Pacific Coast Highway
California's Highway 1 runs along the coastline covering much of California. As you drive along the coastline, you will pass beaches and skirt the edges of windswept cliffs that drop away into the ocean. On the other side of the highway, rugged mountains jut into the sky and dense evergreen conifer forests dot the landscape. If you don't have hours to spend, a short trip to Half Moon Bay and back along the coastline will give you stunning views of the rocky coastline that are not to be missed.
Muir Woods
Muir Woods, located inside the Golden Gate recreation area, is considered one of the largest urban national parks in the world. The large part is easy to believe. The park is home to coastal redwoods and giant Sequoya trees that make humans seem antlike by comparison. However, once you've stepped onto the paths that wind between these ancient redwoods, the urban part of the description seems harder to believe. The forest has been unknowingly seen by millions of people as the 'woods of Endor' in "The Return of the Jedi." Among conservationists, Muir Woods is better known as one of the last remaining old-growth forests along the California coastline.
Muir Woods National Monument
Mill Valley, CA 94941-2696
nps.gov/muwo/index.htm
The Winchester Mystery House
Drive south of San Francisco for an hour and you will arrive in San Jose, where one of the most bizarre homes in America was built. The Winchester Mystery House was under constant construction by Sarah Winchester during the 38 years that she lived in the home. The house, which was originally an eight-room farm house and barn, was purchased by the heir to the Winchester Rifle fortune in 1884. Rumors say that Mrs. Winchester was told by a psychic that the spirits of men who had been killed by the Winchester Rifle were out to get her, and that the only way that the spirits could be appeased is by Mrs. Winchester building them a house. By the time she died in the 1922, the home had grown to a 160-room, four-acre monstrosity that encompassed the barn. The current owners of the home offer a tour of the home, as well as a 'behind the scenes' tour that explains the workings of the fruit-growing business that Mrs. Winchester operated from her bizarre home as well as flashlight tours at night every Halloween and Friday the 13th.
The Winchester Mystery House
525 South Winchester Boulevard
San Jose, CA 95128
(408) 247-2101
winchestermysteryhouse.com
About The Author
Tracy S. Morris has been a freelance writer since 2000. She has published two novels and numerous online articles. Her work has appeared in national magazines and newspapers, including "Ferrets," "CatFancy," "Lexington Herald Leader" and "The Tulsa World."
