USA - California
The Place
For more than a century, since the arrival of the American transcontinental railroad, California has been the last stop on the line for people in search of a new life. Even if for many longtime residents the California Dream is in reality traffic-clogged freeways, social unrest and blue skies too often filtered through man-made clouds, there are always new dreamers arriving - many from lands where a little smog seems a small price to pay for the freedom that goes with it.
The state has infinite variety. In Northern California, there's the steep, artistic streets of San Francisco, everyone's favorite city. Nearby are Napa and Sonoma valleys, California's wine country, where award-winning vintages are only a sip away. Also in the north are rich river plains and high desert plains, raging whitewater rivers as well as ski runs, lava caves and granite cliffs.
Southern California's attractions are entirely different from the north: endless sunshine, golden beaches, world-class theme parks and the ever-changing, chaotic but seductive trend-setting city of Los Angeles. California is a highly enticing and fascinating place. As one writer put it, like the rest of America "only more so."
