Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It's Saturday, Nov. 4. Here's what you need to know to start your weekend:
- The ultimate guide to fall road trips
- Six Flags and Knott's Berry Farm to merge in a theme park megadeal
- 80 wonderful gift shops you can find only in L.A.
- And here's today's e-newspaper
The ultimate guide to fall road trips
Road tripping is one of the best ways to explore California, and this is the best season for it.
You can ride with the windows down without sweat dripping down your face, and you'll meet fewer crowds at your destinations.
We put together the ultimate guide to fall road trips just for you.
Even after years as a road tripping Californian, I was unprepared for the road to Big Bear. For miles, there is nothing but trees, mountains and cars zooming past the twists and turns. My playlist started and stopped as cell service came and went, and my friend and I worried about whether we'd have to pee out in nature. (We had emergency toilet paper in the trunk!)
(Brady Enger / Visit Big Bear)
We ended up at the Woodland Trail in the San Bernardino National Forest for an easy hike and grabbed lunch before heading back to L.A.
The key to a great road trip is keeping it manageable for a single day.
It's much easier in the fall. And more beautiful. For instance, Mammoth Lakes is very popular during the summer, but when it's mostly empty and the leaves are changing — as is happening now — you can't beat it (plus, if you tend to get carsick, the road is much straighter).
But there's so much more to this state than mountains. When a friend and I came upon windmills in the desert outside Palm Springs, with the mountains behind them, it felt like we had been transported into a postcard.
(400tmax/Getty Images/iStockphoto)
California's mountains, deserts and beaches are easily accessible nearly anywhere in the state. That's one thing I remind my relatives when they ask why I insist on living in one of the most expensive places in the country.
Grab some water and snacks, fill up the tank and drive. Oh, and don't forget to make a playlist, which is as essential as deciding where to go. For me, it's a must to at least have music cued up from Beyoncé and Stevie Wonder.
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Column One
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(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
A $7-million dream: Steinbeck's vintage sardine boat makes its modern debut. John Gregg's childhood dream was rooted in Steinbeck's Cannery Row. And $7 million later, he owned a piece of it: the 1937 sardine boat that had plied the Sea of Cortez.
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For your weekend
Animation is projected on the Pleasure Med building. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Going out
Staying in
L.A. Affairs
(Rasato Ma / For The Times)
Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.
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Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Elvia Limón, multiplatform editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
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