Northern & Central California
This is one of the most scenic areas of the country. Northern - Central California has the tallest AND biggest trees in the world, the most iconic surf spots in the world, the most delicious wine in the world, and the inspiring city of San Francisco known for many things including its sourdough bread and the Golden Gate Bridge. If you haven’t seen this part of California, now is your time to get out and experience it!
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I lived in Santa Cruz for 3 months as a traveling hand therapist and had the amazing chance of feeling like a local in the town and its surrounding areas. All of these places are based off of recommendations from locals, my own research, and advice from friends/family on the east coast. As I went to each of these locations multiple times, I got to know these areas and the people very well.
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Almost as unique as California’s geography, is Californians’ vocabulary. It seems there is localized lingo that I still haven’t become accustomed to.
Such terms as “rad” and “gnarly” mean two totally different versions of the generalized term “cool.” “Rad'“ leans more towards the word “awesome,” while “gnarly” means more like “crazy” or “outlandishly” or “extreme.”
The term “Over the Hill” in Santa Cruz isn’t referring to an age change but to driving over the Santa Cruz mountains to San Jose, aka “The 17” (vs. Route 17).
“Hella” takes place for common terms such as “very” or “really” short for “hell-of-a-lot-of-a ____.”
“Fog rolling in” is an actual thing… I literally watched the fog roll in to the Bay while I sat on Pier 39 watching the Golden Gate Bridge vanish before my eyes.
As commonplace as it is to talk about the weather and the traffic, in coastal communities you will often also talk about “if the surf is good today” and “when the surf will be good next.”
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Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom to check out my “best” section which is where I spent a good amount of my time researching the best wineries in the area, and the best breakfast burritos!
