Wednesday, June 2 (Day 01)
HONOLULU TO LOS ANGELES
Our tour commences this evening when we assemble at the United Airlines lobby for baggage check in procedures for our overnight flight to Los Angeles.
Thursday, June 3 (Day 02)
JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUM * SOLVANG
Upon our morning arrival in Los Angeles, we’ll board our chartered motor coach to begin our exciting adventure of our ‘California Highlights’ tour. We’ll visit the Japanese American National Museum with exhibits and photographs that reflect the history of Japanese immigration into America. Part of the museum is devoted to the story of the World War II unconstitutional incarceration of Japanese American citizens in internment camps. We’ll travel north along the California coast to the quaint little village of Solvang in the Santa Ynez Valley to spend the night. Danish in heritage, customs, and atmosphere, you’ll enjoy strolling through the town to observe the traditional Danish architecture, windmills, museums, and its bake shops offering a variety of delicious Danish pastries.
Friday, June 4 (Day 03)
HEARST CASTLE * SALINAS
Our journey continues on along the beautiful California coast to San Simeon, a coastal town best known as the site of the famous Hearst Castle, former estate of newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst. Enjoy a guided tour of the gardens, a guesthouse, the pools, Casa del Sol, and the ground floor of the main building - including a film “Hearst Castle, Building the Dream”. In the afternoon, we’ll travel north on Highway 101 to spend the night in Salinas, a city located on the central California Coast and known as the ‘Salad Bowl of the World’.
Saturday, June 5 (Day 04)
MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM * WINCHESTER MYSTERY HOUSE * SAN JOSE
We’ll travel to Monterey to enjoy a visit of the Monterey Bay Aquarium located on historic Cannery Row, the colorful locale of John Steinbecks’s novels “Cannery Row” and “Sweet Thursday”. The aquarium houses more than 700 species of marine life in more than 200 galleries and exhibits, including a living kelp forest. The Outer Bay Galleries present the mysteries of the open ocean and Splash Zone depicts the reef and rocky shore habitats of many species of marine life. Our tour continues on to San Jose, known as the ‘Capital of Silicon Valley’ to enjoy a guided tour of the Winchester Mystery House. This Victorian mansion was designed to baffle the evil spirits that haunted Sarah Winchester, eccentric heiress to the Winchester Arms fortune and mistress of the house. The house is so complex that even the owner and servants needed maps to find their way around. Rolling green lawn and colorful roses highlight the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden - a garden exclusively devoted to shrubs of the rose family and featuring over 3,500 shrubs representing 189 varieties of these fragrant roses. Enjoy a stroll through this attractive garden before we check into our hotel to spend the night.
Sunday, June 6 (Day 05)
TIBURON * ANGEL ISLAND * SAN FRANCISCO
We’ll travel north through San Francisco Bay to the pier in Tiburon and board a ferry to Angel Island, a hilly, grass and forest-covered island - the largest in San Francisco Bay. Take a fascinating journey into the island’s history and cultural past on a captivating audio-enhanced tram tour, visiting historic sites and enjoying breathtaking views of San Francisco Bay, Sausalito, Tiburon, and the famed Golden Gate Bridge. We’ll return to Tiburon by ferry and proceed to the exciting city of San Francisco to spend the night.
Monday, June 7 (Day 06)
MODESTO * COARSEGOLD
Our journey continues east to the city of Modesto, located in the northern San Joaquin Valley on the Tuolumne River. We’ll visit the Blue Diamond Almond Factory to enjoy an interesting videotape presentation about the growing and processing of almonds. Delicious samples of some of their products will be available for us to enjoy in the tasting room. We’ll continue on to visit Nick Sciabica & Sons - the oldest California olive oil producer. Sciabica’s olive oil has been chosen as one of the world’s best olive oils. Enjoy a one hour presentation about the history and production of this extraordinary oil and after the presentation, enjoy tasting some of their various flavors available for purchase. We’ll continue on to spend the night in a unique resort casino in Coarsegold, a community nestled in the beautiful Sierra Foothills - a stone’s throw from the natural wonders of Yosemite National Park.
Tuesday, June 8 (Day 07)
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK * FRESNO
This morning we’ll travel to Oakhurst, a town located at the southern entrance of the spectacular Yosemite National Park. A step-on guide will board our motor coach to guide us through one of America’s most beautiful national parks. Among the many well-known features of Yosemite Valley are El Capitan and Half Dome - two granite monoliths. The collection of waterfalls in Yosemite is one of the most magnificent in the world due to the ‘hanging valleys’ left by the formation of the valley and the wet climate characteristic of the park. One of the most famous of the waterfalls is the double waterfall - Yosemite Falls - with three separate sections - the upper fall, the middle fall and the lower section - totaling 2,425 feet. We’ll continue on to spend the night in the city of Fresno, located near the entrance to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
Wednesday, June 9 (Day 08)
SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS * BAKERSFIELD
East of the San Joaquin Valley in the southern Sierra Nevada lies two parks - Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks - a land of giants. Immense mountains, rugged foothills, deep canyons, vast caverns and the world’s largest trees, these two parks - administered by the National Park Service as one - testify to nature’s size, beauty and diversity. Turn back the clock 3,000 years as we enjoy a tour through the park. The landscape is studded with giant sequoia trees, many with trunks more than 30 feet in diameter and over 200 feet high. These giant sequoias sparked the foundation of these parks, but magnificent forests of sugar & ponderosa pine, white & red fir and incense-cedar also exist here. We’ll continue on to spend the evening in Bakersfield, a city located on the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley.
Thursday, June 10 (Day 09)
BARSTOW * LAS VEGAS
Our journey continues east through the Mojave Desert and into the exciting city that never sleeps - ‘Las Vegas’. We’ll spend the next four nights at the California Hotel & Casino (or similar). En route, we’ll make a rest stop at Barstow, a desert city on Interstate 15, the major route between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, to do some shopping at the Barstow Tanger Outlet Mall. The mall features brand name outlet shops offering various merchandise at discounted prices. Before checking into our hotel, we’ll stop at Trader Joe’s, a favorite place for the locals and tourists to shop for nuts, dried fruits, and cookies at discounted prices. Meal coupons will be provided daily for each adult during your stay.
Friday, June 11 (Day 10) to Sunday, June 13 (Day 12)
LAS VEGAS
You’ll have three full days to explore everything Las Vegas has to offer. Try your luck at the slot machines or on the gaming tables in the casinos, go shopping at the outlet malls, visit the fabulous hotels on the strip, or take an optional tour to the Grand Canyon. Your escort will be available to assist you with individual arrangements.
Monday, June 14 (Day 13)
LAS VEGAS TO HONOLULU
We’ll depart our hotel this morning and transfer to the airport for our flight home, arriving Honolulu in the late afternoon.