SUMMER TRIPS: It's long about May, when the school year begins to wrap up and calendars are pulled out that summertime weekends are planned. A family has a few choices if they want to save money: Stick closer to home, make it a briefer jaunt, and go old-school. Yep, new-school diversions, you can be budget-conscious, too, but there's nothing quite like visiting an attraction that one's parents, and even grandparents, enjoyed in their youth for saving a few dollars. And, not only that, but there's nothing like having a swell time. (Yeah, we rocked a "swell" there, but then we're talking about old-fashioned diversions.)
THE SWELLEST TIME? Well, that's up for debate, but if you're a kid, and you've grown up in NorCal in the last half century, and you've ever been to the redwoods, then a visit to the Trees of Mystery sticks with you. It's like the redwoods with a heavy dollop of fantasy and storytelling mixed in, and there's nothing not to like about that. In short? It's classic summertime road trip Americana. Or Californiana, rather.
FAVORITE TREE: What's yours? Do you adore the famous Elephant Tree, with its ridiculously elaborate roots system? The Cathedral Tree, which is synonymous with weddings? All are epic, but we have to go with the Candelabra Tree, which really does look like a candelabra, with smaller trees growing off its branches. Whatever your must-visit tree is, know that it is always just outside Klamath, California, growing away, waiting for the next batch of summertime road-trippers. That was your grandmother, then your father, now you, now your kids...
