California Vacation Destinations
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Only a few if the roads are accessible using standard passenger cars. There nine selected primitive camp areas plus one horse camp however; this park is the only state park that allows open camping over the whole park.

I ended up having a great time mostly at the waterfront--not on the beach, but at the Maritime Museum, as well as taking a long tour of the USS Midway, which is a huge aircraft carrier that takes at least three hours to explore fully. I also had a wonderful lunch nearby at the Fish Market Restaurant.

In the evening, I was able to see the Star of India--an old tall ship from the 19th century--come back into the harbor, pulled by tugboats and manned by people wearing period costumes and singing sea chanteys. I love the water and boats and ships of all times, so this was the perfect vacation spot for me.

It had a sort of Polynesian motif with tiki gods, torches, and a super large pool. Since it was summer and we were in the desert we did two things that were especially memorable. First, we visited the Moorten Botanical Garden - a private cactus garden right in the heart of Palm Springs. For a small admission charge you can see an incredible variety of wild cacti and succulents. I wouldn't recommend this place for children as they could easily be hurt if they slipped or fell on the very tiny trail through the garden. The cacti are right up against you. We also visited the 1000 Palms Oasis north of Interstate 10 (about a 20 minute drive north of Palm Springs).

We took a two-mile hike here through an actual oasis of palm trees and a natural spring that has arisen from the base of the San Andreas Earthquake fault. This was definitely a "desert" experience. When we got back to our car around noon the temperature was 127 degrees Fahrenheit!

During the tour you will get a good look at at the Naval Sub Base, the sprawling shipyards, the U.S. Navy surface fleet, North Island Naval Air Station, the Cabrillo National Monument and the impressive Coronado Bay Bridge. There are also some deluxe tours that cover a wider scope of the harbor.

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