disdain for stains on my play clothes; with blueberries on worst. What’s the big deal, I thought, isn’t there an unlimited supply? After all we had apple, pear, apricot and fig trees in our own backyard; that is if the birds didn’t get them first.

But that was yesterday and when I return to my ancestral home in Seattle today, I recognize the immense bounty of delicious Washington state produce, produce which I had took for granted, despite having family connections to its terrain. My great, great cousin was an apple orchardist in the Yakima Valley in 1910, and today Washington produces nearly 60% of all apples consumed in the entire U.S. There’s a chance he actually thought he was responsible for that. Raspberries and blueberries also top the U.S. list in production. My in-laws own and operate Roskamp Vineyards, known for their well-sought-after grapes in central Washington’s Lower Yakima Valley. And just further east, there’s Walla Walla Sweets (onions), where less sulfur means less sharpness and tears. Cherries are delicious, but they’re no match for Rainier Cherries, a hybrid created at Washington State University, named after Mount Rainier, where huckleberries and wildflowers blanket its slopes in late July through early September.

And when the Alaskan fishing boats arrive in Seattle, we have all five species of Pacific salmon on our tables: Chinook (King), Sockeye (Red), Coho (Silver), Humpies (Pink) and Chum (Dog, usually canned for foreign markets, but now locally rebranded as the more palatable Keta).

For preparation, it’s every person for themselves; butterflied and smoked over Alderwood, or Cedar planked (steamed on soaked Cedar) and many home recipes.

Then there’s oysters and clams with the geoduck the largest, generally reaching 1.5 pounds, once sold at the Pike Place Public Market for a penny a pound.

And we have the most flavorful of all crabs, the sweet and delicate Dungeness, named after the Port of Dungeness on the Olympic Peninsula. With apologies to those who yearn for lobster, your crustacean is actually a common everyday food for Nova Scotians and New Englanders, but takes its lofty status due to shrewd marketing on luxury railroad trains to and from Chicago as the most expensive item on the menu.

But an important note should be made to chain restaurants; Dick’s, home to Dick’s Famous Deluxe, and Ivar Haglund’s Ivar’s Salmon House and Ivar’s Aces of Clams, with his famous motto, Keep Clam. Haglund (1905-1985), a city father and Seattle icon, once purchased the Smith Tower – then the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi – under the condition that no later buyer could demolish it. From the tower’s observation deck, I could watch the blaze of 4th of July fireworks over Elliot Bay, paid for out of Ivar’s own pocket.,

Deb Roskamp – T-Boy writer & photographer:

A taste of the Land of Enchantment.

Red, green or Christmas? It took me a minute to realize that the waitperson was asking what my preference was for chili salsa. I was asked that question countless times during my four-day culinary tour of Northern New Mexico, and was excited to succumb to the gastronomic pleasures of this indigenous cuisine that can be found nowhere else in the world. Like the food of Tuscany, New Mexican cuisine – not Mexican, Mexican-American, or Tex-Mex – is virtually devoid of any outside influences. Carne adovada, blue corn tortillas, sopapillas and biscochitos – cookies made with crushed anise seeds, a hint of orange and covered with sugar cinnamon, now New Mexico’s Official State Cookie – are among its many offerings.

Floridians stand warned: Santa Fe is the oldest state capital in the continental U.S. In its over 400 years of existence, a number of flags have flow over the city: Spanish, Mexican, the U.S. and The Southern Confederacy – not to mention the short-lived Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Today, no cars are required in Santa Fe’s enchanting plaza. Simply take a stroll, and bask in the galleries, boutiques and historic structures, and take refuge in many of city’s outstanding restaurants. As the third largest art market in the world, recommended is a self-guild tour of Canyon Road which boasts over 100 art galleries, and, a little further down the road, two centuries of adobe homes and casitas.

Maria’s New Mexican Kitchen requires a short car drive from the Santa Fe Plaza. It’s a true local hangout, with mobs of hungry and thirsty patrons waiting for a table. And when I was last there, Maria’s offered as many as 200 margaritas containing different combinations of tequilas and mezcals, but the pandemic brought the list down to forty.

My time in Taos was limited, but it was essential that I save my last meal for my favorite restaurant in New Mexico, Doc Martin’s at the Historic Taos Inn. Perhaps it was because years ago, my first experience with traditional New Mexican food was at this historic establishment. Or maybe it’s just because the cuisine is so remarkable, it’s my first choice to dine in Taos. Their award-winning chili stew is a Northern New Mexico speciality with potatoes, pork and plenty of Hatch green chili. And what may be labeled as hot might be medium or it might be fiery. As they say in New Mexico, the chili is the chili. Doc Martin’s Restaurant was well worth the drive up north from Santa Fe and proved to be a tantalizing bookend to my culinary tour of the Land of Enchantment.

The post Favorite State for a Food Experience appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Mount Royal and Montréal

In 1535, French explorer, Jacques Cartier, climbed a small mountain, which overlooked the St. Lawrence River in Upper Canada and gave it the name, Le Mont Royal. Cartier was the first European to navigate the St. Lawrence River, and, along with his explorations of the Canada’s Atlantic coast, laid France’s claim to North America. Cartier is also credited with naming Canada, which stems from the Huron-Iroquois word kanata, meaning village or settlement. As Montréal’s small trading post grew due to its strategic setting on the river, the mountain became the symbol of the city and eventually its name. A wooden cross, now made of steel grinders and 158 spotlights, was erected. The slopes of the mountain were gradually incorporated into residential properties, but city fathers established a park on the very top for the world to enjoy.  This is where my journey begins each arrival, with an easy climb to the top of the mountain for sweeping views of this bilingual city of over four million people, the fourth-largest French-speaking city the world. Who’s Number 1:  Why that’s Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, who has now edged out Paris as the world’s number one French-speaking city.

Old Montréal

Located between the St. Lawrence River and the downtown center, the cobblestone streets of Old Montréal is an essential must-see attraction. Established in 1642, the French settlement was once a fortified town and the birthplace of the city proper.  Best explored on foot, this area of graceful stone buildings is worth visiting any season, but the real secret is to plan a trip the last weekend in August when the Pointe-à-Callière, the Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History, recreates an 18th-century public market. You will see locals dressed in folkloric Quebecois costumes, stalls with regional food items, demonstrations by craftspeople, musicians and, even a military camp and marching band.

Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Chapel

Montréal is a city of cathedrals, and for my first trip to the city my plan was to walk from one church to the next, never knowing what experience awaited me around each corner. While wandering on the edge of Old Montréal, I stumbled upon Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours Chapel, known as The Sailor’s Church due to its proximity to the Old Port. I was quite moved by the statue of a woman atop its dome, which seemed to reach out to the river. Upon closer inspection I realize that the statue was Our Lady of the Harbour, made famous by Leonard Cohen in his song, Suzanne. The church also features an observation tower with remarkable views of Old Montréal and the St. Lawrence, and a museum, which includes artifacts pre-dating the arrival of the New France colonists in 1642. Admission to the chapel is free.

Little Italy

Coming from a Northern Italian ancestry, I’m always drawn to Italian communities. Montréal’s Little Italy (Piccola Italia) is the second largest (after Toronto) in Canada. The community is filled with Italian cafés, restaurants and bars, specialty food shops, cultural landmarks, and Jean-Talon Market, Montréal’s most vibrant open-air food area. Vendors sell flowers, and locals play bocce at nearby Parc Dante. Also located there is Madonna della Difesa Church, one of the most important landmarks in the area. An insider secret is the fresco situated above the High Altar, shows a virile Benito Mussolini astride a horse, commemorating his signing of the Latern Treaty. In 1929 he was still pretty much regarded as a good guy among Little Italy’s community.

Mount Royal Cemetery

I’ve never been one attracted to the morbid, but these 165 acres, located on the north slope of Mount Royal, are worth exploring both for their beauty and sense of history. Founded in 1852, and now a National Historic Site, the setting is almost romantic with its large green spaces, monumental headstones and crosses from the Victorian era.  Buried at the cemetery include John Molson, Molson Beer industrialist and benefactor of numerous Montréal institutions, John Abbott, 3rd Canadian Prime Minister, other Confederation Fathers, iconic hockey players — remember, hockey was invented in Canada — and even victims of the Titanic. Leonard Cohen lies at rest atop Mount Royal, buried beside his parents, grandparents and great-grandparents in the cemetery of the congregation with which he maintained a lifelong connection. Historical guided tours are available to learn about the life of some of the other famous figures that are buried in the cemetery.

Underground Montreal

Yes, the winter months are long and cold, but for Montréalers there is an 18.5 miles underground city of malls, food courts, office complexes, hotels, apartments, and Metro stops. It’s not even necessary to wear a coat. It is unique for a city that so proudly preserves it past to have something so modern, and I’ve always enjoyed strolling its maze of tunnels, corridors, escalators, and concourses. Later, I learned that Houston, Texas has an underground mall as well, modeled after Montreal’s. But this was designed for much needed protection from the blistering Texas summer sun and its humidity.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono Suite 1742

Located in the famous Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel, this one-bedroom suite was the site of the legendary 1969 Bed-in for Peace in Montréal, where John and Yoko recorded the song Give Peace a Chance.  Guests singing along included Timothy Leary, Petula Clark, Tommy Smothers and whoever happened to be present in the room. The living room and bedroom feature memorabilia composed of press articles, framed gold records and pictures of the famous couple. The suite is available for lodging and can also be rented for parties.  Sometimes I will only make a pilgrimage to the room’s exterior, just to see the plaque on the door.

Montréal Bagels

In Montréal you will you hear it pronounced “bah- gal” and yes, they are different.  In contrast to the New York-style bagel, which also contains sourdough, the Montréal bagel is smaller, thinner, sweeter and denser, with a larger hole, and always baked in a wood-fired oven. It contains malt, egg, and no salt, and is boiled in honey-sweetened water before being baked. You will also hear from locals that they are the best and most authentic bagels in world.  I once took a homeless man, a Montréal expat living in Vancouver, for coffee and asked if he would like a bagel, too. He replied that they were not real bagels, and declined. His favorites and now mine: Montréal’s historic St.-Viateur Bagel and Fairmount Bagel.

Montréal Smoked Meat

We all know pastrami and corned beef, but what is smoked meat? Well, it’s basically beef brisket that has been dry-cured, but then soaked (unlike pastrami) to desalinate it before seasoning and smoking. The seasoning is apparently a secret, for no one will divulge anything else other than it makes the most delicious sandwich on the planet. Schwartz’s (circa 1928) is the oldest deli in Canada and is considered institution, though others will make a case for the newcomer, Reuben’s Deli and Steakhouse, at only a mere 40 years of existence.

Other attractions

Touring Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal and Marie-Reine-du-Monde Cathedral, strolling trendy St-Catherine and St Laurent Boulevards, exploring the Downtown Museum Quarter and wandering the Quartier Latin, the main Francophone district. You can also take a spin on La Grande Roue de Montréal, the highest observation wheel in Canada at 197 feet.

How to get there

Virtually all major airlines offer flights to Montréal, but if you have the time, why not go the distance and travel in luxury aboard VIA Rail Canada. I’ve trekked the rails from Vancouver to Halifax, and from the comfort of an armchair, crossed six provinces, experiencing everything from towering mountain peaks, sweeping forests and unique wildlife to wide-open prairies, two oceans and world-class cities. It’s even better with a Caesar, a Canadian version of the Bloody Mary, in your hand. With the sound of tracks, it’s easy to slip off to a luxuriant night of sleep.

Where to stay

There is no hotel more conveniently situated than the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth. Located above the train station (Via Rail & AMTRAK) and connected to the underground city, this legendary hotel is within walking distance of downtown’s numerous attractions as well as Old Montréal. Offering 1,039 rooms, in which 100 are suites, this landmark property has played host to Charles de Gaulle, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev and, if it was a not a surprise, Queen Elizabeth ll.

For further information about travel to Montréal, visit Tourisme-Montreal.org or (877) BONJOUR.

The post Memories of Montréal: Going to France without French Prices appeared first on Traveling Archive.

They came by the thousands. It was not the first time, nor would it be the last. These were young Americans, many of whom who had never lived more than forty-miles from their place of birth. This all changed with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Most of the U.S. military bases were located in California and the recruits were shipped to an unfamiliar landscape of wide-open spaces, eternal sunshine, crystal-clear ocean waters and groves of citrus trees where you could pick an orange right from the branch. When WWII ended, many of those who were fortunate enough to return home remembered this paradise found. Winters didn’t mean having to dig your car out of the snow each morning or wearing your heaviest boots and gloves to the factory. Many of these families packed their bags and headed to this promised land of the West – where the beaches were wide and expansive, and the Pacific horizon seemed to say that anything was possible.

This California no longer exists. The citrus groves have been razed and track homes have taken their place. Factories and industries have flourished on the once inexpensive and seemingly limitless terrain. Southern California, has now become something else, and, like all things in our land, will continue to grow and evolve.

With endless attractions along the way, there is still a pieces of paradise that resembles this dream of the post WWII years. Although it too has changed, this area still remains the closest to reflecting the California of that bygone era. It begins on the Pacific Coast Highway in San Diego, and continues north to Pismo Beach on the Central California Coast.

San Diego – “America’s Finest City”

Arriving at the Santa Fe Depot, we discovered that we didn’t need a car or even want one. So we ditched my car and headed to the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System Bus and Trolley, which allows you to be car-free while exploring the city. The purchase of a three-day Day Tripper pass would transport us to all the attractions.

A short trolley ride took us to the heart of the vibrant East Village. Once a derelict warehouse district, the East Village redefined itself with the completion of PETCO Park baseball stadium. Now downtown’s hippest neighborhood, the area features luxury hotels, condominiums, residential/work lofts, restaurants and galleries. Who would have thought that unassuming San Diego would become a national role model for urban renewal? The historic Gaslamp Quarter, which spills into (or is part of) the East Village (everyone seems to have a different opinion), is lined with Victorian-era buildings, housing restaurants, pubs, galleries, theaters and shops. For history buffs, the Victorian-style Horton Grand Hotel was once the seven-year home of Wyatt Earp.

Accommodations were at the chic Hotel Indigo, the first LEED certified green hotel in San Diego. Virtually all the building materials used were recycled products, with a design reflecting Fibonacci numbers and plant spirals, creating a harmonious ambience. Creature comforts included spa-like baths, 37” flat panel HDTVs, designer furnishings, plush bedding, sleek hardwood floors and complimentary high-speed Internet access. Sitting at the 9th floor Phi Bar Terrace, we gazed in wonder at PETCO Park’s field, even though there wasn’t even a game in process.

Old Town is the first permanent European settlement in California. In 1769, Father Juniper Serrano established a chain of 21 missions; each situated a day’s horse ride away. Today the San Diego Mission overlooks a collection of historic adobe buildings, shops and restaurants. The Old Town Trolley tour is the best way to get an overview of what is considered the birthplace of California.

The 100-acre San Diego Zoo is a sanctuary for over a thousand animals; a place to learn of conservation efforts to protect wildlife from extinction. The setting is stunning, with exotic plant life utilized throughout the park. Start your tour with a tram ride, which offers a comprehensive overview of the zoo.

Balboa Park is the nation’s largest urban cultural park. Home to 14 museums, performing arts venues, spectacular gardens, it is a must-see attraction. Admittance is free to the grounds, but there is an admission charge for a number of the attractions. The Stay-for-the-Day pass offers admission to your choice of any 4 of the 14 participating attractions.

Little Italy dates back to the days of San Diego’s fishing industry when generations of Italian fisherman called the area home. Today Little Italy is a vibrant neighborhood of restaurants, pubs, galleries and shops. It also features a world-class Saturday farmer’s market.

A trip to the USS Midway Museum was how we wanted to end our San Diego stay. The collection of 60 exhibits and 25 restored aircraft aboard the aircraft carrier was a heartfelt tribute to the men and women who have served our country. The tour colored my thoughts as we strolled back to our car in preparation for the next stop in our journey.

Laguna Beach – The California Riviera

Laguna’s history dates back to the arrival of the first Amer-Indian tribe – believed to originate from the Shoshone family. Attracted by the plentiful supply of fish and shell fish, they also hunted deer in the surrounding canyons. They referred to the area as Lagona (lakes), due to the fresh water lakes in the canyon. In 1933, a 17,000 year-old-skull was found in Laguna, indicating the tribe’s early presence in the area. In the 1800s, the Spanish retitled the area Canada de las Lagunas (canyon of the lakes).

The first Euro-American settlers arrived in 1870, followed by tourists who came for the cool ocean breezes as a reprieve from California’s brutal inland weather. Accommodations were in tents, but this all changed with the building of the Hotel Laguna in 1889. Now christened Laguna, the area was on its way to becoming a popular tourist resort. Hollywood was not immune to Laguna’s charm, with the likes of Bette Davis, Mary Pickford, Judy Garland, Rudolph Valentino, Charlie Chaplin and Mickey Rooney maintaining homes in town. Laguna was transformed into an arts community when painter Norman St. Clair first set his eyes on this stunning landscape. He was so taken by the beauty of the area that he spread the word to his artist colleagues in San Francisco. Today Laguna boasts over 100 galleries, the Laguna Art Museum, Sawdust Festival, Art Walk and the Pageant of the Masters, an once-in-a-lifetime re-creation of paintings, staged using real people. The city fathers have established several measures that ensure slow growth and preservation of Laguna’s terrestrial and marine environments.

Laguna’s Downtown Village tree-lined streets, features aforementioned galleries, quaint boutiques, restaurants, palatial resorts, intimate bed and breakfasts and seaside cottages.

Our accommodations were at Sunset Cove Villas, a selection of eight themed luxury villas, nestled on a bluff overlooking the ocean in the heart of the village. We scored big time by booking the two-bedroom, two-bath, fully-equipped Seychelles Villa – a mere few steps to the beach.

We could have stayed there forever, luxuriating on the private deck, but then remembered there was an important appointment on our schedule – a painting class at the home of the Sawdust Art Festival.

The intimate class was conducted by John Eagle, a former stockbroker who became a full-time painter in his mid-fifties. He’s listed in “Who’s Who in American Art.” After a few brush strokes, it became clear that I was not destined to be another Monet, but John was patient with me and I found the experience both insightful and, above all, relaxing.

After a day of beachcombing and gallery hopping – two of which featured John’s inspiring Impressionist-style paintings – I decided that painting was destined to be part of my future and planned on purchasing my own art equipment.

We continued on our lazily drive up the Pacific Coast Highway, lined with beach towns and spectacular scenery. Soon we were in Malibu. The morning sun was just breaking over the ocean, with scores of surfers waiting patiently on their boards for the BIG One; a wave so monumental that it would change their lives. I remembered a trip to the North Shore on Oahu where a lifelong surfer told me that he became a dedicated surfer when he rode a wave that was so majestic and  powerful that he literally fell in love with it. He had been waiting over another ten years to ride another one. Such is the passion of the surfer in their quest to find the perfect wave.

The Central Coast

We decide to do pit spot, then walk up on the Malibu Pier to watch the rubber clad surfers. I noticed a billboard in the distance which advertised the Chumash Casino. It made me think of the REAL first inhabitants of the Central Coast.

Archaeologist findings indicate that for over 13,000 years the Chumash Tribe were the first inhabitants of the central coastal regions of California with the first settlement started near the Santa Barbara coast. The name Chumash means bead maker or seashell people. Pismo Beach, in fact, got its name from the Chumash, who referred to the area as a place to find pismu, or tar. Spanish archeologists called these early coastal residents playano (beach people). The Chumash, renowned for their magnificent redwood plank canoes, subsided on a staple of ground acorns, wild game and the (now almost depleted) Pismo Clam. The Chumash’s way of life almost ended during the Spanish Missionary Period, but the remaining decedents found a rebirth with their Las Vegas-style casino in Santa Ynez – the Chumash Casino.

Chumash History from the Perspective of the Chumash

Our people once numbered in the tens of thousands and lived along the coast of California. At one time, our territory encompassed 7,000 square miles that spanned from the beaches of Malibu to Paso Robles. The tribe also inhabited inland to the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley.

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Ventura – “The Real California”

I gazed in wonder at the spectacular land and seascape. The place: Ventura – nestled between Malibu and Santa Barbara on the southern-most part of California’s Central Coast. Billed as ‘The Real California,’ we couldn’t wait to see what it had to offer.

With the arrival of the Spanish in the 18th Century, Mission San Buenaventura was established by Father Junipero Serra, the ninth of the California missions. He named it after the Italian, St. Bonaventure, hence the nickname: city of good fortune. Ventura was incorporated in 1866, and grew due to the establishment of the Union Oil Company and an influx of settlers from the east. Located between the Ventura River and the Santa Clara River, settlers found the soil so fertile that citrus grew better there than anywhere else in the state. In 2005, the City Council adopted a visionary plan, focusing on delivering key services within available means and promoting sustainable prosperity.

“Hey, wanna hit some thrift shops,” Deb gleefully shouted as we strolled down Main Street. Indeed, there were scores of them lining the avenue. What I liked best is that Ventura’s revitalized downtown reflects a hybrid of a bygone era and the glitz of new boutiques, wine bars, restaurants, inns, galleries and stage theaters. Suggested stops: the Mission San Buenaventura, Museum of Ventura County and Albinger Archaeological Museum. Make sure to pick up a complimentary Historic Downtown Walking Tour Guide at the Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau.

The Ventura coast possesses vast stretches of uncrowded beaches, surf spots, harbor cruises and a gentle 13-mile coastal bikeway – which made me aware that I needed to get into better shape. With the sun at my back I remembered that early Spanish settlers also coined Ventura the land of endless summers with its year-round daytime temperatures averaging 70 degrees.

Ventura’s most amazing attraction lies 14 miles out to sea; Channel Islands National Park comprises five of the eight Channel Islands off the California Coast: Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel and Santa Barbara Island. This stunning nature preserve is often referred to as the  Galapagos of the North  because it is home to more than 2,000 species of plants and animals – 145 of which are unique to the islands and found nowhere else on earth. Excursions launch from Ventura Harbor daily, with hikers on board looking to either camp or snorkel in the crystal clear waters. We opted for a package with Channel Islands Outfitters and Island Packers, where the voyage began on an Island Packers bio-diesel boat to Scorpion Harbor on Santa Cruz Island. Even the ride over was a great experience, spotting whales, dolphins and thousands of sea birds. Once we reached the island, we found recreational options abound, including hiking, camping, snorkeling and kayaking.

We opted for a kayak tour guided by the gentle hands of Channel Islands Outfitters’ Clay Downing. Paddling through arches and into sea caves, reminded me of cenotes, the fresh water underground springs in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

Pismo Beach – “Classic California”

The city of Pismo Beach was incorporated in 1951 and from the beginning was a natural as a tourist destination with its long white beaches, great weather, and spectacular views. This is not the town, though, where time has stood still. However, it has done its best to embrace the best of the past and has engineered tourist friendly packages that showcase all the wonders the area has to offer today. As we explored Pismo, I could see it was a place where everyone seems to fit – surfers and seniors walking their dogs share the same beach. Fishermen try to catch the big one from the iconic Pismo pier. You can drive and camp on the beach just down the coast at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area. Pismo boasts over 30 restaurants and more than 50 motels, hotels, and RV parks. You can enjoy bicycling, golfing, hiking, nature walks, water sports, Hummer adventure tours and horseback riding – also right on the beach!

Pismo Beach is the winter home of the Monarch butterfly that comes to stay annually from October to February. Pismo also makes a wonderful home base for exploring the Central Coast’s other attractions that include the Danish Village of Solvang (Danish for ‘sunny field’), a stunning village nestled in the Santa Ynez Valley. Founded in 1911 by a small group of Danish teachers, Solvang is the place for fine restaurants serving authentic Danish cuisine, import shops, windmills, hayrides, Danish festivals and activities for all ages. It is also home of the Old Mission Santa Inés.

Pismo also serves as the gateway to Hearst Castle, as well as a home base for exploring well-over 100 wineries (think the film, “Sideways.”) shops, boutiques and little B&Bs of the quaint village of Cambria, and the previously mentioned Chumash Casino. Yes, Pismo lived up to its Classic California moniker. But the real attraction was the Pacific Ocean. Paradise found. We couldn’t wait to explore the expansive and pristine beaches. We could spend some serious time here. But now after seven-days on the road it was time to relax… even though I’d been doing plenty of that already.

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