1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die (91 page)

If La Jolla begins to feel all too precious, it needn’t. Stop in at George’s at the Cove, a local institution where cove views are matched by consistently great cuisine and a bill that won’t break the bank. It gets even better upstairs on a splendid rooftop terrace, where the million-dollar sunset comes free with dinner.

W
HERE
: 15 miles north of San Diego.
L
A
V
ALENCIA
: Tel 800-451-0772 or 858-454-0771;
www.lavalencia.com
.
Cost:
from $275.
S
URF
D
IVA
S
URF
S
CHOOL
: Tel 858-454-8273;
www.surfdiva.com
.
Cost:
$148 for 2-day clinic.
T
ORREY
P
INES
G
OLF
C
OURSE
: Tel 800-985-4653 or 858-453-4420;
www.torreypinesgolfcourse.com
.
Cost:
greens fees from $124.
T
HE
L
ODGE AT
T
ORREY
P
INES
: Tel 800-656-0087 or 858-453-4420;
www.lodgetorreypines.com
.
Cost:
from $300 (off-peak), from $450 (peak).
L
A
J
OLLA
P
LAYHOUSE
: Tel 858-550-1010;
www.lajollaplayhouse.com
.
Cost:
tickets from $28.
When:
May–Nov.
G
EORGE’S
: Tel 858-454-4244;
www.georgesatthecove.com
.
Cost:
dinner $45.
B
EST TIMES
: fall and spring for weather; 2 days in late June for the La Jolla Festival of the Arts (
www.lajollaartsfestival.org
).

Life Imitates Art

Laguna Beach, California

The Pageant of the Masters is an extraordinary bit of theater. Set in the charming artists colony and coastal community of Laguna Beach, it is part of California’s oldest art show, the Festival of the Arts, held each summer
since 1932. The unique pageant is an annually changing selection of masterpiece paintings and sculptures meticulously re-created and depicted live onstage—motionless (or nearly motionless)
tableaux vivants
of Botticellis and Seurats—every night of the festival. Since real
people take the place of the figures showcased in the original works, everything is in “life-size” detail. It’s a remarkable sight, enriched by explanations of exactly how the hundreds of volunteers construct the sets, costume and prepare the “actors,” and compose the scenes before revealing the finished product. Running concurrently is the formerly “alternative,” now well-established, Sawdust Festival, a charming collection showcasing over 150 local artists in booths arranged across a sawdust-covered canyon hillside.

Re-creating masterpiece paintings such as this one onstage is a festival favorite.

Not to be missed is Laguna itself. One of a number of seaside jewels strung together by the Pacific Coast Highway (Laguna’s Main Street), the formerly funky, sleepy seaside community has morphed into an expensive and bustling town. Galleries are open regularly and time their closings on Thursdays to accommodate the weekly Art Walk.

For accommodations, consider the ocean-front Montage Resort & Spa, which offers breathtaking ocean views from every point of its 30-acre bluff-top setting. The local love affair with art is obvious here, with works by contemporary and early 20th-century artists filling the Arts and Crafts–inspired interior. Its spa is one of the newest in the state, and the quality of its therapists makes it one of the country’s best. Its signature restaurant Studio serves Mediterranean cuisine so authentic you’ll imagine that’s where you are.

W
HERE
: 50 miles south of Los Angeles.
P
AGEANT OF
T
HE
M
ASTERS AND
F
ESTIVAL OF THE
A
RTS
: Tel 800-487-3375 or 949-497-6582;
www.foapom.com
.
Cost:
Pageant tickets from $20.
When:
July–Aug.
S
AWDUST
F
ESTIVAL
: Tel 949-494-3030;
www.sawdustartfestival.org
.
When:
July–early Sept.
M
ONTAGE
R
ESORT
: Tel 888-715-6700 or 949-715-6000;
www.montagelagunabeach.com
.
Cost:
from $495 (off-peak), from $595 (peak).
B
EST TIMES
: Jul–Aug for Pageant of the Masters; off-season for pleasant weather and fewer crowds.

The Last of Her Kind

Long Beach, California

Book a cabin aboard this grand old art deco ship, or come for just a few hours of fantasy travel—a visit here takes you back to a time when travel was a decadent pleasure to be savored. Though she no longer leaves the
harbor (docked here since 1967), your imagination will instantly embark upon an old-world journey the minute you board the classic luxury liner known as the
Queen Mary.

Commissioned by Cunard Steamship Co., the
Queen Mary
made her maiden voyage in 1936, and remains a stunning piece of engineering to this day. Totaling 1,019 feet in length, 187 feet from keel to the top of her foremost smokestack, and weighing in at over 87,000 gross tons, the deco beauty made 1,001 transatlantic crossings before retiring in 1967. During that time she served four years of war duty, carrying more than 765,000 military personnel, including Winston Churchill. Today, she remains elegant inside and out, with a
sleek lobby and 365 original first-class staterooms (total capacity was just under 2,000 passengers) including art deco built-ins and rich wood accents. Much has been written about the ship’s ghost population: Sign up for one of the tours to find out more about the paranormal activity that carries on today.

During her stint as a WWII troopship, the
Queen Mary
sometimes carried as many as 15,000 men in a single voyage.

You don’t have to spend the night to experience this throwback to the golden era of travel. Pay a modest admission and take a self-guided tour to learn about the legendary era of the
Queen
; pay a little more for a behind-the-scenes tour; or arrive in early evening for cocktails at the elegant Observation Bar, or dinner at one of the three restaurants. The aptly named Grand Salon, the ship’s original first-class dining room, is the setting for the famous Champagne Sunday Brunch with a live harpist and buffet extravaganza.

W
HERE
: 23 miles south of Los Angeles. Tel 562-435-3511;
www.queenmary.com
.
C
OST
: admission from $23, waived for those dining. Staterooms from $109 (off-peak), from $139 (peak).
B
EST TIMES
: various annual events on board, including a New Year’s Eve bash.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Anaheim, California

In 1955, when filmmaker Walt Disney opened up his eponymous amusement park, promoted as the world’s first family-oriented mega–theme park and hotel, it was dubbed “Walt’s Folly.” Today, it is hard to imagine the world
without this little place called Disneyland—and the global spin-offs it has spawned.

The park has come a long way since Walt’s time, when everything could be experienced in one long, sunny California day. The original park is now a vast resort, brightly proclaiming itself “The Happiest Place on Earth,” and requires multiple days to fully explore. It includes two theme parks (Disneyland and the newer Disney’s California Adventure), a shopping and entertainment area (Downtown Disney), and three hotels.

The cast of Disney characters that roam the park, stopping for hugs and posing for photos, is still one of the greatest attractions for younger visitors. Lines can be long, so if you’re being selective, make sure to include the movie inspiration Pirates of the Caribbean, one of the longest and best rides in the park. It’s full of the animatronic imagery and storytelling that made this the gold standard of amusement parks. Ditto the Haunted Mansion. Thrill-ride enthusiasts can get their roller-coaster fix at Space Mountain, while Fantasyland offers sweeter, more whimsical rides like Alice in Wonderland, where riders hop a caterpillar down into Wonderland.

Disney’s California Adventure, located
across from the entrance plaza, is divided into areas reflecting various parts of the great state (the Golden Gate Bridge greets you at the entrance), including more older-attendee-pleasing sections devoted to exhibits about the state’s agriculture and history. Kids prefer the amusement park–style rides on the Paradise Pier or the unpredictable splashes from the Grizzly River Run. Take the little kids on the
Bug’s Life
–themed Heimlich’s Chew-Chew to join that Teutonic caterpillar as he chomps his way around.

Though Anaheim was once little more than orange orchards, Disney’s presence lured a number of other attractions here. Restaurants near the park include Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen, which serves straight-out-of-New-Orleans dishes of Cajun-Creole flair such as oysters Rockefeller and an excellent gumbo in an ambience redolent of the French Quarter. Conveniently located just opposite the theme park’s ticket booth is the outpost of L.A.’s famed La Brea Bakery, which offers terrific grilled sandwiches on their nationally acclaimed bread, plus sweets to die for. The best treat for theme park enthusiasts beyond Disneyland itself is a stay at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, modeled after Yosemite’s landmark Ahwahnee Hotel (see p. 862). It’s a perfect homage to the Arts and Crafts movement, with its cavernous yet homey six-story lobby complete with an enormous river-rock wood-burning fireplace big enough to walk into; regular storytelling sessions take place here for the kids. The hotel doesn’t disappoint with the surprisingly sophisticated Napa Rose restaurant, which will have you believe you’re dining somewhere in California’s fabled wine country.

W
HERE
: 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
D
ISNEYLAND
/C
ALIFORNIA
A
DVENTURE
: Tel 800-225-2024 or 714-781-4565;
www.disneyland.com
.
Cost:
2-day Park Hopper ticket $102 (ages 3–9), $122 (ages 10 and up).
R
ALPH
B
RENNAN’S
J
AZZ
K
ITCHEN
: Tel 714-776-5200;
www.rbjazzkitchen.com
.
Cost:
lunch $25.
L
A
B
REA
B
AKERY
: Tel 714-490-0233;
www.labreabakery.com
.
Cost:
lunch $13.
G
RAND
C
ALIFORNIAN
H
OTEL
: Tel 714-956-6425;
www.disneyland.com
.
Cost:
from $300; dinner at Napa Rose $30.
B
EST TIMES
: Sept–May for weather; middle of the week to avoid the long lines.

Everything’s Waitin’ for You!

Los Angeles, California