Reasons Why You Should Go California For Your Next Vacation.

Our first hotel was the Fairmont in San Jose and very impressive it was, you can usually find some flaw of some description but not on this occasion. A great breakfast with plenty of choice.

Our first full day began with a drive to Mount Herman for a chance to zip line through Redwoods courtesy of Redwood Canopy Tours (pic 1). There was excellent tuition and a lot of fun, we followed this with a two mile hike up the Zinfandel trail and at the end our reward was a picnic lunch followed by wine tasting at the Pittecchi brothers winery (pic 2).

California’s state capitol Sacramento was next and we were running late due to heavy traffic so we opted to go straight to dinner at 'South', a place I fancy only known to locals. One of the house rules is you cannot take a table until you have ordered and the long queue spoke volumes about the quality of the food. Fortunately for us our host pulled some strings and had a table cordoned off citing we were British VIPs. The food was indeed tasty and wholesome; deep fried chicken, mac and cheese, corn bread etc. I would happily recommend to anyone. Our hotel for the evening was Embassy Suites by Hilton and once again great accommodation on the riverfront promenade.

Any visit should also include a trip to Old Ironsides, the oldest pub in town, with a great atmosphere and live music. The next morning was a treat and a first for me. Courtesy of the SacBrew Company (pic 3), 12 of us sat at a bar on a bike and cycled our way around some cool spots including a traditional farmers market. We just had time for Champagne brunch at the Tank House before our next challenge - paddle boarding (pic 4) on Lake Natoma Aquatic Centre. Basically standing on a surfboard on a lake with a paddle. I did catch the hang of it quite quickly until one of my colleagues thought it would be funny to upset my balance still lots of fun.

Due North for 180 miles to Redding staying at the Gaia Hotel & Spa. Very spacious rooms with very comfortable beds and a top breakfast. Our evening was interesting with a private tour of Turtle Bay Exploration Park as well as an al fresco meal underneath the famous Sundial Bridge which spans the Sacramento River.

Onwards to the Lassen Volcanic National Park with bubbling pits (pic 5) and a very strong smell of sulphur. As the snow (pic 6) started to fall we made a decision to get over the mountain pass before it was closed off – we made it about 10 minutes to spare. The more we descended the clearer the weather got so by the time we arrived at Burney Falls (pic 7) the sun was shining again. After viewing the falls we went on a lakeside hike which was great until the heavens opened and we got drenched. Still it’s not often you can witness all the seasons in just one day. Mount Shasta Resort accommodated us this evening in their very comfortable chalets, unfortunately no time to take advantage of their golf course as the light had faded but not before we had a great view of the majestic Mount Shasta. We did enjoy a lovely meal and retired for the night as we had early breakfast and a tour planned up the mountain unfortunately the cold and poor visibility cut the morning short.

A long drive of 260 miles down to Santa Rosa and our next stop was the Courtyard by Marriott home for two nights and although a corporate type of hotel the best night’s sleep I had on the whole trip. Dinner that evening was at Willi’s Wine bar one of the top restaurants in the area.

Sonoma Canopy Tours hosted us for our second Zip Line experience of the trip, however this was perhaps a more challenging course and I learnt a lot more about the Redwoods. Half an hour’s drive through the county and time for some serious wine/food pairing thanks to Kendall Jackson (pic 8) - the best popcorn I have ever eaten. The evening was an absolute treat as we did a site visit of the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. We could not view any of the rooms as the hotel was full but they did give us a tour round the property and finished it off with dinner in ‘Sante’ their Michelin star restaurant. Highly recommended.

So now the longest day – up at 04:30 to beat the traffic over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to the airport for our flight down to San Diego we were up and down in an hour then met by our coach for the two hour drive to Borrego Springs and our hotel for the night La Casa Del Zorro. This resort is in the middle of a Desert State park (pic 9) and boy was it hot. We were greeted with drinks and snacks in the centre by locals, many of them ex-pats before being whisked off on a tour off the area (pic 10) and with 45 mins to spare to prepare for the big finale where five groups all who had done alternative Californian itineraries came together to share our experiences.

I am really pleased I got to see a lot of places not normally seen by visitors to the Golden State. California has a lot more than just San Francisco and Los Angeles so if you want to see something different just drop me a line.