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1. A Salinas storyteller's tale

NATIONAL STEINBECK CENTER
Salinas, Monterey County

It is always a challenge to commemorate a life, never mind a writer's life. Unlike museums devoted to sports legends or war heroes, a museum that honors a man of arts and letters must reflect his quiet, solitary pursuit. Which is to say that such a repository may be unbearably dull. How delightful, then, is the National Steinbeck Center at the end of Salinas' Main Street, a place whose undercurrents deliver shock after tiny shock -- here an arc of unknown history, there a jolt of social commentary. The museum is just a couple of blocks from where townspeople burned Steinbeck's books, enraged at his perceived betrayal of them and agriculture, the economic star then and now ($3.5 billion worth of crops in 2006) of Monterey County's show. Never mind that he was a hometown boy -- you can see his Victorian birthplace just up the street from the museum and have lunch there -- he was Judas to the growers and landowners portrayed unsympathetically in "Grapes of Wrath" and "East of Eden." The modern-looking center may seem incongruous with the unpretentious persona of the author, whose work won Pulitzer and Nobel prizes. But like his books, it shines a light on the issues, using film clips and displays that are muted set pieces, occasionally somber but never dull. To see this place and the fields that surround Salinas is to understand that Steinbeck's so-called Valley of the World is really the Heart of California.

Info: National Steinbeck Center, 1 Main St., Salinas, CA 93901; (831) 796-3833, www.steinbeck.org.

-- Catharine Hamm

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2. Mosey on to San Marcos Pass

THE COLD SPRING TAVERN
San Marcos Pass, Santa Barbara County

This is more than a tavern. Born as a stagecoach stop in the 1880s, the Cold Spring sits in the mountains 10 miles outside Santa Barbara on California Route 154. Owned by the Ovington family since 1941, the property includes an upscale restaurant (with buffalo, venison and rabbit and other dinner entrees at $17.50 to $28.50); and a rustic bar with a massive stone fireplace at one end. Most Sunday afternoons, the bar and patio fill with blues lovers and bikers (many of them Santa Barbara millionaires in disguise). They gather around the acoustic duo Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan, who have played here for more than 15 years. Order a tri-tip sandwich ($7.95) from the oak pit rig around the side. Wash it down with a can of Coors ($3) or one of the four California brews on draft (up to $7). Guard your seat. Some summer Sundays, 400 of those tri-tip sandwiches are sold.

Info: Cold Spring Tavern, (805) 967-0066, www.coldspringtavern.com.

-- Christopher Reynolds

3. Moonlight grunion runs

CORONADO BEACH, WITH GRUNION RUNNING
Coronado, San Diego County

Grunion runs are a great tradition, made greater by the many nonnatives who suspect the whole thing is a con. To set them straight, head for Coronado Beach, which runs along the near-island's Ocean Avenue, within 100 yards of the stately old Hotel del Coronado. This will be a moonlight adventure, because the grunion, a 5-inch-long, blue-green-silver fish found from Baja California north to Santa Barbara, run only at night, at high tide, two to six nights after new and full moons, between March and September. (The state Department of Fish and Game predicts run dates at www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/gruschd.asp#runs.) Once ashore, these thousands of grunion lay and bury millions of eggs in the sand. (The eggs wash back out to sea and hatch a few weeks later.) The grunion are edible, but if you want to grab any, you'll need a fishing license. It's easier to check out the free show at Coronado Beach (or Silver Strand State Park, four miles south), then repair to the Hotel Del's Babcock & Story Bar for a nightcap. It's open until 1 a.m., full moon or no.

Info:www.grunion.org, www.hoteldel.com.

-- Christopher Reynolds

4. Sandpiper Golf Club

SANDPIPER GOLF CLUB
Santa Barbara County

Though no golf course in America can rival the history and nirvana of the Pebble Beach Golf Links on the Monterey Peninsula, few visitors can afford to shell out the $475 greens fee. This is where Sandpiper Golf Club comes in. This par-72 seaside course, which charges less than a third of what Pebble Beach does, is flanked by mountains and rife with striking views of the Pacific. On several holes, retrieving wayward shots might require a snorkel and fins. But Sandpiper is no mere show pony. Beneath its beauty lies a challenging 7,000-yard tract that has played host to PGA and LPGA events. The high rollers may lean toward a post-round snifter of brandy at the Pebble Beach Lodge. But after playing Sandpiper, a visitor may find that a glass of a local Pinot Noir and a good night's sleep at the Days Inn Buellton, with its landmark windmill, might just hit the spot. And with the money saved, you could wake up and do it all over again.

Info: Sandpiper Golf Club, 7925 Hollister Ave., Santa Barbara, CA 93117; (805) 968-1541, www.sandpipergolf.com. Greens fee: $124 weekdays, $144 weekends (cart not included).

-- Tim Hubbard

5. Boulder hopping in Joshua Tree

HIDDEN VALLEY
Joshua Tree National Park
in Riverside and San Bernardino counties

Spectacular granite formations, combined with forests of bizarrely shaped desert plants, make Joshua Tree National Park a rock star. Climbers from around the world scramble across its boulder fields and ascend its spires and pillars. They're joined by hikers, campers, nature buffs and families -- about 1.2 million visitors annually. A favorite spot is Hidden Valley, a recreation area concealed by huge boulders. Rustlers supposedly used it more than a century ago to hide stolen horses. Today, its surreal landscape of jumbled rocks and pinyon pines is popular with climbers and families during the day and with stargazers at night. The evening sky astounds visitors with its brilliance. Where else can you see a zillion stars framed by the stark limbs of the Joshua tree?

Info: A seven-day vehicle permit costs $15. Hidden Valley Campground has 45 spaces; nearby campgrounds include Ryan, with 31, and Jumbo Rocks, with 125. Info: (760) 367-5500, www.nps.gov/jotr.