After reading numerous posts asking questions about trips to CA, I’m starting a list of common misperception about my home state. Feel free to add to it.

1. We don’t live in Cali, San Fran or the OC.
2. We don’t call Highway 1 the PCH in Northern California.
3. Hollywood is not the same as Bel Air, Beverly Hills or West Hollywood and it is not glamorous.
4. You cannot swim in the Pacific Ocean in N. CA without high risk of hyperthermia.
5. You will not see movie stars walking around in Hollywood.
6. Yosemite is not a quick side trip from SF.

Oh, SAB # 4 made me laugh !
I will add:
Napa and Sonoma are 2 different counties as well as towns within said counties. BE SPECIFIC
as to where you are intending to travel
when asking questions.
8) When gushing about a restaurant
you ate at in "the Wine Country"
be sure it is still open and/or not recently cited for health code violations.
R5

Really the Pacific Ocean water in Northern California is so warm I'll get hyperthermia? I didn't know that.

I'd have sworn I had hypothermia when I last tried to swim there.

"We don’t live in Cali, San Fran or the OC" - OR Frisco!

And you cannot do SF, Napa, Yosemite, Death Valley and Monterey in 5 days on your way to LAX.

Please add paren to #6. (Neither is Mendocino.)

9. It is ALWAYS cool in the evenings, even in summer. Bring some long pants and a sweater or jacket.

10. The very best weather is often in September and August weather is often disappointing.

Oops, sorry! My remarks are strictly for northern CA!

There is no Monterrey in California. It's Monterey (spelled with one R)

Sorry Indytravel--I didn't proofread my post, but I'm so happy to know that there are vigilant people out there ready to ensure that an error is corrected. Now can you come an proofread to brief I'm writing?

and proofread-- see what I mean!!

I give up, apparently I can't type anymore. I think I'll return to thinking of ways to politely call opposing counsel a liar.

That everyone is enchanted by CA and wants to live there.

Good tips.
Hmmmmm. Marilyn must be near SF someplace. "Always cool in the evening" I agree with this if you're near the water, whether it's the Delta or the Ocean. It does stay warm overnight inland at say...Sac, Auburn, Rocklin, Death Valley, Redlands.

20. Traffic times online from MapQuest and Yahoo! Maps are approximate in SoCal.

#10
That the Summer of Love is still happening in the Haight Ashbury. People tend to get chagrined when they see the down and outers, the dog poop and the general seediness.

SAB : I once heard legal counsel address the opposing counsel as a "...remarkable specimen of rebrobate hirsute simian". Or something similar. Does this count?

True on all counts, fehgedda! My remarks are for the SF Bay Area only. (Yes, I live here.)

The SoCal Beach Myth:
Southern California beaches do not have warm and tropical water! You will only see shirtless or bikini-clad surfers in bad 1960s films. Even in summer, surfers here wear wetsuits.

And, for about half the year, the coast is cloudy and fogged in, at least until noon.