"This is the first book to tell the history of the Madonna family and the unique and unusual Madonna Inn."--Jacket.

San Luis Obispo was founded in 1772 as a mission in the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains on California's Central Coast. The city that grew from a rustic pueblo, with its scattering of adobe buildings, today has a wealth of architectural styles. From the simple barns of the outlying farm community, to the grand hotels and lively saloons kept busy by the Southern Pacific Railroad depot, and back full circle to the Mission Revival style edifices of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo's architecture has echoed its history. Motor travel brought the world's first motel to this half-way point on California's historic Highway 101, and the famously zany tourist attraction, the Madonna Inn.

Raised on a used-car lot, Charles Phoenix was destined to become the Ambassador of Americana. The photo collector, food crafter, and field tripper is famed for his hilarious live show performances and "theme park" tour of downtown Los Angeles. This riotously colorful book, replete with Charles's collection of vintage Kodachrome slides, celebrates his lifelong quest to unearth the best of classic and kitschy American life and style. Charles Phoenix is a showman, tour guide, food crafter, and author known for his live comedy slide-show performances, madcap test-kitchen videos, field-trip-style adventure tours, and colorful books. The self-proclaimed "vintage culture vulture" has appeared on Martha Stewart, The Queen Latifah Show and Cake Wars, been profiled in The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, and been a guest on NPR's The Splendid Table.

From foggy cliffs and towering redwoods to warm sands and legendary surf, explore the best of the golden coast with Moon Coastal California. Inside you'll find: Flexible itineraries including six days in Central California, five days on the North Coast, and multiple road trip itineraries that can be combined into an epic two-week Pacific Coast road trip Strategic advice for families, adventure seekers, romantic getaways, outdoor enthusiasts, foodies, and more The top beaches for surfing, wildlife viewing, solitude, scuba diving, snorkeling, hiking, and more Unique experiences and can't-miss highlights: Soak up the solitude and rugged beauty of the North Coast beaches, or opt for sun and sand in San Diego. Explore the world-class museums and plunging city streets of San Francisco, sip your way through Napa and Sonoma, or gaze at skyscraping redwoods in Muir Woods. Catch a wave in a classic surf town, explore sea caves by kayak, or hike winding cliffside trails. Feast on local Dungeness crab, sample stouts at a coastal microbrewery, or find the best tacos in Los Angeles Full-color photos and detailed maps throughout Expert advice from Monterey local and surfer Stuart Thornton on where to stay, where to eat, and how to get around Background information on California's landscape, plants and animals, history, and culture Handy tips for international visitors, seniors, families with kids, LGBTQ+ travelers, and travelers with disabilities With Moon Coastal California's local insight and practical know-how, you can plan your trip your way. Hitting the road? Try Moon California Road Trip. Headed to the national parks? Check out Moon Death Valley National Park or Moon Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon.

Southern California Off the Beaten Path features the things travelers and locals want to see and experience––if only they knew about them. From the best in local dining to quirky cultural tidbits to hidden attractions, unique finds, and unusual locales, Southern California Off the Beaten Path takes the reader down the road less traveled and reveals a side of Southern California that other guidebooks just don't offer.

Hit the open road for fun and wackiness as the Butkos visit offbeat attractions from coast to coast--dinosaur parks, miniature golf courses, populuxe motels, vintage amusement arcades, classic diners illuminated in neon, and even the world's largest ball of twine. More than fifty fellow authors and artists offer stories about their favorite attractions or recall memorable trips. Visitor information is included to help plan quick visits or an entire road trip.

This updated compendium of facts, observations, discoveries, reviews, serendipities, humor, experiences, and more is not only for the road traveler, but the armchair traveler as well. Unlike typical guides, which read more like phone directories, Romancing the Roads is a shared diary of discoveries along America's highways and byways. Join Gerry on a tour of hotels, B & B's, restaurants, national parks, antique stores, consignment shops, boutiques, and little-known places that make America such a great place for road-tripping. Unless otherwise noted, the author has visited every place mentioned, from the ostrich farm along Interstate 10 in Arizona to the Biltmore hotel in Los Angeles. Even if you never get in the car and discover such wonders for yourself, you will enjoy this vicarious journey to places both sublime and ordinary as the author makes her way from Washington to California and east to the Mississippi River.

Artist Edward Sorel created a wonderful, witty mural to grace the walls of The Waverly Inn, the famed New York eatery. Each of the 40 individuals depicted in the mural is presented here with a charming, telling vignette of his or her life. Full-color illustrations throughout.

The bestselling book from two prizewinning, critically acclaimed contemporary chroniclers of San Francisco-a rich, illustrated, idiosyncratic portrait of this great city. In Spirits of San Francisco, #1 bestselling Cool Gray City of Love author Gary Kamiya joins forces with celebrated, bestselling artist Paul Madonna to take a fresh look at this one-of-a-kind city. Marrying image and text in a way no book about this city has done before, Kamiya's illuminating narratives accompany Madonna's masterful pen-and-ink drawings, breathing life into San Francisco sites both iconic and obscure. Paul Madonna's atmospheric images will awe: his wide-angle drawings offer a new perspective on the “crookedest street in the world” and vistas across the city. And Kamiya's engaging prose, accompanying each image, offers striking vignettes of this incredible city: witness his story of “Dumpville,” the bizarre community that sprang up in the 19th century on top of a massive garbage dump. Handsome and irresistible-much like the city it chronicles-Spirits of San Francisco is both a visual feast and a detailed, personal, loving, informed portrait of a beloved city.