Novato in the North Bay Area

11 September 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, San Francisco Bay Area Reading Time:  6 minutes

Spanish Colonial Revival homes at Hamilton Army Airfield © Terrygraham415/cc-by-sa-4.0

Spanish Colonial Revival homes at Hamilton Army Airfield © Terrygraham415/cc-by-sa-4.0

Novato is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok villages: Chokecherry, near downtown Novato; Puyuku, near Ignacio; and Olómpali, at the present-day Olompali State Historic Park.   read more…

Mendocino in California

17 July 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

© flickr.com - Lee Coursey/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Lee Coursey/cc-by-2.0

Mendocino (Spanish for “of Mendoza“) is an unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California, United States. The name comes from Cape Mendocino 85 miles (137 km) to the north, named by early Spanish navigators in honor of Antonio de Mendoza, Viceroy of New Spain. Despite its small size, the town’s scenic location on a headland surrounded by the Pacific Ocean has made it extremely popular as an artists’ colony and with vacationers. Mendocino is located 10 miles (16 km) south of Fort Bragg at an elevation of 154 feet (47 m).   read more…

Pebble Beach in California

29 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

The Residences at Spanish Bay Golf Resort © Joshua Painter/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Residences at Spanish Bay Golf Resort © Joshua Painter/cc-by-sa-4.0

Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf courses of Cypress Point Club, Monterey Peninsula Country Club, and Pebble Beach Golf Links. Nonresidents are charged a toll to use 17-Mile Drive, the main road through Pebble Beach, making it a de-facto gated community.   read more…

South of Market in San Francisco

13 April 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, San Francisco Bay Area Reading Time:  9 minutes

© flickr.com - Pascal Vuylsteker/cc-by-sa-2.0

© flickr.com – Pascal Vuylsteker/cc-by-sa-2.0

South of Market (SoMa) is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, situated just south of Market Street. It contains several sub-neighborhoods including South Beach, Yerba Buena, and Rincon Hill. SoMa is home to many of the city’s museums, to the headquarters of several major software and Internet companies, and to the Moscone Conference Center.   read more…

Cathedral City in California

20 February 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Patrick Pelster/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Patrick Pelster/cc-by-sa-3.0

Cathedral City, colloquially known as “Cat City”, is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert‘s Coachella Valley. Situated between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, the city has the second largest population, after Indio, of the nine cities in the Coachella Valley. Its population was 51,493 at the 2020 census, a slight increase from 51,200 at the 2010 census.   read more…

Telegraph Hill in San Francisco

19 February 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, San Francisco Bay Area Reading Time:  6 minutes

Filbert Street and Grant Avenue, looking towards Coit Tower © Goodshoped35110s

Filbert Street and Grant Avenue, looking towards Coit Tower © Goodshoped35110s

Telegraph Hill (elev. 285 ft (87 m)) is a hill and surrounding neighborhood in San Francisco, California. It is one of San Francisco’s 44 hills, and one of its original “Seven Hills”. The San Francisco Chronicle defines the Chinatown, North Beach, and Telegraph Hill areas as bounded by Sacramento Street, Taylor Street, Bay Street, and the water. The neighborhood is bounded by Vallejo Street to the south, Sansome Street to the east, Francisco Street to the north and Powell Street and Columbus Avenue to the west, where the northwestern corner of Telegraph Hill overlaps with the North Beach neighborhood.   read more…

Solana Beach in California

17 January 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Timeforkindergarten/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Timeforkindergarten/cc-by-sa-4.0

Solana Beach (Solana, Spanish for “warm wind”) is a coastal city in San Diego County, California. Its population was at 12,941 at the 2020 U.S. Census, up from 12,867 at the 2010 Census. The area was first settled by the San Dieguitos, early Holocene inhabitants of the area. The area was later inhabited by the Kumeyaay, who set up a village they called Kulaumai, on the southern banks of the San Elijo Lagoon. During the Spanish colonial era, trails heading north near Solana Beach crossed inland to avoid the marshes and inlets of the area.   read more…

Pleasanton in California

28 November 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, San Francisco Bay Area Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Michael C. Berch/cc-by-sa-2.5

© Michael C. Berch/cc-by-sa-2.5

Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the Amador Valley, it is a suburb in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 79,871 at the 2020 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton was ranked the wealthiest middle-sized city in the United States by the Census Bureau. Pleasanton is home to the headquarters of Safeway, Workday, Ellie Mae, Roche Molecular Diagnostics, Blackhawk Network Holdings, and Veeva Systems. Other major employers include Kaiser Permanente, Oracle and Macy’s. Although Oakland is the Alameda County seat, a few county offices are located in Pleasanton. The Alameda County Fairgrounds are located in Pleasanton, where the county fair is held during the last week of June and the first week of July. Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park is located on the west side of town.   read more…

Camarillo in California

16 October 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Greater Los Angeles Area Reading Time:  6 minutes

Camarillo Ranch House © Los Angeles/cc-by-sa-3.0

Camarillo Ranch House © Los Angeles/cc-by-sa-3.0

Camarillo is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 65,201, an increase of 8,117 from the 57,084 counted in the 2000 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan and Adolfo Camarillo, prominent Californios who owned Rancho Calleguas and founded the city. The city is home to California State University, Channel Islands, housed on the former grounds of the Camarillo State Hospital.   read more…

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