You may find gold if you come to California! More than 300,000 people from across the United States rushed to California in the 1800’s because someone found a lot of gold. It only lasted a few years but that’s where the name 49’ers comes from because of the year 1849.
Los Angeles: Another reason to come to California is to see the La Brea Tar Pits. It is the oldest tar pit still remaining and active. It’s amazing how it’s still there in the middle of Los Angeles. They found fossils of mammoths and saber tooth tigers in the tar, they were trapped there 10,000 to 50,000 years ago during the ice age. You can see live excavations and they are always finding new stuff.
San Francisco: You may also want to visit the Golden Gate Bridge. In 1937 it was considered the longest bridge in the world. It took 4 years to complete and is red-orange so you can see it in the fog.
Also in the suburbs of San Francisco is a town called San Mateo. The famous quarterback for the New England Patriots, Tom Brady, grew up there. He played football at the high school there but went to college in Michigan. He was the 8th back up quarterback which is surprising but New England wanted to take a chance because Drew Bledsoe was getting older.
San Jose: While in Northern California you can visit the Winchester House a little more south of where Tom Brady grew up. It is a famous mansion that is haunted and is very mysterious. Construction never stopped from 1886 until 1922 when the owner died. It started as an 8 -room farmhouse and now has 160 rooms including 47 staircases and 6 kitchens. Don’t get lost in there because some doors and staircases lead to nowhere.
Finally, you won’t run into a California Grizzly Bear because they are extinct since 1924 but it is the state’s symbol and other brown bear species are still around. The Grizzly was a fierce and stubborn bear and didn’t like the settlers that were coming to its home. The grizzly is on California’s state flag and is missed by the people of California.
So you must come to California because of all the cool things there are to do, especially surfing!
