California Travel Guide

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California's allure is understandable. It really is warm and sunny most of the year, movie stars do abound in Los Angeles, and you can't swing a cat by its tail without hitting a rollerblading hottie in Venice Beach. This part of the California mystique -- however exaggerated it may be -- does exist, and it's not hard to find.

But there's more -- a lot more -- to California that isn't scripted, sanitized, and broadcast to the world's mesmerized masses. Beyond the glitter and glamour is an incredibly diverse state that, if it ever seceded from the Union, would be a productive and powerful nation. This state has it all: redwood forests, an incredibly verdant Central Valley, the Sierra Nevada mountains, deserts, a host of world-renowned cities, and hundreds of miles of stunning coastline.

And despite the crime, pollution, traffic, and earthquakes for which California is famous, it's still the golden child of the United States: America's spoiled rich kid everyone else either loves or loathes. But, truth be told, natives really don't care. Californians know they live in one of the most diverse and interesting places in the world, and they're proud of the state they call home.

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