While we’re still waiting for the rain to end, or at least turn from torrent to occasional shower, it’s a good time to plan some summertime “time out.”
We talked earlier about voluntourism, making yourself useful, and also the zany idea of following routes laid out in the excellent 1939 Works Progress Administration (WPA) Guide to California. Zany, because who knows where you’ll end up?
The landscape has changed a bit over the last 80 years, and the roads of 1939 have different names now, if they exist at all. You’ll have to pioneer. (PS: Before you wander off, take all proper precautions. Whatever happens, don’t blame me.)
If you decide to take the WPA guide along, as a travel companion, I forgot to mention that if you can’t find it locally, you can get a paperback facsimile of the original edition through your favorite online bookstore.
Here’s another thing you can do on your unique California vacation: Pick a passion, any personal interest, and pursue it thoroughly. For a solid week or more, or on weekends only, for a couple months—whatever makes the most sense for you and the adventure you’re creating.
You are surely the best judge of where to go, why, and how to do it. But to kick off the brainstorm, consider these ideas:
How about county fairs? In the 1970s, Chico State alum Mikkel Aaland turned his intense interest in county fairs, their all-American “familiness,” into the stunning book County Fair Portraits, reissued in 2012.
Get inspired too, at any of California’s 78 county fairs. Go big at the Los Angeles, Orange County, and San DiegoCounty Fairs—San Diego’s is the biggest, I’m told, in terms of attendance—which have all the raucous rah-rah, and run a month or more.
Or, stay small, with local fairs, and the likes of the Santa Cruz County Fair in Watsonville, Ferndale’s Humboldt County Fair, and the inimitable Mendocino County Fair & Apple Show in Boonville, completely old-school. And combine county fairs with other interests. Mineral shows, say, or country-western music.
At the Mendocino fair, for example, knitters and weavers would want to focus on the California Wool and Fiber Festival. Dog people, the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma is famous for its annual World’s Ugliest Dog Contest.
How about baseball with a small “B”? Small-town baseball—local leagues—NCAA teams like the Humboldt Crabs, and Minor League Baseball, triple-A, double-A, Class A, and Rookie farm teams for the Majors. An obvious starting point, here in the north, would be the triple-A Sacramento River Cats, affiliated with the San Francisco Giants. But be warned: Following farm teams can lead far afield, even into linguistic adventure. San Diego Padres fans know all about the new double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles. That’s right, sod poodles. Prairie dogs, people, very old-timey term.
Other ideas: Best redwood hikes. Tallest mountain peaks. Best small museums. Out-there swimming holes. Best hot springs. Kayaking lakes and reservoirs. Best ethnic restaurants, or burgers. Bicycle races. Rodeos. Horse shows. Dog shows. Best beach towns, including Santa Cruz and its Beach Boardwalk, perfect for people-watching since 1907. Best small mountain towns. Best volcanoes.
Until next time, when we explore more ideas to localize your summer vacation, this time through cultural heritage, this is Kim Weir for Up the Road and North State Public Radio.
