25thousandmiles – USA

We always like to try and find out some interesting/quirky facts about the places we’ll be visiting, so here’s what we’ve found so far:

Los Angeles, California

• Los Angeles’ full name is “El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula.”  It was founded in 1781 by a Spanish governer, Felipe de Neve, then became part of Mexico in 1821, before being purchased by the Unites States in 1848.
• LA has numerous sister, or twin, cities, the first being Eilat, Israel (1959) and the most recent being Manchester, UK (2009).

Grand Canyon, Arizona

• The narrowest point in  the Canyon is 600 yards (depending on which source of information you use) and the widest is 18 miles.
• Over 1500 plant, 355 bird, 89 mammalian, 47 reptile, 9 amphibian, and 17 fish species are found in the national park.
• The only permanent inhabitants in the Grand Canyon are the Havasu ‘Baaja, or Havasupai, a Native American tribe who has lived their for over 800 years.

Las Vegas, Nevada

• The average number of weddings per day is 315.
• There is 15,000 miles of neon tubing in downtown Las Vegas and The Strip.
• Las Vegas means ‘The Meadows’ in Spanish.

Yosemite National Park, California

• Yosemite Falls is the highest waterfall in North America and third highest in the world, standing at 2425 feet.
• Yosemite was the first park set aside by the US government for preservation and protection, even before Yellowstone.
• So far in 2009 there have been 332 bear incidents in the park – this includes bears breaking into vehicles, stealing food from bins and also bears hit by cars.

San Francisco, California

• When first discovered and settled San Francisco was named Yerba Buena.  The first mayor changed the name in 1848.
• The city is built on 43 hills and Filbert Street has the steepest section of road in the city, at 31.5 degrees.
• Denim jeans were invented in San Francisco for the Gold Rush miners who needed tough, comfortable clothing.

Monterey Bay, California

• The Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 is where the ‘unknown’ Jimi Hendrix played and hit the big time in the USA.
• The Monterey Peninsula is home of the famous 17-mile drive along the Pacific coast, passing the world renowned Pebble Beach golf course.
• There are no house addresses in Carmel-by-the-sea and no mail delivered door-to-door – residents still have to go to the post office to pick up their mail.

San Luis Obispo, California

• San Luis Obispo (or SLO to the locals) was the location of the first motel in the USA, the Milestone Mo-Tel.
• SLO was the first municipality in the world to ban smoking in all public buildings, in 1990.
• SLO is the location of a particular ‘tourist attraction’ you may or may not want to visit – Bubblegum Alley, a famous/infamous (depending on who you ask) spot where passers-by have been sticking their chewed gum since 1960.