Jetsettersblog

Agricultural Bounty, Renowned Wine Regions, Celebrity Chefs and Festivals

When it comes to wine and food, no other state in America comes close to California. Studies show that California is the top wine and food mecca in the United States, driven in part by the state’s production of 90 percent of American wine and its boasting nine of the top 10 agricultural counties in the nation.

“California is the land of abundance, especially when it comes to our culinary delights and diverse wines,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Caroline Beteta of the California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC). “We don’t have to go far to source fresh, organic ingredients that make for savory dishes. And, of course, we’re known all over the world for our wines. In fact, we have more wineries to choose from than any other state in the U.S.. Visitors can easily meet the farmers and winemakers behind California’s culinary bounty, or even bump into chefs at farmer’s markets. Nowhere else in America can visitors have such a deep connection to the food and wine they’re enjoying on vacation.”

Because most of the wine and food is grown and made in the Golden State, established and aspiring celebrity chefs are drawn here, magnetized by the bountiful fresh ingredients available in their own backyard. With so many wine and food enthusiasts drawn here, many destinations in California are hosting top culinary festivals celebrating everything from wine to asparagus. They’re also developing immersion programs – such as wine blending and cooking classes – to let visitors take a piece of the California lifestyle home.

Celebrity Chefs
Many locals and visitors are thrilled to rub elbows with celebrity chefs looking for the perfect ingredients at farmer’s markets from San Diego and Los Angeles in Southern California up to San Francisco and beyond in Northern California. This keeps the chefs in tune with the seasonal ingredients that drive their menus, and keeps them connected to the public they’re serving.

“There’s no better playground for a chef than being in California,” said celebrity chef Duskie Estes of Zazu Restaurant + Farm in Santa Rosa, who recently appeared on national television in America as a competitor on the Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef” and who stars in CTTC’s wine and food commercial. “The ‘locavore’ movement – where chefs source ingredients from local farms, ranches and fishermen – is what sets California apart. We and many other California chefs love to be able to grow our own produce and shop at the local farmer’s markets for the just-picked ingredients that make our plates the best around. I love pairing dishes with local wines from a winery right nearby. We are spoiled here, but we are happy to share that with our guests, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Award-winning celebrity chef Ben Ford, who recently spoke about California cuisine on America’s national morning TV show NBC’s “Today,” agrees. “At Ford’s Filling Station, we call ourselves a regional gastropub, focusing on seasonal menus based on what’s fresh and local,” Chef Ford said. “One of the most meditative parts of my day is foraging in my garden or local farmer’s markets, which sparks my creativity. Whatever I find inspires new menu items, which keeps customers coming back.”

Many big-time national chefs – celebrities in their own right – have been lured by this creative, laid-back lifestyle and abundant local ingredients. Scott Conant of Scarpetta Beverly Hills presents soulful, seasonally-inspired Italian dishes that offer fresh ingredients and clean, earthy flavors, while Thomas Keller and his team serve a French bistro-inspired cuisine from their travels at The French Laundry in Napa at Bouchon Bistro Beverly Hills. Rick Bayless of the PBS series “Mexico – One Plate at a Time” reinvents Mexican cuisine and serves up lighter California fare at Red O in L.A. Voted 2011 Best Restaurateur in the U.S. by Gayot.com, Michael Mina never fails to impress at his restaurant XIV in West Hollywood, with big-plate a la carte selections, robust market salads, sumptuous appetizers and shared plates. Mina also has several restaurants in San Francisco, such as Michael Mina, and other locations in California. Chef to the stars Brian Hill, who has worked for Mary J. Blige, Eddy Murphy and now has a Food Network show, has a roaming gourmet comfort food truck that diners find each day via Twitter. Other Food Network luminaries have joined in the game, such as Tyler Florence, who opened Tyler Florence Rotisserie & Wine in Napa, and Emmy-winner Chef Michael Chiarello of Bottega in Napa Valley.

Agricultural Bounty
The size of the state and the diversity of its soils and climates mean that a vast array of fresh, seasonal crops thrive here, making California the nation’s top agricultural state. More than 400 agricultural products are produced in California, and more than 117 varieties of winegrapes are grown here. This abundance of fresh ingredients and superior local wines attracts renowned chefs and sommeliers from all over the world, creating some of the best restaurants in the U.S.

Although produce, cheese, meats and seafood do come from the coastal areas of California, the leading agricultural county is the Central Valley. Sometimes called the “fruit basket” of the nation, the Central Valley is synonymous with orchards – beautiful, flowering fruit and nut trees in spring, branches laden with delicious peaches, plums and other fresh fruits in summer, and a bounty of nuts come fall. Fresno County, the top agricultural county in America and the raisin capital of the world, is a leading agritourism destination. From early February through late March, depending on weather conditions, the Fresno Blossom Trail leads visitors through a breathtaking display as hundreds of orchards burst into bloom. May through September, when produce ripens and local farmstands open, follow the Fresno County Fruit and Nut Trail. For those not visiting at these times, the Fresno Vineyard Farmer’s Market is open year-round. Throughout the seasons, these friendly farms, many of them family-run, host lively festivals and seasonal events where visitors can pick their own produce and taste and buy delicious pies, preserves and other treats straight from the farmers’ kitchens.

America’s Wine Country
California is America’s premier wine region, growing 117 varieties of grapes and producing 90 percent of U.S. wine, attracting more than 20 million wine lovers to tasting rooms in many of the nearly 3,000 wineries across the state. Since the Judgment of Paris in 1976, increasingly adventurous consumers look to California to set new trends. Winegrowers and vintners are stepping outside their comfort zones, producing new varietals that appeal to consumers’ curiosity and evolving palates. This means wine lovers can experience not only the award-winning wines California is famous for – such as Napa cabernets, Sonoma chardonnays and Paso Robles Rhône varietals – but different, unexpected varietals grown in both established and emerging wine regions. California also has the leading sustainable winegrowing program in the world and eco-friendly tours of wineries are popping up throughout the state to showcase this aspect of winemaking (e.g., Sustainable Vine Wine Tours in Santa Barbara, where visitors climb aboard a biodiesel-powered van to visit vineyards that practice organic and biodynamic farming). Kunde Estate in Sonoma features extensive hiking tours of their sustainable vineyards, while Cooper-Garrod in the Santa Cruz Mountains offers horseback rides through sustainable vineyards. As awareness of sustainability grows, an enthusiastic and savvy new generation of winegrowers and winemakers are taking the reins throughout California, combining great traditions with their own fresh perspective and talents. For more information on visiting wine regions, check out www.visitcalifornia.com/wineanddine, or for varietals and detailed winery information try www.discovercaliforniawine.com.

Wine and Food Festivals
To enhance California’s reputation as the culinary capital of America, CTTC will launch its second annual California Restaurant Month in January 2012, featuring dining promotions in hundreds of restaurants in more than 20 destinations across California. The program offers foodies the chance to dine at some of California’s finest restaurants at a value they can’t get any other time of year. California’s Wine Institute and the state’s wine industry also host California Wine Month each year in September to celebrate the state’s signature beverage, featuring special tastings, educational programs and events throughout the state.

There are too many wine and food festivals to mention, but visitors can rest assured that no matter where or when they travel here, there’s a wine or food event they can savor. In the Central Valley, many farm towns celebrate their bounty with events like Modesto’s Almond Blossom Festival (February), Stockton Asparagus Festival (April), Lodi ZinFest and Oakdale Chocolate Festival (May), Gilroy Garlic Festival (July) and the California State Fair’s Grape & Gourmet Competition in Sacramento (July).

Other regions celebrate, too. Down in Southern California, June is busy with annual wine events, such as the Temecula Valley Balloon & Wine Festival, the Newport Beach Wine Festival and the LAWineFest. Also in June are wine events such as the renowned Auction Napa Valley and the Vintners Festival in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Other notable spring events in the rest of the state include the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival and the Paso Robles Wine Festival in May, and the Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Festival in April.

The busiest season for wine festivals coincides with the fall wine harvest. Highlights include the Sunset – Savor the Central Coast (September) in several San Louis Obispo County locations, featuring unique culinary tours, celebrity chef demonstrations and extraordinary winemaker dinners.

Monterey’s Harvest: Farm to Table event (September) is a two-day, family-friendly, farm-to-table event with local and regional farmers, artisan cheese makers, food artisans, celebrity chefs and winemakers. Also in September is the Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival in Truckee, and the famous Sonoma Wine Country Weekend. Later in the fall is the Annual California Avocado Festival in Carpinteria (October) and the Annual San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival (November).
Although winter is the slow season for wine country, it’s a great time to meet the growers and winemakers. And a few destinations are throwing special events, such as the Crab and Wine Days in Mendocino and San Francisco’s Zinfandel Festival in January, followed by Madera’s Wine & Chocolate Weekend in February and Temecula’s World of Wine Barrel Tasting Weekend in March.

Immersive Wine and Food Programs and Tours
California offers many interesting programs and tours for wine and food lovers year-round. It’s impossible to mention them all, but a few highlights include: In the Kitchen with Lisa, featuring interactive tours in San Francisco’s Ferry Building and Mission District, wine country and Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto, the latter of which is also the location of the Kitchen on Fire improvisational culinary classes. Also in Northern California is the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute in Fort Bragg, the world’s premier organic raw vegan chef training school, widely considered the originator of the gourmet raw food movement. Robert Mondavi Winery and the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley offer classes on how to taste wines like a professional.

Market Forays in Santa Barbara teaches visitors to eat like a locavore during a guided culinary tour. Also on the Central Coast is The Taste of Monterey Wine Visitor Center in Monterey’s Cannery Row, featuring educational classes, special events and daily tastings from more than 70 local wineries.

In Southern California, Los Angeles’ California Sushi Academy and Sushi Institute of America offer classes dedicated to the art of making the finest sushi, reflecting the city’s strong Japanese base. There are many chefs offering cooking classes around the city, such as Chicks with Knives, two women chefs who offer sustainable cooking programs and a hot monthly sustainable supper club. The San Diego Wine and Culinary Center provides wine and food classes led by kitchen staff, local chefs and cookbook authors.

Wine blending classes abound all over the state. Notable examples include Ravenswood in Sonoma, which offers a “Blend Your Own No Wimpy Wine” class, where guests can play vintner for a few hours and try blending Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Carignane as their palate prefers and take home a bottle to impress their family and friends. Justin Vineyards & Winery in Paso Robles offers an Art of Blending class, while Chateau St. Jean in Sonoma County offers a Cinq Cépages Blending Seminar where visitors can try blending their flagship wine from five Bordeaux varietals. Joseph Phelps Vineyards in Napa Valley offers an Insignia Blending Seminar, where wine lovers can play winemaker for the day, tasting and comparing their blend with the winery’s current vintage.

California’s Signature Foods
In addition to being known for fresh ingredients, California’s destinations also boast unique local foods. Visitors are discovering local culinary delights that make each region distinctive. San Francisco, famous for fresh seafood, has amazing sourdough bread. The “Hangtown Fry” is unique to the Gold Country – as is the much loved Santa Maria barbecue in the Central Coast. For those who like sweets, head to the High Sierra for the delectable delights of Mono Cone or to Orange County for a famous Balboa Bar.

Background
CTTC is a non-profit organization with a mission to develop and maintain marketing programs – in partnership with the state’s travel industry – that keep California top-of-mind as a premier travel destination. According to CTTC, travel and tourism expenditures total $95.1 billion annually in California (18 percent of which is international), support jobs for 873,000 Californians and generate $6.1 billion in state and local tax revenues. For more information about CTTC and for a free California Visitor’s Guide, go to www.VisitCalifornia.com

Explore the Mile High City Using B-cycle, Denver’s Pioneering Bike Share Program

Introduced in 2010, Denver B-cycle offers an affordable, easy-to-use, and eco-friendly way to get to the city’s best attractions and neighborhoods.

With 850 miles of paved, off-road bike paths, the Mile High City is a cyclist’s paradise. 50 B-stations are located in convenient spots near downtown hotels, on the 16th Street Mall, by museums, at the Colorado Convention Center, in parks and at shopping centers.

All B-cyclists have to do is purchase a membership (online or at a station), pick a bike and start exploring. When they’re done, they can drop it off any station. Download the Denver B-cycle app or learn more about the program at http://denver.bcycle.com.

Cherry Creek Trail: Shop, Cycle and See the Sights

Pick Up A Bike At: 2900 Cherry Creek N. Drive (Cherry Creek Shopping Center)
Where To Go: After shopping at the upscale Cherry Creek Shopping District, roll onto the Cherry Creek Trail for an off-road ride. Bikers can follow the (mostly downhill) trail six miles all the way to the Riverfront neighborhood, home to such attractions as The Downtown Aquarium, The Children’s Museum of Denver, REI Flagship Store and Elitch Gardens Theme and Water Park.
Drop Off Your Bike At: 1416 Platte St. (REI)

City Park: Explore Denver’s Very Own Central Park
Pick Up A Bike At: 2045 Franklin St.

Where To Go: Cycle east on E. 21st Ave. towards the enormous City Park, a perfect place for a two-wheel adventure. Ride around Ferril Lake and be treated to sweeping views of the Denver skyline. During summer nights, the Prismatic Electric Fountain in Ferril Lake wows with columns of water colored red, white and blue. Visit the Denver Zoo or the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
Drop Off Your Bike At: 2045 Franklin St.

Washington Park: Take A Lakeside Spin
Pick Up A Bike At: 1280 S. Washington St. (Louisiana/Pearl Light Rail Station)
Where To Go: Ride east on E. Louisiana Ave. to Washington Park (Wash Park to locals), where you can coast around two lakes and kick back amidst flower gardens, big green lawns and fellow outdoor enthusiasts. Take Exposition Ave. east out of the park to Old South Gaylord St., a small but vibrant neighborhood with shops, art galleries, cafés, restaurants and taverns.
Drop Off Your Bike At: 1280 S. Washington St. (Louisiana/Pearl Light Rail Station)

Golden Triangle Museum District: Discover Arts & Culture On Two Wheels
Pick Up A Bike At: 10 W. 14th Ave. Parkway (Denver Public Library)
Where To Go: View the architecturally stunning Denver Art Museum from every possible angle. Take a spin around Civic Center Park, with the gold-domed Colorado State Capitol Building on one side and Denver City & County Building on the other. Head east on 13th Ave. to the Kirkland Museum or the Molly Brown House Museum to explore two of the city’s most interesting hidden gem museums.
Drop Off Your Bike At: 1291 Pearl St.

16th Street Mall & LoDo: Cycle Your Way Through Downtown Denver
Pick Up A Bike At: 1550 Glenarm St. (Denver Pavilions)
Where To Go: (Note: Bikes are only allowed on the 16th St. Mall on Sundays) Head northwest on the mile-long 16th St. Pedestrian Mall, passing the iconic Daniels & Fisher Tower and Skyline Park. Explore LoDo (lower downtown), home to the Tattered Cover Bookstore, Coors Field and the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (MCA), not to mention dozens of cafes, restaurants and bars.
Drop Off Your Bike At: 15th & Delgany (MCA Denver)

How To Get A B-cycle
Denver B-cycle charges a membership fee for unlimited access to the system for the duration of your chosen membership period, as well as a time-based usage fee that varies according to how long you keep the bike on each ride. You can buy a membership for 24 hours ($6), 7 days ($20), 30 days ($30) or one year ($65). All memberships can be purchased on http://denver.bcycle.com, and 24-hour memberships can also be purchased at the kiosk that is part of all 50 Denver B-stations. With your membership, the first 30 minutes of every B-cycle check out is no charge! After 30 minutes, there is a small usage charge for each additional 30 minutes you have the B-cycle checked out. As a member, you can check out a B-cycle multiple times within you membership period.

About VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau
Celebrating more than 100 years of promoting the Mile High City, VISIT DENVER is a nonprofit trade association that contracts with the City of Denver to market Denver as a convention and leisure destination, increasing economic development in the city, creating jobs and generating taxes. Tourism is the second largest industry in Denver, generating $2.8 billion in annual spending in 2009, while supporting nearly 50,000 jobs. Learn more about Denver at VISITDENVER.com, on Twitter @VisitDenver and Facebook.com/VisitDenver, or by phone at 800 2 DENVER

The Best of the Mile High City for the Young – and the Young at Heart

Families will find no shortage of fun for all ages in Denver, with zoos, theme parks, interactive museums, dinosaurs and much more.

DENVER ZOO

Denver Zoo, located in City Park, spans over 75 acres and is home to over 4,000 animals including rare amur leopards, okapi, black rhinoceros, elephants, vampire bats, orangutan, Komodo dragons and more. Children and families love the Zoo, thanks to special children’s workshops, summer camps, Family Book Club, and the Bunk with the Beasts overnight adventure. www.denverzoo.org

DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE

Exciting minds of all ages, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science lets kids explore fossils and dinosaurs, the mysteries of space at Gates Planetarium (it’s out of this world!), Egyptian mummies, the riddles of the human body at Expedition Health, and a slew of other hands-on exhibits. www.dmns.org

CHILDRENS MUSEUM OF DENVER

Educational, creative and fully interactive, this engaging museum for the younger set is chock-block with myriad exhibits, playscapes, and hands-on activities. Kids can shop in a makeshift grocery store and even play the part of the cashier, or brush up on their science quotient in the brand new Bubble laboratory. www.cmdenver.org

ELITCH GARDENS THEME & WATER PARK

Roller coaster groupies, Ferris wheel fans and aficionados of rides that spin, twist and twirl will find all that and more at this urbanized theme park, a catchall of thrills, spills and chills spanning 70 acres. With more than 45 rides, plus a 10-acre Water Park, musical stages, stunt shows, arcades and the StarToon Studios, a kiddie area with pint-sized fun, there’s something here for just about everyone. www.elitchgardens.com

WATER WORLD

America’s largest family water park features over 40 aquatic attractions on 67 beautifully landscaped acres, including two giant wave pools, white-water rapids, speed slides, the Big Top Family Fun Zone, Wally World for tots and much more. www.waterworldcolorado.com

DOWNTOWN AQUARIUM

Oceanic inspiration comes in all guises at this visually intoxicating aquarium, but the main draw is the 500 species of fish and marine life swimming in more than one million gallons of water. The exhibits, which traverse through a coral lagoon, Indonesian rainforests, North American wilderness, Sumatran tiger habitats, shipwrecks and wharfs, are engaging and exotic. Kids can feed the stingrays, swim with the sharks, pan for gold, become a marine biologist for a day, or even spend the night in the aquarium.

www.aquariumrestaurants.com/downtownaquariumdenver

BUTTERFLY PAVILION & INSECT CENTER

Located in Westminster, a 15-minute drive from downtown Denver, this stand-alone insect zoo is the perfect indoor refuge in which to interact with live invertebrates fluttering around a lush rainforest, or to hold Rosie, a Chilean Rose Hair tarantula, in the palm of your hand. The Wings Over the Tropics conservatory is home to more than 1,200 flitting butterflies, moths and skippers, shipped from farms as far away as Kenya and Ecuador. www.butterflies.org

DENVER BOTANIC GARDENS

Art and science unite in the gardens’ spectacular 23-acre site, offering an unforgettable experience for the whole family, as well as a living laboratory for education and plant conservation programs. The new Mordecai Children’s Garden offers a place to play, explore and discover. Young naturalists will have the opportunity to learn unique characteristics of plants living in the Rooftop Alpine Garden, discover how plants and animals live together on Marmot Mountain, race pinecones down Springmelt Stream, and hunt for bugs in the Glorious Grasslands and observe aquatic life at Pipsqueak Pond. www.botanicgardens.org

DINOSAUR RIDGE

Learn about prehistoric Colorado residents at Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison, where visitors can touch the bones of Allosaurus and Stegosaurus at the site where important dinosaur discoveries were made in the late 1800s. See how Iguanadons walked by viewing real dinosaur footprints forever preserved in the sandstone. www.dinoridge.org

COLORADO RAILROAD MUSEUM

Lose track of time year-round at our Depot Museum and 15-acre railyard featuring over 100 engines, cabooses and coaches, and our garden railway, renowned library and roundhouse restoration facility with working turntable. Special events and train rides behind a vintage steam locomotive throughout the year. www.crrm.org

About VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau

Celebrating more than 100 years of promoting the Mile High City, VISIT DENVER is a nonprofit trade association that contracts with the City of Denver to market Denver as a convention and leisure destination, increasing economic development in the city, creating jobs and generating taxes. Tourism is the second largest industry in Denver, generating $2.8 billion in annual spending in 2009, while supporting nearly 50,000 jobs. Learn more about Denver at www.VISITDENVER.com , on Twitter @VisitDenver and Facebook.com/VisitDenver, or by phone at 800 2 DENVER.

With this past winter’s snowfall at 165% of normal, Shasta Cascade lakes are now postcard-perfect settings with clear blue lakes licking at the edges of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
“Gone is the expanse of shoreline that used to ring Shasta Lake, Trinity Lake and Lake Oroville,” says Karen Whitaker, Director of Tourism for the Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association (SCWA). “And with so much snow yet to melt this scene should continue for quite a while.” The high water is just 12 feet from the top of Trinity Dam and six feet from the top of Shasta Dam, which is the largest center overflow dam in the world.

“Effectively, that’s full,” says Bob Warren, the SCWA’s general manager. “It looks absolutely full. In places, the forest crowds the lake, reaching out over it. People just have to get out on the water when it looks this nice,” says Warren.

“They’ll be kayaking, sailing and swimming at Whiskeytown, playing with their water toys at Trinity, Shasta, Almanor and Oroville and fishing all of them.”

“In big water years like this, everyone has a great time,” says Warren. “The whitewater rafting couldn’t be better right now with flows between 2,000 and 3,000 cubic feet per second.” Dana Steinhauser of Trinity River Rafting, one of the region’s most experienced outfitters, says “It’s fun for us, right now. After years of experiencing normal flows, the rafting community is ready to grow and try something more exciting. The big water is drawing them back.”

Year-round rafting is available on the dam-controlled Trinity and Klamath Rivers, though even the region’s many free-flowing sections, such as the Upper Sacramento, Canyon Creek and the Cal Salmon will have long seasons that extend to mid-summer.

For example, the Burnt Ranch Gorge with its impressive drops and rugged walls is one of those free-flowing sections with challenging and exhilarating Class V rafting. “This year, we expect Class V rapids on Burnt Ranch to mid-July,” Steinhauser says.

In some places high water can discourage fishing, but not in the Shasta Cascade, explains Duane Milleman, manager of The Fly Shop Outfitters in Redding. “In our area are two spring-fed creeks that fish very well, as well as several impoundments that are full of water and fishing wonderfully well. Then, the Lower Sacramento is not affected by the water, because it’s controlled. And, there are legendary waters like Hat Creek and Fall River. So, if one water is a bit too turbulent we’ll guide somewhere else, nearby.”

High water has a beneficial effect on the fishery in the long run, says Milleman, “Every stream needs to be scrubbed, and when we don’t have high water, there’s not that scrubbing effect. Big flows make rivers, healthier, more alive and buggier than they’d otherwise be.”

Aquatic habitat benefits in big water years and not just for the fish. Tule Lake, Eagle Lake and Goose Lake attract many migratory birds including a large wintering population of bald eagles to the Klamath National Wildlife Refuge in the furthermost northern part of the Shasta Cascade. These lakes are wild and remote. Goose Lake is so big that when settlers first saw it, they thought they’d reached the Pacific Ocean.

So, high water is sure to bring high times to the Shasta Cascade. For more about the region, visit www.shastacascade.org or www.visitredding.com

Some “app” happy people plant virtual gardens, harvest their crops and feed virtual baby chicks, others hurl birds at walls to topple pillars and have words with friends. While these smart phone apps have their entertaining purposes, the best application for the new tools is travel. California’s Central Valley’s new smart phone app, The NorCal Guide, gives visitors the way to expand their days, weekends and vacations by providing access to the hidden secrets around them.

An area just smaller than the state of West Virginia, the Central Valley encompasses a stretch of picturesque California from Lodi and Sacramento’s Gold Country to Bakersfield, just 50 miles north of Los Angeles. The new smart phone app gives travelers a thousand reasons to stop, see, taste and experience something new, instead of staying on the Interstate to get from point A to B.

Featuring more than 40 Northern California cities, the application was created in partnership with the Central Valley Tourism Association and Gold Country Visitors Association. The app will allow road-trippers and bus tour passengers to easily check thousands of points of interest including restaurants, attractions, wineries, cultural and historic sites, national park and historic sites, hotels and more. The app will also feature local deals and events for each city.

Want free cheese “squeakers” made at the Hilmar Cheese factory today? Or to taste some asparagus ice cream in Stockton? Sample flights of Zinfandel in Lodi? Find the sales at a designer outlet store in Vacaville? Check the train schedule for the River Train in Sacramento? Visitors will be able to find things to do on the weekend they are visiting as well as fun extras offered every day. The NorCal Guide app introduces visitors to the California they haven’t met.

The app is free and is produced in partnership with the Central Valley Tourism Association, the Gold Country Visitors Association and the California Travel & Tourism Commission. The travel guide app can be found on the app store and iTunes under “NorCalGuide.” Look for an Android version this fall. More info at www.TheNorCalGuide.com

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah will introduce a brand new Natural History Museum and a newly renovated Dinosaur National Monument this fall, creating accessible scientific experiences for families and educating them on the state’s unique history, landscapes, wildlife and other natural wonders.

A new dinosaur exhibit at the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site. These new authentic landmarks will create a place of learning and inspiration for people of all ages and showcase Utah’s awe-inspiring environment. Stunning architecture, experiential stories and guided tours will take families on a trip through time, allowing them to discover an invaluable part of Utah’s past.

Natural History Museum – Salt Lake City, UT

The Natural History Museum of Utah, set to open in its new home, the Rio Tinto Center, this fall, will provide a portal into the state’s diverse history and make science come alive through all new interactive exhibits and programming, immersive design and public spaces representing different time periods.

Located on a beautiful site above the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, visitors will be taken on a journey through space and time with themes such as Sky, Life, Native Voices, Past Worlds, First Peoples and the Great Salt Lake, as well as experience outdoor exhibits and performance spaces. As the state’s designated natural history museum, the Natural History Museum of Utah will celebrate Utah’s native peoples, cultures and extraordinary ecology and demonstrate links connecting the past, present and future.

The unique design of the new Rio Tinto Center embodies the Museum’s educational and scientific mission to stimulate discovery, curiosity and excitement of the natural world and the place of humans in it.

The visionary architecture, which blurs the boundaries between built and natural environments, was conceptualized to represent Utah’s landscape and geology over time. In addition to educating and inspiring visitors, the new museum will have appropriate storage cabinets, temperatures and lighting controls to better preserve and protect the 1.2 million objects enclosed within its walls and cared for by Museum experts, including dinosaur bones, rare insects and pre-historic pottery and tools. Striving for Gold LEED-certification, the new building will encompass green values to increase energy efficiency and promote green behavior, as well as save money and resources. For more information, visit http://umnh.utah.edu

Dinosaur National Monument – Jensen, UT

The Quarry Visitor Center and Quarry Exhibit Hall in the Dinosaur National Monument, closed since 2006 for renovation and set to debut early October 2011, will offer the state’s most dramatic dinosaur display, with the fossilized remains of over 1,500 Jurassic dinosaur bones preserved in a 200-foot-long wall.

The Quarry, encompassing less than 100 acres, is the only place in the 210,000-acre monument where the public can easily see dinosaur fossils embedded in rock.

The restored Exhibit Hall will feature all-new exhibits addressing the dinosaurs’ life on Earth, including a large mural which will portray Dinosaur National Monument as it may have looked 149 million years ago, depicting more than 50 different ancient species. Beyond the Quarry, Dinosaur National Monument offers trails, tours and activities which highlight the area’s sweeping scenery, rushing rivers, dramatic canyons, unique geology and a rich cultural history. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/dino

St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site – St. George, UT

Also new on Utah’s dinosaur scene is the Scelidosaurus dinosaur exhibit at the 200 million-year-old St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm.

The museum, which preserves dinosaur tracks, fossils and other remains, is now home to a replica of the English dinosaur Scelidosaurus and the only place in the Americas the dinosaur has been on display. Since it was first discovered in 1851, only about a dozen, mostly incomplete specimens of this dinosaur have been found, but in 2000, a virtually complete skeleton was discovered near the town of Charmouth, England, its hundreds of armor plates and spikes preserved in their life positions.

The Scelidosaurus was able to maintain such extraordinary detail because it was preserved in a hard nodule of rock that formed before the bones had a chance to fall apart.

It made its way to St. George because of a generous donation from local lawyers Virginius “Jinks” and Barbara Anne Dabney, who appreciated the uniqueness of the dinosaur, saw that it would fit well with the other dinosaur fossils featured in the museum and volunteered to sponsor its arrival to the US. For more information, visit www.UtahDinosaurs.com .

For more information on museum offerings throughout Utah, visit www.arts.utah.gov

About Utah

Home to five national parks, 43 state parks, seven national monuments, two national recreation areas and “The Greatest Snow on Earth®,” Utah represents the best of both the Rocky Mountains and the Desert Southwest. Whether it’s heart-thumping downhill skiing, picturesque fly fishing, life-defying rock climbing, serene bird watching, thrill-seeking white water rafting or just communing with nature, Utah has it all – holding true to the state’s Life Elevated® brand.

To contact the Utah Office of Tourism, an agency of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, or to view the Utah Travel Guide online, please visit www.visitutah.com or call (800) 200-1160 or (801) 538-1900.

We recently completed construction on our newest Haiyi star! We will open a new wine tavern and restaurant in the old goodpizza space inside of the San Francisco-based Good Hotel in mid-June.

The new restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and will feature more than two dozen wines, an extensive beer list as well as delicious comfort food and shareable plates! The new F&B director, RJ Quiamboa, who oversees all of Haiyi Hotels’ food and beverage operations including Custom Burger & Lounge is bringing years of experience from the Bay Area. Along with his passion for creating unique yet approachable comfort food, he plans to introduce seasonal menus using local and sustainable items whenever possible.

Only Californian wines will be featured and eight of these will be kept on tap using an Enomatic Wine Delivery System. Draft beer selections will be routed through a Frosted Ice Tower where a glycol-cooled chrome tower frosts over and delivers a perfectly cool pint with each pull.

We will also partner with www.ReCORK.org and serve as a local collection site for wine cork recycling in the SoMa area. The wine tavern will include “green” and sustainable themes and will highlight programs such as composting, glass and paper recycling, water conservation, and educational messages about ReCORK.org and the importance of recycling natural cork materials. (www.thegoodhotel.com)

The BEST WESTERN PLUS Americania Hotel will partner with Streets of San Francisco (SoSF) Bike Tours to begin a series of guided bicycle tours of the South of Market district (SoMa). This new tour is specific to the SoMa district and will begin at the Americania Hotel and feature sights such as AT&T Park, Bay Bridge, Ferry Building and Mission Bay.

The SoMa Guided Tour begins the beginning of July 2011 and will be held every Saturday morning throughout the summer.

These tours are open to hotel guests and the public, and are available to adventurers who are 13 years and older. Besides bikes, the guided tours will include safety instruction, equipment fittings, water and a snack stop all for $65 per person.

The new bike tour was developed in order to provide an alternative location for visitors and residents who would like to experience San Francisco on two wheels without having to start their trip at Pier 39. (www.sosfbiketours.com)

Day 1
Travel to the beautiful Eastern Gateway of West Virginia, the only state created during the Civil War, and your home for a step back into time. Find out what it was like to live through the Civil War at a time when this area was still part of Virginia.

Day 2
Today we go back in time beginning with Harpers Ferry National Historic Park where interpretive guides explain the chilling experiences of 1859 and John Brown’s influence on the Civil War. Following a guided tour, explore the many shops and exhibits on your own to get a feel for the “Ferry.” Next stop, the bloodiest day of the Civil War—Antietam.

The National Park Service explains what the battle was like as you drive through the battlefield. Some say they can still hear the cries of the injured. Follow the path of the Antietam wounded to Shepherdstown, the oldest town in West Virginia.

Be sure to stop at O’Hurley’s General Store for some time-tested merchandise. The Jefferson County Museum in Charles Town provides insight into this era. The actual cart used to transport John Brown to the gallows is on display and don’t forget to view the Jefferson County Court House, the site of John Brown’s trial for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia. Tonight, follow the steps of those who went before during the “Ghost” tour of Harpers Ferry. Your guide tells of documented stories of the violent and often mystical experiences of former residents of this small village. www.hello-wv.com

Overnight suggestions: The Inn at Charles Town (www.ctownraces.com ); the Bavarian Inn (www.bavarianinnwv.com ); Thomas Shepherd Inn (www.thomasshepherdinn.com)

Day 3
It’s time to move on to Martinsburg, a vital transportation link during the Civil War due to the railroad’s location. The Belle Boyd House was the home of Confederate spy Belle Boyd and includes a museum, book store and genealogy department. This afternoon, Berkeley Springs is your host as you explore the antique malls and self-help shops. Berkeley Springs State Park was the nation’s first health spa and the 1815 Roman Bath House with private 750 gallon bathing pools is open today for your use. www.travelwv.com , www.berkeleysprings.com
 Overnight suggestions: The Woods Resort (www.thewoodsresort.com ); the Country Inn at Berkeley Springs (www.thecountryinnatberkeleysprings.com ); Cacapon Resort State Park (www.cacaponresort.com)

Day 4
After a stop at Prospect Peak, the scenic overlook National Geographic lists as one of America’s most outstanding views, we change our mode of transportation today as we travel through the valley cut by the South Branch of the Potomac River known as “The Trough.” Board the Potomac Eagle Excursion Train for a three hour trip through some of the most beautiful countryside in West Virginia. Eagle sightings are not guaranteed on every trip, but the vistas and vintage train make the trip worthwhile.

Gourmet Central with gourmet jams, jellies, sauces and dips will be available to take home. Final stop the Paw Paw Tunnel, a hand-hewn stone relic of 1836 – 1850 and part of the C & O Canal National Parkway. The tunnel is open to non-motorized traffic only. www.cometohampshire.com

Day 5
Today you travel south toVirginiato experience their many Civil War sights or north toPennsylvaniafor a stop atGettysburg. Remember, the eastern panhandle is only the beginning of the Civil War experience in West Virginia, plan now to return in the future.

Come Play: Have an adventure!

Tulare County offers a plethora of white water rafting opportunities to those seeking a more intimate encounter with the area’s alpine rivers. On both the Kaweah River near Three Rivers and the Kings River above the Pine Flat Dam, area tour operators offer a wide array of guided rafting trips sure to boost the pulse.

Many operators are predicting this summer’s rafting season could be epic because of all of the snow dumped on the Sierra this past winter.

Beyond Limits specializes in one day trips. There’s only about an eight-mile section of the river that we run,” says owner Mike Doyle. “So if you want to do a two day trip, you end up running the same stretch of river twice.”

Many of the Kaweah’s rapids are rated Class Four and in big water years, Class Five.

“The Kaweah requires advanced-level skills and is not recommended for younger children or first time rafters,” says Doyle, who requires all of his clients to wear helmets. Doyle recommends the Kings or American rivers for recreational and less experienced rafters.

Beyond Limits uses eight-man Sotar self-baling rafts. “Everyone paddles,” says Doyle. More information on Beyond Limits’ packages is available at www.rivertrip.com or by calling Where White Water Beckons at (800) 234-RAFT.

Kaweah Whitewater Adventures offers full-day and half-day trips on a ten-mile stretch of the river from near the Gateway Restaurant in Three Rivers down to Kaweah Lake. Owner Frank Root says the upper half of that stretch of the river contains the more difficult whitewater. The Kaweah offers one of the most continuous stretches of river rapids in California especially on the upper six-mile stretch.

“Hard-core rafting enthusiasts come from all over to run the Upper Kaweah,” says Root. “It’s an exciting ride and people need to be in good shape.”

Kaweah Whitewater Adventures uses 14-foot Aire rafts that carry eight people, including the guide. Root says the recommended minimum age limit for the Upper Kaweah is 14 and between 8 and 12 depending on how fast the river is running” for the lower section.

More information about KWA’s packages is available at www.kaweahwhitewater.com  or by calling (800) 229-8658 or (559) 740-8251.

Other companies running area river tours include:

Whitewater Voyages (800) 400-7238 www.whitewatervoyages.com
All Outdoors Rafting (800) 247-2387 www.aorafting.com
Kings River Expeditions (800) 846-3674 www.kingsriver.com

For more tourism planning information for the Visalia and Tulare County area, please go to: www.visitvisalia.org or www.DiscoverTulareCounty.com