Best Places to Go for Winter Sun

There are many fun not-too-far-off places to go during the winter to get away from the freezing weather. My favorites are California, Florida, Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean. (Actually I live in California, so I don't have to go there on vacation!)

California is my favorite state. I have lived there for about half my life and I never get tired of it. Both northern and southern California are quite exciting in very different ways. When people think of California, they usually think of southern California - the beaches, Hollywood, and Disneyland. These are all very fun places to visit. The three main big cities in southern California are Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara.

Northern California is another world. San Francisco is a beautiful, large old city surrounded by water on three sides, the San Francisco Bay to the east, the Golden Gate to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The Bay Area, the metropolitan area of San Francisco, is comprised of the nine counties along the San Francisco Bay and is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country. It includes San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, and San Jose.

Hawaii is the southernmost state. It consists of eight islands: Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, and Hawaii. Hawaii is the biggest island geographically and home to the volcano Mauna Kea, the tallest mountain in the islands. All the islands were formed from volcanoes. Honolulu, the capitol and largest city in Hawaii, is on the island of Oahu. Hawaii also has many beautiful beaches.

Florida is another gorgeous state with lots of sun and nice beaches. Fun places to go in Florida include Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Daytona, and the Florida Keys, Key West in particular. Orlando has many theme parks, including Walt Disney World and Sea World.

From Florida it's easy to get to the Caribbean by boat. A cruise is the best way to tour the Caribbean Islands, which include the Bahamas, St. Martin, St. Lucia, Martinique, and Puerto Rico. The Islands are beautiful but very poor. However, the natives are quite friendly.

Mexico is another spectacular place to travel during the winter. Besides Tijuana, which is a dump, the only places I've visited in Mexico are Cancun and the Yukitan Peninsula, which are quite beautiful. Cancun is one of many resort towns in Mexico, built primarily for tourists, some others being Acapulco, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vaerte. To see the real Mexico, you need to take day trips from these cities. The Chichen Itsa is a fabulous Mayan pyramid in the Yukitan peninsula, an easy day trip from Cancun.

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