Just how do Californians perceive their fellow Americans?

by Anna Brones on

Discussing how Americans are viewed abroad is a popular travel topic. But what about how Americans are viewed by their fellow compatriots? This map gives us the Californian view regarding the rest of the US. Reminds me of the Absolut Vodka map controversy…

Living in the Northwest, I am going to have to agree with the “coffee” statement. But some might find the map offensive because of the clear stereotypes; then again generalizing does provide for a fair amount of humor.

Know of any other humorous maps like the one above?

Rich heiress builds California house out of scrap 747

by Grant Martin on

Your house is definitely not the coolest on the block unless its made out of jumbo jet pieces. Francie Rehwald, daughter to a family owning multiple Mercedes Benz dealerships across California, just started construction on her new house made completely out of fragments of a scrapped Boeing 747. For forty thousand dollars, Rehwald purchased the pieces from an airplane junk yard in the Mojave Desert and after waiting over a year to get 17 permits pushed through the bureaucracy, finally just started taking delivery of wing segments.

The house and various surrounding structures will be built out of every single piece of the aircraft. In addition to the main 4000 foot square homestead, pieces like the nosecone will be used for a meditation pagoda while the tail will be used as a viewing platform for the surrounding area.

Rehwald, who says “I love to recycle, I love green houses and contemporary architecture, and I especially love nature and the natural environment,” apparently believes that this structure will be a sustainable, green alternative to conventional construction.

What’s interesting to me is that Rehwald still considers herself a staunch environmentalist in spite of the ruckus and cost involved. Sure, she’s recycling old materials to use for her home, but do the economic and environmental impact of moving the parts up to LA justify it? A helicopter costing $10,000/hour was required to move large sections of the wing, while several sections of the expressway had to be closed to move other parts up the coast. Would is just be better two melt down the aluminum and recycle it? It seems kind of selfish to me.

Car theft: Want your Honda Accord stolen? Take it to California

by Jeffrey White on

Modesto, California, city of 206,000 people, home to George Lucas Plaza, some of the country’s worst air quality and the quaintly named newspaper of record, the Modesto Bee, tops the list once again as America’s capital of car theft.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau has released its 2007 numbers of the 10 worst cities for car thefts, and the area surrounding Modesto, including the entire county of Stanislaus, beat out other so-called Metropolitan Statistical Areas like Las Vegas/Paradise, Nev. (2nd); San Diego/Carlsbad/San Marcos, Calif. (3rd); Stockton, Calif. (4th); and San Francisco/Oakland/Fremont, Calif. (5th).

“The rate is determined by the number of vehicle theft offenses per 100,000 inhabitants using the 2007 census population estimates, the most current figures available,” the NICB says. Curiously, it doesn’t say how many cars were actually stolen in the cities it singles out for ignominy.

Odd that there is not one city east of the Mississippi on the NICB’s top 10 list, or for that matter one city east of Texas.

The rest of the top 10 cities for car thefts:

6. Laredo, Tex.
7. Albuquerque, N.M.
8. Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale, Ariz.
9. Yakima, Wash.
10. Tuscson, Ariz.

John Muir: An Earth Day ode

by Jamie Rhein on

Even though this weekend was filled with Earth Day activities, the actual Earth Day is today. Because yesterday was John Muir’s birthday, it seems fitting to mention those places that travelers are able to appreciate today due to Muir’s dedication to the environment. Besides, he was a traveler with a capital T, the kind Abha referred to in her post on Henry Lee McGinnis, the 80 year-old who has been walking for 16 years.

Born in Dunbar, Scotland, April 21, 1838, Muir quit his job at age 29 after a machine accident almost blinded him. He decided to start walking to learn about nature. The journey took him to Cuba, Florida and California. Remember he was walking. He was so enamored with California that he made it his home. Muir is credited with helping to create Yosemite National Park, as well as, Sequoia, Mount Rainier, Petrified Forest, and Grand Canyon National Parks.

And if that wasn’t enough, Muir helped influence President Theodore Roosevelt to form the National Monuments program and founded the Sierra Club.

Here’s a quote of Muir’s to take along with you this Earth Day.

Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer,.Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature’s darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature’s sources never fail.

–from our National Parks, 1901.

San Jose’s Winchester Mystery House

by Jeremy Kressmann on

This past weekend I found myself in San Jose, California. As far as Bay Area tourism is concerned, San Jose has always been the red-headed stepchild to more well-known destinations like San Francisco, the Napa Valley and Berkeley. However, during my stay I discovered a great reason to make the hour-long drive down to San Jose from San Francisco – the Winchester Mystery House.

This sprawling, ornate Victorian mansion sits just a short distance from the city’s downtown. Spanning a property of over 4 acres, the mansion contains more than 160 rooms, 40 bedrooms, 2 ballrooms and 3 elevators. But it’s not just pretty to look at – the Winchester Mansion boasts a mysterious history thanks to its late resident Sarah Winchester, heiress of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.

Sarah’s husband William Wirt Winchester amassed great wealth through the sale of his company’s most famous product – the Winchester rifle. The gun was responsible for many deaths in the late 1800’s, which weighed heavily upon Sarah. She was convinced she was being haunted by the spirits of those killed by Winchester rifles. In an effort to confuse these spirits, Mrs. Winchester began construction on a massive estate near San Jose. From 1884 until her death in 1922, the house underwent 38 years of continuous, non-stop construction, taking on a confusing and labyrinth-like floor plan. Stairways were built that led to nowhere and many doors open onto blank walls. All of this a tribute to the madness and persistence of its reclusive owner, Sarah Winchester.

The next time you’re in the Bay Area, why not swing by San Jose for a visit? For what you paid for that bottle of Napa Cabernet you’ll get to experience a real piece of Americana and a house that truly has to be seen to be believed.