moments a
Joanna Booth discovers lesser-known corners of California with a visit to Oakland and Santa Cruz
s the birthplace of the hippy movement, California has a reputation for embracing things that are a little left
field. It was home to one of the first yoga studios in the US in the 1950s, and now yoga itself has become mainstream, the state has found a way of making it unconventional again – by adding goats. So here I am, on my hands and knees on a yoga mat with a baby goat standing on my back, nibbling my leggings. And it’s wonderful. Our class involves a lot more cooing and cuddling than actual yoga, but when confronted with a herd of kids less than a fortnight old, you’d need a heart of stone to resist. The result? No standard yoga class has left me feeling more simultaneously thrilled and chilled. The class is run at Hotel Paradox in Santa Cruz, a laid-back beach town often bypassed as clients on a classic Highway One itinerary zoom straight past on the way to Monterey. My visit – a fam trip pre-pandemic – pairs Santa Cruz with Oakland, the city across the bay from San Francisco, and introduces our agent group to two somewhat overlooked but quintessentially Californian destinations that clients should really slow down and get to know.
OAKLAND Facing San Francisco across the bay, Oakland is the city’s sunnier sibling, both in terms of weather – the famous fog rarely reaches this far, and it’s usually a
couple of degrees warmer – and in temperament. Although it’s actually bigger, Oakland justifies its nickname – The Town, compared with San Francisco’s The City – with its down-to-earth, neighbourhood feel and a slower, more relaxed pace. Urban green spaces abound, prices are lower than across the bay, and Oakland’s history as a working class, multi- ethnic neighbourhood means its history, cuisine and culture are fascinating and multi-layered. We discover all three on a Local Food Adventures walking tour, our guide Linda leading us gently around the up-and-coming Grand Lake area, feeding us alternate titbits of food and facts and pointing out the area’s splendid art deco cinema and examples of its thriving street art scene as we chomp on purple yam doughnuts and Cuban tostones.
On a visit to the Oakland Museum of California,
curator Juliane gives us an alternative perspective on the state’s history exhibition by highlighting the LGBT+ aspects, from ‘two spirit’ Native Americans through to cross-dressers in the Forces during the Second World War. As the sun sets, we head outside to join the Friday Nights event that runs weekly in the grounds. We find live music, local brews and a host of food trucks attracting a joyously diverse and predominantly local crowd, pensioners and pre-schoolers both up on the dance floor together. Just beyond the city sprawl, we plunge into forests of California’s famous redwoods, and high on a ²
travelweekly.co.uk 4 FEBRUARY 2021
DESTINATIONS CALIFORNIA | THE US
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