California:

California is too large to be fully explored in a single trip, but in an area
so varied it's hard to pick out specific highlights.

San Francisco is a city of hills and distinct neighborhoods. As a
general rule, geographical elevation means wealth - the higher up
you are, the less fog you endure, resulting in better views. The exhibits
and tours at Alcatraz vividly recount the prison's legacy of cruel
and unusual punishment, such as unbearably long periods of solitary
confinement that drove some men mad.

Los Angeles is far and away the biggest and most stimulating city:
a maddening collection of freeways, beaches, seedy suburbs, upscale
neighborhoods and extreme lifestyles. The first-time visitor may well
find Los Angeles thrilling and threatening in equal proportions; it's a
place that picks you up and sweeps you along whether you want it to
or not. While it has its fine-art museums, California cuisine and a few
old-fashioned urban plazas, what people really come here for is to
experience the city that has come to epitomize the American Dream
the fantasy worlds of Disneyland and Hollywood , as well as the gilded
opulence of Beverly Hills and Malibu.

From Los Angeles you can head south to the growing metropolis of
San Diego, with its broad, welcoming beaches and easy access to Mexico;
or push inland to the desert areas , most notably Death Valley, a barren
and inhospitable landscape of volcanic craters and salt pans that in
summer becomes the hottest place on earth. While in San Diego you can
visit a world reknown zoo at Balboa Park and Sea World.