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OAKLAND: There's a "There" There Few California cities are as surprising as Oakland. Long in the shadow of glamorous San Francisco, the East Bay city of 390,000 has a mix of vibrancy, energy and diversity all its own. Jack London Square is a hive of restaurants, shops and bay ferries and home to premier jazz club and Japanese restaurant Yoshi's. Right nearby, Ninth Street's lovingly renovated Victorian build- ings are destinations for food, independent retailers and vintage archi- tecture. City center's Lake Merritt offers boating, waterside walking and jogging and a fast-growing cluster of cafés, bars and shops, plus the engaging Oakland Museum of California and gloriously old- school Grand Lake Theatre movie palace. For nightlife, head to the Uptown district's colony of restaurants and bars, the gor- geously restored 1928 Middle Eastern fantasia the Fox Theatre and 1932 Art Deco Paramount Theatre, which book headline performers. Still-more great cuisine can be found in foodie favorite Rockridge at accomplished eateries such as Wood Tavern, and in the Rockridge Market Hall. SAN LUIS OBISPO: Mission, Vineyards & the Outdoors Nestled between the Pacific Ocean 11 miles to the west and the San Lucia Mountains just to the east, this central-coast city of 45,000 is located midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Easily accessible by train on Amtrak or via U.S. Highway 101 and famously scenic California Route 1, the his- toric core of the city clusters around the 1759 Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. This is the place to find restaurants, cafés and shops. Music and theater productions are mounted on the campus of California Poly- technic Institute ("Cal Poly''). Outdoorsy visitors and locals hike and bike the Nine Sisters hills. The marine-minded head to the sometimes-chilly, foggy coast with their wetsuits for surfing, kayaking and wind- surfing. South of the city is prime territory for winery touring and tasting: the expan- sive Edna Valley wine-producing region. 2 0 1 5 T R A V E L G U I D E T O C A L I F O R N I A 17 THE NEW EASTERN SPAN of the San Francisco Bay Bridge appears to merge with the old span, with the Port of Oakland in the background, leV; Pismo Beach bluffs, San Luis Obispo County, below; oak wine barrels at a San Luis Obispo County winery, boXom.