California Road Trips - 2019 - 28

ROAD TRIPS 2019
LOS ALAMOS
CAPITOLA

In Capitola, browsers and beach
bums ﬁnd common ground. Just
over 5 miles from Santa Cruz, the
seaside resort's lively Esplanade overﬂows with boutiques selling swimwear and ﬂip-ﬂops, and vividly painted beachfront bungalows glow like an
Instagram dream. At Capitola Seashells, sort through bins ﬁlled with tiger
cowries, wavy turbans, and sugar stars. Or check out the famous O'Neill
Surf Shop, founded by surﬁng giant Jack O'Neill in the 1950s. Head over
to Pleasure Point to watch surfers conquer the waves, or rent a board at
Capitola Beach and work on your pop-up. Get a view of it all by climbing
86 steps to Depot Hill, where 1890s Victorians overlook the town, then
make a beeline for the go-to spot for sunset, Zelda's on the Beach.

Judged by its cover, Los Alamos
doesn't seem much changed from
its stagecoach-stop days. The
1880 Union Hotel still reigns over
Bell Street, and Santa Barbara
is far enough away (45 miles)
that getting here takes effort. Yet
recently Los Alamos has garnered
the nickname "Little L.A.," and one
reason is the food. Get up early to
sample the croque-madame at
Bob's Well Bread. At lunch, order
a ﬂatbread baked in Full of Life's
20-ton stone hearth. For dinner,
Bell's steak tartare rivals that of
any Paris bistro. And then there's
the wine: Casa Dumetz makes
Grenache from local fruit and LoFi serves wines to a soundtrack of
vinyl records. After a day of eating
and drinking, retire to your room
at the hilltop Skyview Motel.

Don't come to Kernville without your
sunscreen. In this outdoor-adventure
town 50 miles northeast of Bakersﬁeld, daylight hours are devoted to
river rafting, ﬂy-ﬁshing, mountain biking, and hiking. The Kern River tops
the bill for summertime action, ranking as one of the steepest navigable
rivers in the United States. (Book a
rafting trip with Kern River Outﬁtters
or Sierra South Mountain Sports.) In
the Kern's quieter stretches, anglers
vie for prized golden trout, and the
Kern River Fly Shop offers casting
lessons and classes. There's plenty of
land-based recreation, too. Amp up
your adrenaline on the roller coaster
Cannell Plunge mountain bike trail or
walk past gargantuan sequoia trees
on the Trail of 100 Giants. After you've
worn yourself out, head to the Kern
River Brewing Company and toast
your day with the brewmaster's ﬂagship Class V Stout.
Kern River

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KERNVILLE

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California Road Trips - 2019

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