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JANUARY IS CALIFORNIA RESTAURANT MONTH
As a native Californian and longtime former Bay Area resident, I have to confess there's no place like home when it comes to the American food/dining/wine scene (New Yorkers, feel free to sharpen your knives...). California's always been progressive when it comes to food and drink, from the early days of the vaqueros and Gold Rush-era San Francisco, right up to today's never-ending parade of talented food artisans, chefs, farmers, and mixologists. It's only fitting then, to feature a California Restaurant Month. (The Huffington Post via Gadling)
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VISIT CALIFORNIA APPOINTS CULINARY AMBASSADOR
Chef and TV personality Michael Moore named as Visit California Ambassador to promote California’s culinary appeal to Australian travellers. Visit California announces the appointment of popular chef Michael Moore as the Golden State’s first official ambassador for the new ‘Taste California’ campaign created specifically for the Australian market. (eTravel Blackboard)
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BEST ADVENTURE DESTINATIONS FOR 2012
Just when it seemed impossible to find untrammeled single track in Europe or snorkel uncharted waters in Australia, we're here to remind you that optimism pays off. New parks and trail systems, wacky weather patterns, and cosmic events can make a well-traveled planet feel full of new frontiers again. Here are the best adventure destinations for 2012. (National Geographic)
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DISAPPEARING INTO CULTURAL LOS ANGELES
Woody Allen famously said in "Annie Hall" that the only cultural advantage to Los Angeles was that you can turn right on a red light, but in truth the "City of Angels" is bursting with culture. World-class museums including the Getty Center, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art are must-see destinations for art-lovers, whose touring exhibitions easily rival those in London and New York. (CNN Travel)
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HOGWARTS IS HEADED TO HOLLYWOOD
Muggles will have another opportunity to slip into Harry Potter's magical world at a new Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park at Universal Studios Hollywood…Hogwarts Castle, which houses the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry featured in the "Harry Potter" series, will be the Hollywood park's centerpiece, as it is in Orlando. Details on the timing of the new park and expansion have not been released. The new California park is likely to bring millions of tourist dollars.  (CNN Travel)
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BITES OF THE BAY AREA
'Move inside! Face the windows! No drinks! Take off your backpack!" The conductor's playful orders make riding the Powell-Hyde cable car from Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf a quintessential San Francisco experience. But when I disembark - "Wait until we come to a complete stop!" - I find myself in two worlds. (The Sydney Morning Herald) 
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DESTINATION: JOYS OF LA JOLLA
Though it’s only 15 miles north of downtown San Diego, La Jolla (pronounced “La HOY-ya”) shuns the big city’s trendy trappings. Instead, this Mediterranean-style seaside community nourishes long-lasting creativity. Broadway-bound playwrights test their work at the La Jolla Playhouse, founded by San Diego native son Gregory Peck in 1947. Nobel laureates conjure theorems while surfing at La Jolla Shores. Amusing sculptures are scattered about the campus of the University of California, San Diego in Torrey Pines, high atop a bluff overlooking La Jolla’s coastline.  (Endless Vacation) 
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WILD RIDES, SMILING FACES: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S THEME PARKS
After winning a championship, pro athletes often crow for the cameras, "I'm going to Disneyland!" But Southern California's theme parks cater to thrill-seekers of all ages, sizes, and shapes.
Sure, families also flock to Florida's theme parks these days – many of them are larger and newer. However, there's something magical about California's parks: the influence of show-stopping Hollywood, the Pacific breeze rippling through palm trees, the spirit of innovation and music and life that permeates Los Angeles, Anaheim, and San Diego and rubs off on the roller coasters, immersive attractions, and live shows. The Golden State, you realize, is where it all began. (AOL Travel)           
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THE BEST THEME-PARK RIDES IN CALIFORNIA
Let yourself be flipped, dropped and spun on these thrill rides, Lucas Aykroyd writes on Disneyland's The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure, all ages relished the escapism of travelling inside giant seashells, singing along to Under the Sea with animatronic figures. At Knott's Berry Farm, Silver Bullet, the West Coast's longest inverted coaster that covers 3,125 feet at breakneck speed, left me so G-forced-up that a 10-year-old had to help me unbuckle my seatbelt afterward. (The Globe and Mail)       
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TOP 10 CALIFORNIA THEME PARK RIDES AND ATTRACTIONS FOR 2012
While all eyes will be on Disney California Adventure in 2012, plenty of other theme parks in California will be adding new rides and attractions in time for the summer crowds. Our Top 10 for 2012 is dominated by new rides coming to DCA's 12-acre Cars Land expansion, the grand finale in the $1 billion extreme makeover the Anaheim theme park has undertaken during the past five years. DCA's transformation is so massive that even Disneyland is taking the year off as far as new attractions go, letting the spotlight shine on its younger neighbor. (The Los Angeles Times)       
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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: LIGHTS, ACTION, BOAT PARADES!
Holiday boat parades are dazzling, glitzy affairs that remind me of what the Rose Parade might look like if it were held at night and took place on water. Christmas, tiki and even Elvis themes are depicted in strings of colored lights along masts and bows as boats glide along marinas and channels.  (The Los Angeles Times)       
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ELLE DÉCOR GOES TO PALM SPRINGS
Driving into Palm Springs, California, one of the world’s most sublime time capsules of midcentury design, the first piece of architecture you see is God’s work. Or Mother Nature’s, if you prefer: the San Jacinto Mountains. It’s these peaks—their grand scale, their nubbly, almost Brutalist texture, and the fact that they wall the city off from the rest of the world—that make all the magnificently sleek architecture in Palm Springs possible. (Elle Decor)       
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HOLIDAYS IN THE O.C.
Staffs at Orange County hotels, resorts, and restaurants are already as busy as elves, preparing for the holidays. The waterfront Balboa Bay Club & Resort is the picture-perfect place to watch the 103rd Annual Christmas Boat Parade “Merry Christmas Sea” December 14-18. Book an elegant sit-down dinner overlooking the bay in the First Cabin Restaurant, where chef Josef Lageder and team prepare such standouts as seared spice-rubbed wild salmon with mango wrapped in crispy prosciutto with wasabi potato mousseline.  (Ranch and Coast Magazine)       
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SOCAL’S WINE COUNTRY
On a hilltop high above the verdant Temecula Valley, Damian Doffo points to a distinctive notch carved into the Coastal Mountain Range ten miles to the West. “That V,” he says, “is exactly what makes this such a great wine growing region.” Doffo, a second generation vintner, is referring to gaps in the range that allow cool ocean breezes to pass into the hot valley, moderating temperatures and creating ideal conditions — warm days and cool nights — for growing grapes. Pioneered by Ely Callaway, who opened the first winery in 1974 (he would later become known for golf as well as grapes), the Temecula Valley is now home to more than 35 wineries, each with its own personality, from Doffo, a family-run boutique winery, to the expansive South Coast Winery Resort & Spa, with its high-end villas and handsome restaurant.  (Ranch and Coast Magazine)
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VISITING AN ORGANIC WINERY
Whenever you are near Northern California's wine country it is time to visit one of the 350 wineries! I stayed at the Farmhouse Inn, in Forestville, a great location for a quick 15- minute drive to the Michel-Schlumberger Benchland Wine Estate close to Sonoma. Michel-Schlumberger is an organic winery with an entirely different approach to growing grapes. (Yahoo! Voices)       
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CALIFORNIA DREAMING
By sleeping in Marilyn Monroe’s old bedroom in her favorite Palm Springs vacation hideaway, you make it easy for the iconic Hollywood star to slip, unbidden, into your dreams. She’s good at making her presence known in the Pretty in Pink room (her home away from home in the ’50s) at the Palm Springs Rendezvous. (The State Journal Register)       
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THINGS TO DO IN MARYSVILLE AND YUBA CITY, CALIFORNIA
The breathtaking Northern California landscape that surrounds the Inns & Suites is reason enough to come vacation in the Marysville and Yuba City area. Ellis Lake, Feather River, and Yuba River are great sources of activity and entertainment for the whole family to enjoy. However, besides the wonderful natural environment of the region, there are also a number of other attractions worthy of visit. The welcoming staff at our hotel can help assist you in providing recommendations and directions to some of these unique and interesting sites.  (EzineMark)       
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SANTA MONICA: THE QUINTESSENTIAL CALIFORNIA SHOPPING SPOT
Santa Monica is the quintessential California shopping destination with its sun speckled shopping spots, al fresco dining and shopping and chic tree lined streets. There are a few key districts within Santa Monica that offer all from casual to couture from unique boutique to the well-known international names. It’s a shopper’s paradise for locals and tourists alike. So, if you want to look like a celeb or simply shop with one, this is your definitive go-to on the west side. (Chichaku)       
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