Southern California's Santa Barbara, Channel Islands, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, San Simeon & Beyond

By Don Young

Everyone knows the feeling of relief associated with watching "the big city" disappear behind you in the rear view mirror… and the anticipation that can grip you as you head for a serene rural countryside. Nowhere are these sensations more strongly felt t

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hunter Publishing
• Release date: Mar 20, 2011
• ISBN: 9781556502095

Don Young

Don Young started his business career with Unilever, since when he has been a senior manager of several companies that have been forced to confront extensive change. He was a director of Redland plc from 1994 - 1998 and prior to that Thorn EMI plc, and he has co founded three management consultancies, YSC Ltd., Value Partnership Ltd., and Woodbridge Partners Ltd., an executive coaching partnership. The Financial Times said of his previous book Having their Cake, 'a devastating analysis of the relationships between chief executives and investment banks'

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Southern California's Santa Barbara, Channel Islands, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, San Simeon & Beyond

Don & Marjorie Young

HUNTER PUBLISHING, INC.

E-mail: [e-mail]

Web site: www.hunterpublishing.com

© Hunter Publishing, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this book is correct, but the publisher and authors do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any liability to any party for any loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, misleading information or any potential problem caused by information in this guide, even if these are a result of negligence, accident or any other cause. All opinions expressed in this book stem from the authors' personal experience only or from those of her contributors; consequently, neither they nor the contributors can be held accountable for a reader's personal experience while traveling.

About The Authors

Don Young

Don Young has written professionally since he was a teenager. Starting first as a reporter for weekly and daily newspapers, he has worked in both radio and television, edited award-winning magazines both nationally and internationally, and served as a public relations executive for two Fortune 500 companies.

His work has appeared in many of the nation's foremost periodicals, and he has authored a dozen books on topics ranging from business management to the treatment of sleep disorders.

Marjorie Young

Marjorie taught elementary school children how to write for 20 years. She is currently practicing what she preached all of those years.

Marjorie's work has appeared in New Mexico Magazine, Bed & Breakfast Locator, The Appraisers Standard, Global Golfer, and a number of other publications throughout the country.

Her next effort, also in collaboration with her husband, is another book for Hunter Publishing: Adventure Guide to the Pacific Northwest.

California, Here We Come

and why not?

Ask almost anybody to name his or her favorite vacation spot and, chances are, the answer will be either California or Florida.

There are a number of excellent reasons for that. Year-round good weather, an ample supply of outstanding accommodations and excellent restaurants, and countless attractions entice and entrance visitors of all ages. California has some marvelous beaches, offering swimming, surfing, waterskiing, boating, hiking, biking, camping and horseback riding. It has outstanding saltwater and freshwater fishing. History buffs are also drawn by interesting Indian villages to explore, plus 21 historic Spanish missions that were built while our Colonial forefathers were still battling for their independence from the British crown.

Planet earth supports eight major ecological communities or biomes, scientists tell us. Five of them can be found in California.

The North American continent has four separate desert regions. Three – the Sonoran Desert, the Mojave Desert and a small piece of the Great Basin Desert – are in California.

And California encompasses no fewer than eight magnificent national parks: the Channel Islands, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Kings Canyon, Lassen Volcanic, Redwood, Sequoia and Yosemite.

When you travel to southern California, you can take a daytrip to an exotic foreign country – Mexico.

If you are here in the summer and the heat becomes too oppressive, you can retreat to the cool comfort of the mountains.

In the winter, you can ski those same mountains, go ice skating or snowboarding, or you can stay at the lower elevations where it's warm and explore the California deserts. You can easily do both on the same day!

We love southern California. It has an appeal distinctly its own. Let us show you what we mean…

History

For centuries, the residents of America's West Coast were effectively screened from their Eastern neighbors by the majestic, but almost insurmountable Rocky Mountains. Unique Native American cultures evolved, influenced more by migrating tribes from Alaska and Canada to the north than by the Iroquois, Chippewa, Apache, Comanche and other Indian cultures that flourished along America's East Coast and throughout the vast central plains.

Gabrielino Indians inhabited most of the region which is present-day Los Angeles. The Chumash were found along the Pacific coast between Los Angeles and San Simeon to the north. The Yokuts, Tubaculabah, Kawaisu, Kitanemuk, Tatviam and Serrano occupied California's fertile Central Valley.

Southward from Los Angeles to San Diego, along the Pacific Ocean, could be found the Juaneño and the Luiseño. Around San Diego Bay lived the Ipai and the Tipai. Between San Diego and the Colorado River there were bands of Cahulla, Cupeño and Tipai. Along with the Yuma, the Tipai also inhabited the rich Imperial Valley and the region that parallels what we now recognize as the Mexican border. The Mojave, the Halchidhoma and the Yuma once lived where the Colorado River separates California from its neighboring state of Arizona, while in the pitiless desert to the north and west were the Chemehuevi, the Mojave and the Halchidhoma.

Throughout California, nearly 100 Native American languages once were spoken. Over half of them are now extinct. Only about 30 continue to be spoken now – and they are spoken almost exclusively by a few of the tribal elders. It is estimated that only two people are still able to speak the Serrano language, for example, and only three Chemehuevis, six Yukis and nine Wintuns can talk in their native tongue.

California's Native Americans lived relatively undisturbed throughout most of the 18th century.

Juan Cabrillo, a Portuguese navigator, became the first European to discover California in 1542. Sir Francis Drake put in for repairs near Point Reyes in 1579. But no effort was made to colonize the area for the next two centuries.

In 1768, aware of its interest in Alaska and alarmed by the possibility that Russia might advance southward into California, King Charles of Spain directed that the region be colonized and that its inhabitants be converted to Christianity.

King Charles' fears were well founded, for the Russians established a fort on the north-central coast of California some 75 miles south of present-day Mendocino. Fort Ross State Park is a popular tourist attraction today.

As a result of King Charles' directive, Father Junipero Serra moved into Alta California (Upper California, as opposed to Baja or Lower