Sights in Central Coast
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Santa Barbara Zoo
Big cats, monkeys, elephants and giraffes await at the 500-animal Santa Barbara Zoo , where you'll also find beautiful gardens. The Humboldt penguins are the current stars, and these tuxedoed show-offs seem to know it. If you're in need of a giggle, hit the 'Eeeww!' insect exhibit. Its hissing cockroaches and giant African millipedes will leave you giggling at the grossed-out kids. Or deeply disturbed. Parking costs around US$3.
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Mission Santa Barbara
The 1786 Mission Santa Barbara, nicknamed California's 'Queen of the Missions, ' was the only one to escape secularization under Mexican rule. Look for Chumash artwork inside the vaulted church and a moody cemetery out back.
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Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Downtown, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art has a well-edited collection of contemporary California artists, modern masters, like Matisse and Chagall, and Asian art. It also puts on sophisticated special exhibits.
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Lotusland
Book ahead for Lotusland, the legacy of eccentric Madame Ganna Walska; two-hour walking tours take in rare botanical species.
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Channel Islands National Park
The Channel Islands is an eight-island chain lying off the coast from Newport Beach to Santa Barbara. The four northern islands - San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Anacapa - along with tiny Santa Barbara island 38mi (61km) west of San Pedro comprise the Channel Islands National Park. The islands have unique flora and fauna and extensive tidepools and kelp forests.
Here you'll find almost around 150 plant and a few animal species that are not found anywhere else in the world.
On Anacapa, Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa are several snorkeling, diving, swimming and kayaking opportunities among the kelp beds and sandy beaches. San Miguel and Santa Barbara are host to colonies …
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Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum
The free Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum is an embarrassment of riches for history nerds, science geeks and music lovers. Filled with historical written artifacts from the private collection of David Karpeles, a Santa Barbara real-estate investor, it's a true SoCal treasure.
One of just eight Karpeles manuscript museums in the country, this branch houses the original proposed draft of the Bill of Rights, an Emancipation Proclamation Amendment signed by Abraham Lincoln, and Einstein's description of the theory of relativity. A recent special exhibit highlighting historic women contained writings from Lucretia Borgia, Catherine the Great and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Lots o…
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Museum of Natural History & Gladwin Planetarium
While the permanent exhibits lack the 'hands-on' sparkle of many children's discovery centers, the Museum of Natural History boasts a few noteworthy gems and typically stages excellent special exhibits. Bug buffs should check out the glass wall holding 4,000 mounted Santa Barbara insects, as well as the replica of a pygmy mammoth skeleton unearthed on Santa Rosa Island in 1994. Outside you'll find the complete skeleton of a 72ft blue whale.
Kids especially will like the Gladwin Planetarium , which has intro-to-astronomy shows for children as well as adult programs that explore current scientific theory; call for show times.
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Ty Warner Sea Center
The Ty Warner Sea Center is part of the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum. This is a great place for kids: the staff here is so engaging and enthusiastic, your child will be contemplating a career in marine biology in no time. From touch-a-shark water tanks and crawl-through aquariums to whale sing-alongs, it's interactive, educational and plain old fun.
The Sea Center also has opportunities for volunteers - from a few days to a week - so if oceanography's your thing, give 'em a ring before you arrive.
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Stearns Wharf
The southern end of State St gives way to Stearns Wharf , a rough wooden pier with a few snack and souvenir shops. Built in 1872 by John Peck Stearn, it's the oldest continuously operating wharf on the West Coast. During the 1940s it was owned by Jimmy Cagney and his two brothers. Partly destroyed by a 1998 fire, it has now been restored. Parking is available for around US$2 per hour, with the first 90 minutes free with validation.
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University of California at Santa Cruz
In the hills above town, the University of California at Santa Cruz has 13,000 liberal-leaning students, a redwood-studded campus, architecturally interesting buildings – many of recycled materials – two top-notch galleries and a beautiful arboretum (831-427-2998).
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Carpinteria State Beach
Mile-long, family-friendly Carpinteria State Beach is great for swimming, wading and tidepooling. It's often referred to as the world's safest beach for its calm waters. Parking is available for around US$8.
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County Courthouse
The Spanish-Moorish revival style county courthouse is an absurdly beautiful place to be on trial (or get married). Marvel at the hand-painted ceilings and intricate murals.
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Santa Barbara Maritime Museum
The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum celebrates the town's briny history with memorabilia, hands-on and virtual-reality exhibits, and a movie theater.
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National Steinbeck Center
The impressive National Steinbeck Center is a fitting homage to Salinas' Nobel Prize-winning native son, John Steinbeck (1902-68). Steinbeck's literary explorations were influenced and inspired by the people and daily life of the area; his observations on Cannery Row in Monterey resulted in the eponymous 1945 book.
The interactive exhibit chronicles the writer's life and works in a creative and engaging fashion. Each of seven theme galleries stages scenes from famous books such as The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden and Of Mice and Men, incorporating quotes and artifacts such as letters and books. There's also a small theater showing film clips. Prized exhibits include Roci…
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Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk dates from 1907 and is the oldest beachfront amusement park on the West Coast. The boardwalk has a glorious old-school Americana vibe, with the smell of cotton candy permeating the salt air, punctuated by the distant squeals of kids hanging upside down on carnival rides. Its most famous rides include the half-mile-long Giant Dipper, a vintage-1924 wooden roller coaster, and the 1911 Looff carousel – both National Historic Landmarks. For kids, the Cave Train is unexpectedly fun for its portrayal of cavemen in modern times. But the thing that’s so great is its proximity to the beach, where parents can wait while teens explore. On Friday nights…
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National Steinbeck Center
The National Steinbeck Center will enthrall even those who don't know a lick about Salinas' Nobel Prize-winning native son. John Steinbeck (1902-68) called Salinas Valley 'the valley of the world', a reference to the workers from all over creation who came to scrape out a living from the earth, and his literary explorations were influenced and inspired by the people who settled here. The interactive, kid-accessible exhibits chronicle the writer's life and works in an engaging way. The other side of the center is taken up with the Rabobank Agricultural Museum, which takes you on a journey through the modern-day agriculture industry, from water to pesticides to transportati…
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El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park
Built to protect the missions between Monterey and San Diego, this 18th-century former Spanish fort of the El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park was protected by adobe walls nearly 4ft thick and more than 9ft high. But its purpose wasn't solely to protect - the presidio, which recently celebrated the 225th anniversary of its founding, also served as a social and political hub, and as a stopping point for traveling Spanish military.
Today, the small urban park, between Anacapa and Santa Barbara Sts, harbors some of the city's oldest structures, which seem to be in constant need of propping up and restoring. Be sure to stop by the chapel: its interior is radiant …
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Partington Cove
From the western side of Hwy 1, a poorly marked steep dirt trail descends half a mile along Partington Creek to Partington Cove , a little visited but very beautiful section of Big Sur. On the 1-mile loop you cross a cool bridge and then walk through an even cooler tunnel.
During Prohibition it was a landing spot for rum-runners. The water in the cove is unbelievably aqua and within it grows incredible kelp forests. There�s no real beach access, but you can scamper on the rocks and look for tide pools as waves cuff ominously. The turnoff is inside a large hairpin turn 8 miles south of Nepenthe restaurant and 1.8 miles north of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.
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Monterey Bay Aquarium
Monterey Bay Aquarium - we dare you not to be mesmerized and enriched by this ecoconscious aquarium. Give yourself at least half a day to watch sharks and sardines play hide-and-seek in fast-growing kelp forests, observe the antics of frisky otters, meditate upon ethereal jellyfish and get touchy-feely with sea cucumbers, bat rays and other tide-pool creatures. Feeding times are best, especially for watching the penguins. To avoid the worst crowds, get tickets in advance, be there when doors open and stick around during lunchtime.
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Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
The plaza is lorded over by the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa on Monterey St between Chorro and Broad Sts. The fifth of the California missions, it was established in 1772 and named for a French saint. Often called the 'Prince of the Missions,' its still-active church has an unusual L-shape with a flat open-beam ceiling and whitewashed walls decorated with the Stations of the Cross. An adjacent building contains an old-fashioned museum about daily life during the Chumash and mission periods.
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Bixby Bridge
About 13 miles south of Carmel, the much photographed landmark Bixby Bridge, spanning Rainbow Canyon, is one of the world's highest single-span bridges at 714ft long and 260ft high. Completed in 1932, it was built by prisoners eager to lop time off their sentences. There's a photo op pull-off just north of the bridge. Don't be tricked into thinking that the similar-looking Rocky Creek Bridge, just north of Bixby, is the real deal.
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Dennis The Menace Park
A must for fans of kick-ass playgrounds, Dennis The Menace Park was the brainchild of Hank Ketcham, the creator of the classic comic strip, who lived in Pebble Beach until his death in 2004. This ain't your standard dumbed-down playground, suffocated by Big Brother safety regulations. With lightning-fast slides and towering climbing structures, even adults can't resist its charms.
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Mystery Spot
A kitschy, old-fashioned tourist trap, the Mystery Spot has scarcely changed since 1940. On a steeply sloping hillside, compasses seem to point crazily, mysterious forces push you around and buildings lean at silly angles. Make reservations, or risk getting stuck waiting. It's 3 miles north of town. Parking costs $5. Don't forget your bumper sticker!
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Tor House
Even if you've never heard of 20th-century poet Robinson Jeffers, a pilgrimage to Tor House, which was built with his own hands, offers fascinating insights into bohemian Old Carmel. A porthole in the Celtic-inspired Hawk Tower reputedly came from the wrecked ship that carried Napoleon from Elba. Make reservations for tours (no children under 12).
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Oceanview Blvd
Appropriately named Oceanview Blvd affords fine views from Lover's Point west to Point Pinos. Here the road becomes the again appropriately named Sunset Dr with numerous turn-outs where you can enjoy the pounding surf, rocky outcrops and teaming tidal pools. The entire route is great for walking or cycling and many think it surpasses the 17-Mile Drive for beauty.
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