Anaheim is located in Orange County, California on the West Coast of the United States of America. It covers an area of fifty square miles and has a population of almost three hundred and fifty thousand people. The city is the second most populated city in the county and also the second largest in terms of land area. Anaheim is known for its sports teams, convention centers and theme parks. The city limits of Anaheim stretch from the Riverside County line in the east to Cypress in the west. The economy of the city is based largely on tourism. Walt Disney is the city’s biggest employer and Anaheim Convention Center hosts many special events and conferences. In the Resort district of Anaheim, the hotels serve visitors to the theme parks and also services convention attendees.

Anaheim was founded in the mid-nineteenth century by Bavarian wine makers and grape farmers. Over fifty German families originally settled in the area and they voted to call the colony Anaheim, which means “Home on the Santa Anna River” in German. During the 1880s, pest infestation destroyed the grape industry, and other agricultural products had to fill the void. These include crops of walnuts, oranges and lemons. During the first part of the twentieth century, Anaheim was largely a rural community that contained acres upon acres of orange groves. In 1954, Walt Disney constructed the Disneyland Theme Park. The area on which it was built was originally one hundred and sixty acres of walnut trees and orange groves, some of which are still within the park to this day. The park was an instant success, and as a result hotels started being built around it to house the influx of tourists. Today, the city has re-imagined itself into as a major tourist destination. In 2007, Anaheim opened the Anaheim Walk of Fame at the entrance to Disneyland Resort. The first star to be placed on the walk was Walt Disney.

The most popular attraction in Anaheim is Disneyland Resort. This resort is owned and run by the Walt Disney Company and consists of two theme parks, three hotels, an entertainment area and venues for shopping and dining. Originally it was known as Disneyland, when it opened in the 1950s. It consisted of a theme park, one hundred acre parking lot and a hotel. But, an ambitious expansion of the property was undertaken during the 1990s and 2000s and it was called Disneyland Resort. Disneyland Park is used to refer to the original theme park. The properties that make up Disneyland Resort include Disneyland Park, Disney’s California Adventure, Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel and Downtown Disney.

Disneyland Park was opened in July of 1955 and has had over five hundred and fifteen million people visit it since then. In 2007 alone, more then fourteen million people visited the park, making it the second most visited park in the world, after Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. The public areas of the park inhabit eighty-five acres and the park is divided into nine realms. These realms provide a total immersion in a fantasy world, and when a visitor is in one realm he can’t see or hear anything from the other realms. Realms of the park include Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, Fantasyland, Frontierland, Tomorrowland, Holidayland, New Orleans Square, Bear Country and Mickey’s Toontown.

Downtown Disney is the outdoor shopping and dining venue for Disneyland Resort. It was opened in 2001 and contains restaurants and retail venues. Restaurants located here include Wetzel’s Pretzels, Catal, ESPN Zone, Uva Bar, La Brea Bakery Cafe, Haagen-Dazs, Compass Books and Cafe, Jamba Juice, Rainforest Cafe, Tortilla Jo’s, Naples Ristorante e Pizzeria, House of Blues, Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen and Napolini. Retail outlets include Anne Geddes, World of Disney Store, Disney Vault 28, Quiksilver Boardriders Club Store, Compass Books, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Travelex, Disney’s Pin Traders, Basin, Marceline’s Confectionery, Something Silver, The LEGO Imagination Center, Island Charters, Sunglass Icon, Kitson Kids, Rainforest Retail Shopping Village, Sephora and Fossil.

A popular section of the Disneyland Resort is Fantasy Land. This themed section of the resort contains castles and rides that are based on Disney movies. Attractions in this section of the park include Snow White’s Scary Adventures, Storybook Land Canal Boats, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, Snow White’s Grotto, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Casey Jr. Circus Train, Disney Princess Fantasy Faire, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Mr.Toad’s Wild Ride, Pixie Hollow, Alice in Wonderland, King Arthur Carrousel, Mad Tea Party, Sleeping Beauty Castle and Peter Pan’s Flight. Restaurants and retail stores in this area include Village Haus Restaurant, Enchanted Cottage-Sweets and Treats, Le Petit Chalet, Castle Heraldry and Fantasy Faire Gifts. Attractions that are slated to open up in the 2012/2013 seasons include Cinderella’s Chateau, Sleeping Beauty’s Cottage, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Adventure, The Beast’s Castle and Fairytale Garden.

Adventure City is another popular attraction in Anaheim. This theme park contains many rides and attractions which include Rescue Ride, Mount Adventurous, Giggle Wheel, Drop Zone, Express Train, Arcade, Carousel, Freeway Coaster, Balloon Race, Petting Farm, Children’s Theater, Crazy Bus, Thomas and Friends, Crank ‘n’ Roll, Barnstormer Planes and Tree Top Racers. Other popular attractions in the city of Anaheim include Flightdeck Air Combat Center, Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim Garden Walk, Honda Center, Anaheim Plaza, Anaheim Indoor Marketplace, Grove of Anaheim, Anaheim Hills Golf Course, Yorba Regional Park, Muzeo, Anaheim Farmer’s Market, Hobby City Doll and Toy Museum, Anaheim Convention Center, Flight Deck Air Combat Center, Center Street Promenade and The Shops at Anaheim GardenWalk.

Anaheim is also home to a number of fabulous restaurants and hotels. Restaurants in the city include Mr Stox Restaurant, JT Schmid’s Restaurant & Brew, Anaheim White House, Ma’s Islamic Restaurant, Millie’s Restaurant, Luigi’s D’Italia, Roy’s Restaurant, Sheraton Anaheim Hotel, El Torito Mexican Grill, Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen and Coco’s Bakery Restaurant. Hotels in the city of Anaheim include Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel, Red Lion Hotel, Anabella Anaheim CA Hotel, Clarion Hotel Anaheim Resort, Sheraton Park Hotel, Hotel Pepper Tree and Anaheim Ramada Hotel Maingate at The Park.

Pensacola is the seat of Escambia County, Florida and is the westernmost city in the state. It covers an area of almost forty square miles and has a population of over fifty-four thousand residents. The city is a sea port on Pensacola Bay and is known as the “City of Five Flags” because five governments have flown their flags over the city during various times in its history. These included Great Britain, the United States, Spain, France and the Confederate States of America. Other nicknames for the city include “Cradle of Naval Aviation”, “World’s Whitest Beaches”, “Emerald Coast”, “Red Snapper Capital of the World” and “America’s First Settlement”.

Pensacola was the first European settlement in the United States and was established by Don Tristan de Luna y Arellano in 1559. Less then a month later, the settlement and its fleet were destroyed by a hurricane. Two years later, the settlement was abandoned and the settlement was re-established by Spain and went on to become the largest city in Florida. in 1719, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, governor of French Louisiana claimed Pensacola for France. Jean-Baptiste arrived at the city with his fleet and a large army of Native Americans. Outmatched, the Spanish commander Metamoras surrendered the city. Three years later, another hurricane struck the city and the French abandoned it. Spain reclaimed it and moved the town from the barrier island to the mainland. In 1763, the British took control of the city and under its guidance prospered. The British made it the capital of British West Florida and the town was designed in its present form by engineer Elias Durnford.

After the French and Indian War, the British expelled the French from the North American mainland. Louisiana was transferred to the Spanish and Western Florida was transferred to the British. During the Battle of Pensacola, the Spanish captured West Florida from Britain and made it a possession of Spain. After the sale of the Louisiana territory to the United States, Florida was surrounded by the American territories. Anglo American development of West Florida increased and the Spanish were unable to fortify the region due to their preoccupation with Mexican and South American rebellions. In 1810, American settlers living in western Florida declared the area to be an independent state. In 1812, West Florida was annexed into the state of Louisiana. Six years later the United States captured Florida and by 1821, all of Florida belonged to the United States. In March of 1845, Florida was admitted into the Union as a state.

Today, the city has a booming tourist trade and attracts many visitors with its collection of landmarks and attractions. A popular attraction in the city is the National Museum of Naval Aviation. The National Museum of Naval Aviation is an aerospace museum that is situated at the Naval Air Station of Pensacola. This museum opened in 1962 and is dedicated to the history of naval aviation. It contains over one hundred and fifty aircraft and space craft and the museum covers an area of three hundred thousand square feet and is situated on thirty-seven acres. Items in its collection includes a Curtiss A-1 Triad, ZPG-2 Control Car, Lockheed S-3 Viking, Ford RR-5 Trimotor, Lockheed P-3 Orion, Timm N2T Tutor, Curtiss N2C Fledgling, Grumman J4F Widgeon, Kaman H-2 Seasprite, Sikorsky HNS Hoverfly, North American FJ-2 Fury, McDonnell F3H Demon, Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat, Sopwith F.1 Camel, Grumman C-1 Trader, Martin AM Mauler, Bell AH1 Sea Cobra and a Grumman AF Guardian. The museum also contains an IMAX theater, a cafe and a museum store. Also located here is the National Flight Academy, a program designed to teach middle and high school students the importance of math and science in aerospace careers.

Another popular attraction in Pensacola is the T.T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum. This museum was built in 1907 and the building is built in a Spanish mission architectural style. The museum contains an interesting, and occassionally odd, assortment of exhibitions which include kitchenware, tools, furniture, books, photographs, textiles, toys and machinery. The only art museum that is located in the city is the Pensacola Museum of Art. This art gallery was opened in 1954 and is dedicated to modern and contemporary art. It contains sculptures, paintings and drawings from artists such as Alexander Calder, Salvador Dali, Fairfield Porter, Alex Katz, John Marin, Thomas Hart Benton, Milton Avery, Miriam Schapiro and Lynda Benglis.

Other attractions in the city of Pensacola include Pensacola Naval Air Station, Pensacola Beach, Fort Pickens, Fort Barrancas, Historic Pensacola Village, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Veterans Memorial Park, Rave Motion Picture Theater, Colonial Archaeological Trail Center, Discovery Gallery, Osceola Municipal Golf Course, Pensacola Big Game Fishing Club, Naval Live Oaks Reservation, Pensacola Historical Museum, Saenger Theater, Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier, Pensacola Zoo, Redfish University, The Moors, Santa Rosa Island, Buccaneer State Park, Fast Eddies Fun Center and Quayside. The city also contains an excellent collection of restaurants, nightclubs, bars and hotels.

Santa Monica is an American city that is situated in Los Angeles County, California. It is located on Santa Monica Bay and has Los Angeles to the northwest, Brentwood to the north and Mar Vista on the east. The city covers an area of sixteen square miles and has a population of almost ninety thousand residents. Santa Monica has a robust economy and is the home for many successful businesses. These include Business.com, Lions Gate Films, LowerMyBills.com, The Playtone Company, High Impact Games, Studio Santa Monica, Naughty Dog, Activision, SCE Studios and Insomniac Games. There are also many companies which have branch offices in the city including the Design Center California for Volkswagen, Edmunds.com, Microsoft, MTV, Google, Yahoo and Universal. Santa Monica can trace its history to the eighteenth century when Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portola camped in the area. It was named to honor Saint Monica’s Feast Day.

The northern most areas of Santa Monica at one time was owned by Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica and Rancho Boca de Santa Monica. In 1872, Colonel Robert Baker purchased thirty-eight thousand acres of land from Jose del Carmen Sepulveda for a tidy sum of fifty-four thousand dollars. Two years later, Baker sold half of his interest in the property to Senator John P. Jones of Nevada. In 1886, the city incorporated and formed a city government based on the council & mayor model. Shortly after, the Southern Pacific Railroad built a line to Los Angeles and there was debate as to where to place a sea port. Many people thought that the port should be located at San Pedro Bay, but the railroad wanted to place it at Santa Monica. In 1893, the Long Wharf was constructed at the northern end of Santa Monica to accommodate big ships. In 1897, San Pedro Bay was selected as the port of choice by the United States Congress. While this was disappointing to many land owners in Santa Monica, it allowed the city to keep its charm. Today, Santa Monica enjoys almost year round sunshine, with the average being about three hundred and twenty-five days of sunshine a year. The city does regularly get a thick morning fog, due to its proximity to Santa Monica Bay.

Santa Monica has a vast array of attractions available to visitors and tourists. One of the more popular attractions in the city is the Santa Monica Pier. Santa Monica Pier was built in September of 1909 and was used originally to carry sewer pipes beyond the breakers. In 1916, Charles Loof and his son built an adjacent and adjoining pier to the south called Newcomb Pier. In 1922, a Carousel was erected on Pleasure Pier and it features forty-four hand carved horses. The pier today contains Pacific Park, a famous attraction in its own right. Pacific Park is a family friendly amusement park that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. It includes a Ferris Wheel (Pacific Wheel) that gives riders an excellent view of the ocean and a roller coaster (West Coaster) that encircles most of the park. Pacific Park contains a variety of other rides which include Inkie’s Scrambler, Sea Dragon, Gyro Loop, Pacific Plunge, Ship Ahoy, Sig Alert, Red Baron, Pier Patrol, Eurobungy and Frog Hopper.

Santa Monica Beach is another popular attraction in the city. It covers an area of two miles and has picnic areas, shops and the Santa Monica Pier. It also contains many staffed lifeguard stations, food vendors, equipment rental kiosks, public fitness facilities, volleyball courts and a bike trail. South of the volleyball courts is Muscle Beach. Muscle Beach contains various forms of athletic equipment and is a popular haunt for bodybuilders. Features of Muscle Beach include parallel bars, chin-up bars, jungle gyms, rings and a gymnastic area. A little bit further out is the International Chess Park. This park contains a huge person sized chessboard set into the sidewalk and many public chess tables. Located on top of the sandstone cliffs of Santa Monica is Palisade Park. This park gives an excellent view of Santa Monica Beach and the Pacific Ocean. Just to the north of Santa Monica Pier is a temporary memorial in honor of soldies serving in the Iraq War. Every Sunday evening, crosses are placed on the beach for each United States soldier who has died during the Iraq War. The number of crosses now exceeds forty-five hundred. The Museum of Flying is another prominent attraction in Santa Monica. This museum was founded by Donald Douglas Jr. in 1974 and was called the Douglas Museum and Library. It was moved to the north of the airport and renamed the Museum of Flying in 1989. Today, the museum covers an area of twenty-two thousand square feet and contains over fifty planes.

Other popular attractions in the city of Santa Monica include Magicopolis, Angel’s Attic Museum, Santa Monica Playhouse, Bergamot Station, Third Street Promenade, Santa Monica Farmers Market, Legends Beach Bike Tours, City Garage Theater, Montana Avenue, California Heritage Museum, BBC Vintage Clothing, Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, Santa Monica Place, Gallery 8, Santa Monica Visitor Center, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Craig Krull Gallery, Peter Fetterman Gallery, Patricia Correia Gallery, Rosamund Felsen Gallery, Christopher Grimes Gallery, Angles Gallery, Bruce Kapson Gallery, FIG Gallery, Cambridge Art Gallery, Jurassic Museum, Frank Lloyd Gallery, Children’s Nature Institute, Burke Williams Spa, Bronson Fine Arts, Frumkin-Duval Gallery, Urban Outfitters, Adamm’s Stained Glass & Art Glass Gallery and Annenberg Community Beach House.

The city is also home to a wide array of different restaurants, bars, cafes and hotels. Restaurants and bars in the city include Musha Restaurant, Border Grill, Chez Jay Restaurant, The Lobster, IL Fornaio Restaurant & Bakery, Houston’s Restaurant, El Cholo Restaurant, The Galley Restaurant, Drago Restaurant, Wilshire Restaurant, Jiraffe Restaurant, Wokcano Asian Restaurant & Lounge, Boa Steakhouse, Valentino Italian Restaurant and Busby’s West Restaurant Bar. Prominent hotels in the city of Santa Monica include Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, Le Merigot Beach Hotel & Spa, Shangri-La Hotel, Best Western Gateway Hotel, Fairmont Miramar Luxury Hotel & Bungalows, Bayside Hotel, Ambrose Hotel, Cal Mar Hotel Suites Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Pico Blvd Travelodge.

San Jose is the tenth biggest city in the United States and the third biggest in the state of California. Its the county seat of Santa Clara County and is located in Silicone Valley. San Jose covers an area of one hundred and seventy-eight square miles and has a population of over nine hundred and fifty thousand people. The city was founded in November of 1777 under the name El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe. When California achieved statehood in 1850 San Jose became its first capital. San Jose’s economy depends heavily on high tech industries such as engineering, computer and microprocessor companies. Companies located in this city include eBay, SunPower, BEA Systems, Adobe Systems, IBM, Lockheed Martin and Hewlett-Packard. Over thirty percent of all venture capital invested in the United States is vested in San Jose companies.

The educational needs of San Jose is serviced by a large network of elementary and secondary schools. Some of these include Allen Elementary School, Broadway High School, Downtown College Prep School, Gunderson Plus, Herbert Hoover Middle School and Willow Glen Elementary School. Universities in the city include San José State University, National Hispanic University and Lincoln Law School of San Jose. Many students from San Jose choose to attend schools in adjacent communities. These universities include Stanford University in Palo Alto, Carnegie Mellon and Santa Clara University.

San Jose is home to a large number of attractions. One of the most popular of these attractions is the Villa Montalvo Arboretum. The Villa Montalvo Arboretum is a botanical garden that is located on one hundred and thirty-seven acres. It was founded in 1912 and features a Mediterranean style mansion that belonged to U.S Senator James D. Phelan and was bequeathed to the city to be used as part of the park. Close to the house are gardens, marble statues, fountains and expansive lawns. Another arboretum located in the city is located on the campus of Stanford University. Stanford University Arboretum was founded in the nineteenth century and features over three hundred and fifty different tree species taken from one hundred and fifty genera and sixty families. Trees featured here include black oaks, California sycamore, Deodar Cedar, Atlas Cedar, White Ash, Torrey Pine and Canary Island Date Palm. Another popular attraction in San Jose is the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph. This Roman Catholic church was completed in 1884. Featured withing this church is the Odell Organ. The Odell Organ was built in 1886 by the HH & CS Odell Company. It is one of the only four instruments of its kind that exist in the United States.

De Saisset Museum is a popular museum located in San Jose. This museum was found in the 1950s after Isabel de Saisset gave her estate to the University of Santa Clara after her death. This museum covers an area of nineteen thousand square feet and contains almost ten thousand artifacts and art pieces. This museum contains Baroque, Rococo and Renaissance from such artist as Picasso, Chagall and Matisse. Another important museum in San Jose is the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum was founded in 1928 by the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis. This museum not only contains the largest exhibition of Ancient Egyptian artifacts in the Western Unites States, but is one of the only museums in the world where the building itself is constructed in the Ancient Egyptian architectural style. Gallery themes in this museum include Afterlife and Rock Cut Tomb, Kingship and Palace, Sekhmet and Akenaten’s Amarna. Adjacent to the museum is a planetarium. Other museums in San Jose include the Portuguese Historical Museum, Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, the Computer History Museum, Googleplex, Intel Museum, Lick Observatory, Laser Quest, NASA Ames Research Center and The Tech Museum of Innovation.

A fascinating museum located in San Jose is the History Park at Kelley Park. This museum has both indoor and outdoor exhibits and is set up to appear like an early twentieth century town. Several historic buildings from that time period have been moved to this park. There are also replica buildings that have been designed for this park. Some of the exhibit buildings located here include a blacksmith, fruit barn, dentist office, Pacific Hotel, Empire Fire House, Bank Of Italy, a schoolhouse and a post office. Other exhibits here include a one hundred and fifteen foot replica of the San Jose Electric Light Tower, horse drawn carriages and period automobiles. Also located here is the Viet Museum, Portuguese Historical Museum, Paulson House and the Leonard and David McKay Gallery.

Happy Hollow Park & Zoo is an amusement park that is visited by over three hundred thousand people a year. It features many rides and a house of mirrors. It also has a maze area, an antique watermill and a zoo. The zoo contains many animals such as wallabies, jaguars, lemures, donkeys, goats and a zebu.

San Jose is a city that is also home to a large number of shops and shopping malls. These include Cupertino Square, Eastridge Center, Great Mall of the Bay Area, Pruneyard Shopping Center, San Antonio Shopping Center, Santana Row, Stanford Shopping Center, Westfield Oakridge, Westfield Valley Fair and
Westgate Mall. Other attractions in the city include the Chinese Cultural Garden, Emma Prusch Farm Park, Gurdwara Sahib of San Jose, San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, Mexican Heritage Plaza, San Jose City Hall, Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, San Jose Repertory Theatre, San Jose Museum of Art, Vivace Youth Chorus of San Jose and San Jose Flea Market. The city is also home to a number of events such as BayCon, Cinequest Film Festival, FanimeCon, Further Confusion, LiveStrong Challenge bike race, Gilroy Garlic Festival, San Jose Holiday Parade, San Jose Jazz Festival and the Stanford Jazz Festival. The city is also home to a large number of restaurants, bars, clubs, cafes and there are plenty of hotels to stay. Hotels include the Montgomery Hotel, The Sainte Claire Hotel and the Hotel Valencia Santana Row.

Oakland is a Californian city that is situated on San Francisco Bay and is around seven miles east of San Francisco. It is the eighth largest city in the state and is the primary hub for the Bay Area. Oakland covers an area of seventy-eight square miles and has a population of over four hundred thousand residents. Historically, Oakland is a city that has had its share of challenges which have included poverty, elevated crime rates and high unemployment. In 1906 and 1989, the city was hit by major earthquakes along the San Andreas Fault. Oakland is a city that can trace its history back to the eighteenth century, when Spanish explorers claimed the area on which Oakland is located for the King of Spain. Major development of the area wouldn’t occur until 1848, however. This is when Mexico ceded the area to the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo after the Mexican American War. In 1852, California incorporated the city of Oakland. During the 1860s and 1870s, the city grew rapidly after the railroads entered the city and it became a major rail terminus. With the arrival of World War II, the entire Bay Area became home to many war industries. One of these was Kaiser Shipyards which was located in Richmond. Oakland Moore Dry Dock expanded its shipbuilding abilities and cranked out over one hundred ships. Oakland also developed a valuable canning industry during the war.

Today, Oakland is a city that is developing at a steady pace. Its also a city that is enjoying a robust tourist trade which is fueled by the many attractions that are located there. One of the most popular attractions in the city is the Chabot Space and Science Center. The Chabot Space and Science Center features hands on activities, a huge theater, a planetarium and interactive exhibits. This institution began in 1883 and was called the Oakland Observatory. In 1915, it was moved to Mountain Boulevard and during the 1960s it went through an extensive period of renovation and expansion. In 2000, the science center as it exists today was opened in an eighty-six thousand square foot facility that is on thirteen acres. The Chabot Space and Science Center contains three observatory telescopes. These are Leah (built in 1883), Rachel (built in 1914) and Nellie (built in 2003). Located here is the Ask Jeeves Planetarium. This planetarium can seat over two hundred and forty people under a seventy foot dome. Shows featured at the planetarium include Immersive Space, Space NOW and The Sky Tonight.

Another popular attraction is the Oakland Zoo. The Oakland Zoo was originally known as the Knowland Zoo and is small for a city the size of Oakland. But, the exhibits are modern and the animals are kept in natural environments. This zoo was started in 1922 by the naturalist Henry Snow. The zoo has been in several locations over the course of its history including Sequoia Park, Joaquin Miller Park and finally to Durant Park. This zoo is home to over four hundred and forty animals which include Sun Bear, Hamadryas Baboons, Bison, Bobcats, Arabian Camels, Elephants, Giraffes, Malayan Flying Foxes, Alpine Goats, Pygmy Goats, Alpine Goats, Meerkats, Sheep, Cotton-topped Tamarin and Squirrel Monkeys.

The USS Potomac is another must see attraction in the city of Oakland. The USS Potomac was built by the Manitowoc Ship Building Company in 1934 as the Coast Guard Cutter named Electra. In 1936, it was converted into a presidential yacht and was commissioned into the U.S. Navy. In the years that followed, the USS Potomac was used extensively by President Roosevelt for political meetings and impromptu fishing trips. When President Roosevelt passed away, the ship was decommissioned and returned to the Coast Guard in 1945. After 1945, the USS Potomac was used by the Maryland Tidewater Fisheries Commission and was sold in 1960 to Warren G. Toone. In 1964, Elvis Presley bought the ship for fifty five thousand dollars. Elvis donated it to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital to sell at a fund raiser. The hospital sold it for seventy-five thousand dollars. In 1980, the ship was involved in drug running and was seized by the United States Custom Service and tower to Treasure Island. While there, it sunk. Two weeks later, the United States Navy refloated the vessel and the USS Potomac was sold to Oakland for the sum of fifteen thousand dollars.

Another prominent attraction in Oakland is Preservation Park. Preservation Park has sixteen historic buildings that are arranged to resemble a late nineteenth century Oakland neighborhood. Buildings that are located here include Remillard House, Ginn House, Nile Hall, Thornton House, Higgins House, White House, Knox-Buckley House, Bartling House, Park House, Robinson House, Standeford House, Bauske House, Trowbridge House, Jacobs House, Raymond House and Hunt House. Another structure that is located here is the Latham Ducel Fountain. This fountain was forged in Paris and is made of iron. It features Diana, goddess of the moon.

Other attractions in the city of Oakland include the Oakland Museum of California, Lake Merritt, Camron-Stanford House, Lakeside Park and Garden Center, Fairyland, Fortune Cookie Factory Tour, Dunsmuir House, Oakland China Town, Jack London Square, Sunday Farmer’s Market, Paramount Theater, Embarcadero Bay Bicycle Trail, Lafayette Square Park, French Trail Connector, Jack London Cinema, ACB Ballroom Dance School, East Bay Regional Park District, Open Studios, California College of the Arts, Jack London’s Cabin, Oakland History Room, Rotary Nature Center and Waterfowl Refuge, McAfee Coliseum, Tilden Nature Area, Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, Old Oakland Neighborhood, Oakland Convention Center, Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center and Mazzariello Labyrinth. Oakland is also home to several popular restaurants and hotels. Restaurants in the city include Le Cheval Restaurant, Pacific Coast Brewing Co., Peony Restaurant, B Restaurant, Fentons Creamery & Restaurant, Luka’s Taproom & Lounge and Max’s Restaurant. Hotels in the city of Oakland include Marriott City Center, Park Plaza Hotel, Waterfront Plaza Hotel, Courtyard Oakland, Washington Inn Hotel, Woodfin Suites Hotel, Jack London Inn and Executive Inn Embarcadero Cove.
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