Hollywood

All this and Hollywood too!

The sun, the surf and the sand are all here. So, too, are the mountains and the mill streams, the cities and the sights. This is southern Cali fornia, a whole world of holiday pleasure wrapped up in 63,000 square miles of America.

The scope of southern California’s beauty can be measured by the number of geographical records it possesses: • The highest mountain in the continental United States Mount

Whitney.

• The lowest point in the United States—Death Valley. • The world’s oldest living trees —the Bristlecone Pines. • The southernmost glacier in the United States—Palisade Glacier. • The highest lake in North America —Tulainyo Lake.

Throw in such well-known attrac tions as Disneyland, Palm Springs

and Hollywood and you quickly realise why this area is such a holi day paradise. The trouble is where to go and what to do first!

There’s really two regions to ex plore driving into southern California.

From the Las Vegas area, on Highway 15, there is the great Mojave Desert, perhaps the most un usual desert of its kind.

In the right season, le grande Mojave harbours a wealth of exciting and unusual adventures. There are remnants of the gold rush days,

mines to be rediscovered, precious rocks to be unearthed and old ghost towns to be haunted.

Just south of the Mojave is the most famous and popular desert com munity of them all, Palm Springs.

During the “season” here—from October to April—famous entertainers and others lie in the sun, play golf, swim or enjoy Mount San Jacinto from the Aerial Tramway.

Further down from Palm Springs is the recreational headquarters of the Salton Sea. Here boating, fishing, water skiing, camping and hunting are just a few of the adventures.

The second way of entering southern California is through the majestic High Sierra country. These mountains slice through southern California, nearly dividing the area in half. At the northern tip of the Sierras, between the communities of Bridgeport and Bishop is the queen of the southern California ski spas.

Mammoth Mountain.

And nestled between the high country of the Devil’s Postpile and Nono Lake is a sportsman’s heaven.

There’s freshwater trout just itching

A Dixieland serenade in New Orleans Square near Walt Disney’s Frontierland.

Mark Twain, the riverboat which takes visitors around the rivers of Frontierland, part of Disney’s Disneyland.

to be caught. Camp sites abound. .And there are hiking trails along the Bristlecone Pine region and nearly every other Sierra area.

But for the “action life” there are always the big cities. Inconspicuously nestled between the beaches, the mountains and the desert is Los Angeles, now one of the largest metropolitan cities in America.

Los Angeles is full of “goodies”.

For the movie lover there are tours to take through Universal Studios, footprints to match at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and television shows to watch at CBS and NBC.

History and culture are much a part of Los Angeles. There’s Olvera Street ... its tacos browning and pinatas swaying in the cool tropical breeze. There’s also Little Tokyo and Chinatown, the largest Chinese com munity outside San Francisco.

Along the southern California coastline there’s every conceivable water sport, from surfing to sailing, boating to beaching.

Just inland are the well - known attractions of Lion Country Safari, Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, Movieland Wax Museum and Japanese Deer Park.

The next stop on a coastline tour is the route fringed by San Diego County. Beginning at San Clemente, summer White House headquarters, and continuing through Oceanside, there are beaches galore, folk history at the missions and numerous side trips into the interior of the Cleve land National Forest.

San Diego, with all its excitement, is awaiting the drive off Highway 101 and like the other action cities of southern California, offers year round, 24 hour fun.

Resting less than 25 miles off the coast of Los Angeles is the enchant ing island of Santa Catalina. Getting there takes no longer than two hours by boat and less than 15 minutes by sea plane.

Catalina, with the small city of Avalon, is a natural paradise. You’ll probably want to explore the Under sea Gardens via the glass bottom boat. With a tour guide explaining points of interest, you’ll see the brightly coloured orange Garibaldi fish, moray eels and various varieties of sea “foods”.

And even though it’s only 25 miles from the Los Angeles mainland, Catalina might as well be 2,500 miles away. It’s quiet, inexpensive and most of all relaxing.