Santa Clara to Santa Cruz

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0:00:02 > 0:00:07I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of North America,

0:00:07 > 0:00:10with my faithful Appleton's Guide.

0:00:13 > 0:00:15Published in the late 19th century,

0:00:15 > 0:00:19it will direct me to everything that's novel, beautiful,

0:00:19 > 0:00:22memorable and curious

0:00:22 > 0:00:24in the United States.

0:00:24 > 0:00:26Yee-ha!

0:00:26 > 0:00:29As I travel through this vast continent,

0:00:29 > 0:00:32I'll discover gold and silver,

0:00:32 > 0:00:34movies and microchips,

0:00:34 > 0:00:36oil and oranges,

0:00:36 > 0:00:40and learn how America's most famous railroad conquered

0:00:40 > 0:00:42the wild landscapes of the west.

0:01:07 > 0:01:11My journey through California now turns southwards.

0:01:11 > 0:01:16Railway tracks and telegraph lines were technologies that transformed

0:01:16 > 0:01:18society around the world,

0:01:18 > 0:01:21but their impact was greatest in California

0:01:21 > 0:01:25because it had been cut off from the rest of the United States.

0:01:25 > 0:01:28Suddenly, news became virtually instantaneous,

0:01:28 > 0:01:31and goods and people could arrive from the east in days

0:01:31 > 0:01:33rather than months.

0:01:33 > 0:01:37Today's transformative technologies include the microchip,

0:01:37 > 0:01:41e-mail and mobile-phone-based apps,

0:01:41 > 0:01:44and many of the breakthroughs have come from California,

0:01:44 > 0:01:45from Silicon Valley.

0:01:49 > 0:01:52I'm making a 1000-mile railway

0:01:52 > 0:01:54journey from Reno, Nevada

0:01:54 > 0:01:55to San Diego

0:01:55 > 0:01:57in southern California.

0:01:57 > 0:02:01This leg begins just south of San Francisco in Silicon Valley,

0:02:01 > 0:02:03from where I'll use some of California's

0:02:03 > 0:02:07most picturesque rail lines to return to the Pacific Coast.

0:02:09 > 0:02:11Along the way, my head will grapple with

0:02:11 > 0:02:13California's Japanese heritage...

0:02:13 > 0:02:14GRUNTING

0:02:14 > 0:02:16Oh!

0:02:16 > 0:02:19It's a very odd feeling, being hit on the head repeatedly!

0:02:19 > 0:02:20TRAIN WHISTLES

0:02:20 > 0:02:24I'll marvel at the world's tallest trees...

0:02:24 > 0:02:26People come from all over the world to enjoy these trees.

0:02:26 > 0:02:28To see them from the train, Phil, is special.

0:02:31 > 0:02:33..and face total wipe-out.

0:02:35 > 0:02:37WHISTLING

0:02:50 > 0:02:54I'm now riding Amtrak's Capitol Corridor service,

0:02:54 > 0:02:58a railroad that runs 170 miles through northern California,

0:02:58 > 0:03:01from Auburn down to San Jose.

0:03:01 > 0:03:05Appleton's tells me that the Santa Clara Valley lies between

0:03:05 > 0:03:08the coast and the Santa Cruz mountains.

0:03:08 > 0:03:11It is watered by the Coyote and Guadalupe rivers,

0:03:11 > 0:03:13and by artesian wells,

0:03:13 > 0:03:16and claims to be the most fertile in the world.

0:03:21 > 0:03:23I'm leaving the train at Santa Clara,

0:03:23 > 0:03:26in the heart of what's now known as Silicon Valley.

0:03:30 > 0:03:34To trace the evolution of this area from farmland to the powerhouse of

0:03:34 > 0:03:36the digital revolution,

0:03:36 > 0:03:40I've come to a hi-tech hotel bar beyond the wildest dreams

0:03:40 > 0:03:42of Appleton's readers.

0:03:45 > 0:03:47- Hello, Justin. - Hey! How are you doing?

0:03:47 > 0:03:49I'm meeting Justin Kuykendall,

0:03:49 > 0:03:52from the Silicon Valley Historical Association,

0:03:52 > 0:03:55with novel waiting staff in attendance.

0:03:55 > 0:03:56Well, I never! What is this?

0:03:56 > 0:03:58ROBOT WHIRS

0:03:58 > 0:03:59Hello.

0:03:59 > 0:04:02"I'm running a delivery," it says.

0:04:02 > 0:04:03ROBOT CHIMES, MICHAEL LAUGHS

0:04:03 > 0:04:06"Hello, Michael and Justin, please remove your items."

0:04:06 > 0:04:08Oh!

0:04:08 > 0:04:09There's one for you, Justin.

0:04:09 > 0:04:11Thank you.

0:04:11 > 0:04:12And one for me.

0:04:14 > 0:04:16Oh! Thank you very much indeed.

0:04:16 > 0:04:18ROBOT CHIMES

0:04:20 > 0:04:25How far back do you trace the connection between the valley

0:04:25 > 0:04:27and the development of technology,

0:04:27 > 0:04:30what we now think of IT, information technology?

0:04:30 > 0:04:31Sure, sure. Um...

0:04:31 > 0:04:33I think it's really starts with the university -

0:04:33 > 0:04:36you know, the starting of Stanford.

0:04:36 > 0:04:40My Appleton's Guide, written in 1891, says,

0:04:40 > 0:04:44"Senator Leland Stanford's great Palo Alto ranch

0:04:44 > 0:04:50"is the site of the Leland Stanford Junior University, founded in 1885."

0:04:50 > 0:04:51Well, it started as a ranch,

0:04:51 > 0:04:54but then, you know, he created a university,

0:04:54 > 0:04:57you know, after the death of his son.

0:04:57 > 0:04:58He had a vision that, you know,

0:04:58 > 0:05:03his son came to him and that he was supposed to have a university,

0:05:03 > 0:05:05so that's really where the university idea came,

0:05:05 > 0:05:08and that would be the education for this...California

0:05:08 > 0:05:09and the students of California.

0:05:11 > 0:05:16Railroad baron Leland Stanford had helped to build the trailblazing

0:05:16 > 0:05:19Transcontinental Route in the 1860s.

0:05:20 > 0:05:22By the mid-20th century,

0:05:22 > 0:05:26the university that he had founded was helping to ferment a new

0:05:26 > 0:05:28technological revolution.

0:05:29 > 0:05:31Technology start-ups arrived,

0:05:31 > 0:05:35encouraged by Stanford engineering professor Frederick Terman,

0:05:35 > 0:05:38who established an industrial park on the campus.

0:05:40 > 0:05:43The Santa Clara Valley became a hi-tech hub,

0:05:43 > 0:05:47producing silicon semiconductors, which form part of the chips

0:05:47 > 0:05:51that are the brains of our modern electronic devices.

0:05:52 > 0:05:54Why does Silicon Valley work?

0:05:54 > 0:05:58You have the university, you have this semi-conductor industry,

0:05:58 > 0:06:00you have great weather,

0:06:00 > 0:06:03and you also have, kind of, that western entrepreneurial

0:06:03 > 0:06:05idea of, you know, pioneering.

0:06:05 > 0:06:07Something really... We want to do something new.

0:06:07 > 0:06:10We want to do something that's cool. We want to change the world.

0:06:15 > 0:06:17In the 21st century,

0:06:17 > 0:06:21Silicon Valley is synonymous with the disruptive technologies of the

0:06:21 > 0:06:26internet age, from search engines to social networks -

0:06:26 > 0:06:30now its innovators want to change the way we travel.

0:06:32 > 0:06:36At Intel, which pioneered the microchip back in the 1960s,

0:06:36 > 0:06:38engineers are giving cars

0:06:38 > 0:06:40the data processing power

0:06:40 > 0:06:41to drive themselves.

0:06:46 > 0:06:48I'm joining Grant Mahler on a test drive.

0:06:50 > 0:06:51Hi, Grant. I'm Michael.

0:06:51 > 0:06:53Nice to meet you, Michael.

0:06:56 > 0:07:00The project is a collaboration with BMW and Mobileye,

0:07:00 > 0:07:03a sensor and mapping company.

0:07:03 > 0:07:05In the back is Carl,

0:07:05 > 0:07:08whose computer is tracking what the car is seeing.

0:07:11 > 0:07:16As we hit the freeway, we're about to go into autonomous drive.

0:07:16 > 0:07:20Grant, I have to tell you, this is a very exciting moment for me.

0:07:20 > 0:07:21I have never been in this situation,

0:07:21 > 0:07:24and, for me, it is a glimpse of the future.

0:07:29 > 0:07:31Grant, what's happening now?

0:07:31 > 0:07:32The car is steering itself.

0:07:33 > 0:07:35It has taken over from you?

0:07:35 > 0:07:37Correct.

0:07:37 > 0:07:41Right now the car is making the adjustments to speed,

0:07:41 > 0:07:43to direction and so on?

0:07:43 > 0:07:44Correct.

0:07:47 > 0:07:53Amazing, for me, for the first time, to experience autonomous driving.

0:07:53 > 0:07:55This is going to change our way of living -

0:07:55 > 0:07:59whether you need to own a car, whether you need a driving licence,

0:07:59 > 0:08:00how many cars we need on the roads,

0:08:00 > 0:08:02whether people are going to live longer

0:08:02 > 0:08:04because they don't die in motor accidents.

0:08:04 > 0:08:07It's an absolutely transformative technology.

0:08:16 > 0:08:20In the here and now, I'm reverting to a form of transport

0:08:20 > 0:08:22readers of my guidebook would have recognised.

0:08:35 > 0:08:39Appleton's tells me that one of the excursions most frequently

0:08:39 > 0:08:43recommended to the stranger is that to San Jose.

0:08:43 > 0:08:46Having reached this outpost of the American Far West,

0:08:46 > 0:08:50I want to consider a community that came from across the Pacific to the

0:08:50 > 0:08:55Far East, and which at one time had the misfortune to be regarded as

0:08:55 > 0:08:58an enemy of the United States.

0:09:01 > 0:09:04This is San Jose, our final stop. This is San Jose.

0:09:21 > 0:09:24Today, San Jose is Silicon Valley's biggest city

0:09:24 > 0:09:27and one of the most affluent places in the United States.

0:09:33 > 0:09:35A couple of miles north of the station

0:09:35 > 0:09:38is the Japanese quarter, or Nihonmachi.

0:09:42 > 0:09:45At the Buddhist church founded by some of the city's

0:09:45 > 0:09:47earliest Japanese immigrants,

0:09:47 > 0:09:52I'm meeting Jim Nagareda of San Jose's Japanese-American Museum.

0:09:53 > 0:09:55Jim, I'm Michael.

0:09:55 > 0:09:57Hey, Michael.

0:09:57 > 0:09:59Good to see you.

0:09:59 > 0:10:02- Lovely temple. Beautiful.- Thank you.

0:10:02 > 0:10:06What is the origin of the Japanese community in the San Jose area?

0:10:06 > 0:10:09The Japanese started coming to this area in the late 1800s,

0:10:09 > 0:10:13and they came here looking for jobs in agriculture,

0:10:13 > 0:10:18and most of the Japanese intended on going back -

0:10:18 > 0:10:21you know, making their money and going back to Japan -

0:10:21 > 0:10:24but a lot of them stayed and formed this great community.

0:10:26 > 0:10:30By 1940, California was home to three quarters of

0:10:30 > 0:10:35the Japanese population of the United States,

0:10:35 > 0:10:39but within two years, the growth of Japantown came to a stop

0:10:39 > 0:10:42when Japan attacked America.

0:10:44 > 0:10:47Tell me about the impact on the community of

0:10:47 > 0:10:49December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor.

0:10:49 > 0:10:51After the bombing,

0:10:51 > 0:10:55they knew that there was going to be some type of backlash.

0:10:55 > 0:11:00They burned all of their family photos cos they wanted to disconnect

0:11:00 > 0:11:02themselves with anything from Japan,

0:11:02 > 0:11:04along with a lot of their other possessions.

0:11:04 > 0:11:08When they actually had to go to, actually, incarceration camps,

0:11:08 > 0:11:10they could only take what they could carry.

0:11:12 > 0:11:15In May, 1942, across the United States,

0:11:15 > 0:11:20people of Japanese descent were interned in camps.

0:11:20 > 0:11:24Most of San Jose's Japantown residents were sent

0:11:24 > 0:11:271,000 miles away to Wyoming.

0:11:27 > 0:11:30They would not return for three years.

0:11:32 > 0:11:35And they ceased to be US citizens.

0:11:35 > 0:11:37Basically, their rights were taken away.

0:11:37 > 0:11:42They said that the camps were for their protection,

0:11:42 > 0:11:45yet the guns were pointed inward.

0:11:45 > 0:11:49How easily could they reintegrate after 1945?

0:11:49 > 0:11:51It was not easy for them.

0:11:51 > 0:11:54A lot of people lost their property and lost their businesses,

0:11:54 > 0:11:56lost their homes,

0:11:56 > 0:11:58and so they had to rebuild.

0:11:58 > 0:12:00GONG CHIMES

0:12:02 > 0:12:05GONG CHIMES

0:12:05 > 0:12:07MAN SINGS IN OWN LANGUAGE

0:12:16 > 0:12:18SINGING CONTINUES

0:12:27 > 0:12:29GONG CHIME

0:12:29 > 0:12:33Today, Japantown is thriving once more,

0:12:33 > 0:12:35and its residents are passing on their traditions

0:12:35 > 0:12:37to the next generation.

0:12:41 > 0:12:44DRUMMING

0:12:44 > 0:12:46THEY YELL

0:12:48 > 0:12:50SHOUTING

0:12:50 > 0:12:52DRUMBEAT SPEEDS UP

0:12:54 > 0:12:56THEY YELL

0:13:03 > 0:13:05SHOUTING

0:13:08 > 0:13:10THEY CONTINUE YELLING Extraordinary sight.

0:13:10 > 0:13:14In Japantown, just next to the temple, is this gymnasium,

0:13:14 > 0:13:18and these youngsters, male and female,

0:13:18 > 0:13:22are learning kendo, a martial art,

0:13:22 > 0:13:24which I suppose tells us the strength of the Japanese community.

0:13:24 > 0:13:26THEY YELL

0:13:26 > 0:13:30Instructor Dale Hatakeyama is initiating me

0:13:30 > 0:13:33in the art of Japanese fencing.

0:13:33 > 0:13:36Dale, sorry, sir, may I interrupt you a moment?

0:13:36 > 0:13:38- I'm Michael. Hi.- Nice to meet you, Michael.

0:13:38 > 0:13:41- And this is kendo?- This is kendo.

0:13:41 > 0:13:43We teach the Japanese culture, as far as respect,

0:13:43 > 0:13:46perseverance and carrying yourself with dignity.

0:13:46 > 0:13:48So, it's not about only about fighting each other,

0:13:48 > 0:13:52but it's also about trying to make yourself a better person.

0:13:52 > 0:13:54Would it be crazy if I attempted to have a go?

0:13:54 > 0:13:55Certainly, if you wanted.

0:13:58 > 0:14:03First, a traditional Japanese costume and some body armour.

0:14:03 > 0:14:05Arggh! Quite tight.

0:14:05 > 0:14:07- I'm in.- You're in?

0:14:07 > 0:14:10My opponent is less than a third of my age,

0:14:10 > 0:14:13and I think has been doing this forever.

0:14:15 > 0:14:18Not that I'm intimidated. No, no, no.

0:14:18 > 0:14:22The way you swing this is you push it up with your left hand,

0:14:22 > 0:14:24and over your head, straight over your head,

0:14:24 > 0:14:26and then you swing it down and take a step forward

0:14:26 > 0:14:28and you're going to hit him right here.

0:14:28 > 0:14:30- Really?- Yes, yes. - And I won't hurt him?

0:14:30 > 0:14:33I hope not. Hit the top of his head and say, "men" at the same time.

0:14:33 > 0:14:35The sword is made of bamboo.

0:14:35 > 0:14:37Men! Men!

0:14:37 > 0:14:40Points are scored for striking parts of the body.

0:14:40 > 0:14:42- Men!- Nice, nice.

0:14:43 > 0:14:45"Men" means face.

0:14:45 > 0:14:46Men!

0:14:47 > 0:14:49- We'll change roles now, so...- OK.

0:14:49 > 0:14:51Men! Men!

0:14:51 > 0:14:52Oh!

0:14:52 > 0:14:54Men, men, men!

0:14:54 > 0:14:55Oh!

0:14:55 > 0:14:58It's a fairly odd feeling, being hit on the head repeatedly.

0:14:58 > 0:15:02"Do" is called for a cut to the chest.

0:15:02 > 0:15:03Do!

0:15:05 > 0:15:07It's better than being hit on the head.

0:15:07 > 0:15:09Men, men, men!

0:15:11 > 0:15:12He's very good.

0:15:12 > 0:15:13MICHAEL CACKLES

0:15:13 > 0:15:15Dale, I think I've had enough.

0:15:15 > 0:15:17I'm sorry I haven't been a great success.

0:15:17 > 0:15:19- Thank you, sir. - Thank you so much.

0:15:36 > 0:15:38I'm continuing my journey from Felton

0:15:38 > 0:15:41in the scenic Santa Cruz Mountains.

0:15:51 > 0:15:56My guidebook promises a grove of mammoth trees in the vicinity.

0:15:57 > 0:16:01How better to experience California's iconic redwoods

0:16:01 > 0:16:04than from the footplate of a steam engine?

0:16:04 > 0:16:06TRAIN WHISTLES

0:16:07 > 0:16:10ENGINE RUMBLES

0:16:24 > 0:16:28And with that, our magnificent locomotive is underway.

0:16:33 > 0:16:37The three-mile Roaring Camp and Big Trees Railroad

0:16:37 > 0:16:39was built in the 1960s.

0:16:39 > 0:16:43Now heritage locomotives haul tourist trains

0:16:43 > 0:16:47past some of California's oldest and most majestic trees.

0:16:50 > 0:16:53This train affords a terrific opportunity

0:16:53 > 0:16:55to see the redwood grove -

0:16:55 > 0:16:58because, of course, you're going a bit faster than walking pace,

0:16:58 > 0:17:01you're able to cover so much of the terrain.

0:17:01 > 0:17:06A certain irony, seeing the forest from the train because, after all,

0:17:06 > 0:17:10the demand of the railroad for timber was enormous,

0:17:10 > 0:17:12partly to fuel the early locomotives,

0:17:12 > 0:17:16and partly for sleepers, what the Americans call ties.

0:17:16 > 0:17:19The bits of wood on which the track rides.

0:17:21 > 0:17:23We're on narrow-gauge,

0:17:23 > 0:17:26and it looks like we've got some quite steep gradients

0:17:26 > 0:17:28and quite tight curves.

0:17:28 > 0:17:32Yes, Roaring Camp has probably got the steepest grades and

0:17:32 > 0:17:36sharpest curves on any narrow-gauge railroad in North America.

0:17:36 > 0:17:38STEAM HISSES

0:17:38 > 0:17:41When they designed the railroad, they didn't want to take trees out

0:17:41 > 0:17:42so they went around them.

0:17:42 > 0:17:43That's a lovely thought, isn't it?

0:17:43 > 0:17:46- A railroad built around the tree trunks.- That's right.

0:17:46 > 0:17:49People would come from all over the world to enjoy these trees.

0:17:49 > 0:17:51I mean, to see them from the train, Phil, is special.

0:17:51 > 0:17:54Oh, it really is. I never tire of the view.

0:17:54 > 0:17:56TRAIN WHISTLES

0:18:14 > 0:18:16TRAIN WHISTLES

0:18:31 > 0:18:34Although the narrow-gauge railroad is relatively modern,

0:18:34 > 0:18:38tourists have been coming by train to marvel at the redwoods

0:18:38 > 0:18:40since the days of my Appleton's Guide.

0:18:57 > 0:19:00The trees rise above me on all sides,

0:19:00 > 0:19:02like the columns of a giant cathedral,

0:19:02 > 0:19:06although probably taller than any cathedral I've seen,

0:19:06 > 0:19:08and here below it is quite dark,

0:19:08 > 0:19:12and you look up and you see the light filtered through the canopy.

0:19:17 > 0:19:21Ranger Steven Elmore is going to tell me more about

0:19:21 > 0:19:23the tallest trees on Earth.

0:19:24 > 0:19:29Steven, these magnificent coastal redwoods, how tall do they grow?

0:19:29 > 0:19:32They can actually get well over 300 feet.

0:19:32 > 0:19:35I assume, then, the coastal redwoods are native to

0:19:35 > 0:19:37the west coast of the United States.

0:19:37 > 0:19:40Yes, that's the only place where they're found naturally.

0:19:40 > 0:19:43They have to live on the coast because one of their additional

0:19:43 > 0:19:45sources of water is actually the fog.

0:19:45 > 0:19:48Because of the design of the needles, it will allow the water

0:19:48 > 0:19:49to drip down onto their roots,

0:19:49 > 0:19:53as well as actually absorb water from the fog itself.

0:19:53 > 0:19:56The United States is infamous for its forest fires.

0:19:56 > 0:19:58How have the redwoods survived that?

0:19:58 > 0:20:02Well, these trees have actually adapted to live with fires.

0:20:02 > 0:20:06There's actually tannic acid in this bark here,

0:20:06 > 0:20:09and that actually manages to protect the tree from the fire.

0:20:09 > 0:20:11So, even the though they'll get scorched and burned,

0:20:11 > 0:20:13most of the time they'll actually survive.

0:20:16 > 0:20:20Coast redwoods can live for over 1,500 years,

0:20:20 > 0:20:23but in post-gold-rush California,

0:20:23 > 0:20:25many were lost to the logging industry.

0:20:28 > 0:20:31How has this grove managed to survive man,

0:20:31 > 0:20:34and the sort of vandalism of the 19th century?

0:20:34 > 0:20:37Well, it didn't happen by accident.

0:20:37 > 0:20:41Joseph Welch was the man who owned this particular part of the land,

0:20:41 > 0:20:43and he actually decided that he could make more money selling

0:20:43 > 0:20:47pictures of these magnificent trees, rather than cutting down the wood

0:20:47 > 0:20:49for other purposes.

0:20:49 > 0:20:53So, he built a railway station and a hotel and a dance floor

0:20:53 > 0:20:58and things like that, and kind of turned it into, basically, a resort.

0:20:58 > 0:21:00Profit was his motive,

0:21:00 > 0:21:06but when Welch bought this 40-acre grove of virgin redwoods in 1867,

0:21:06 > 0:21:09he saved it from the loggers.

0:21:09 > 0:21:10Just three years before,

0:21:10 > 0:21:14President Lincoln had created the United States' first-ever

0:21:14 > 0:21:20publicly protected area of wilderness in the Yosemite Valley.

0:21:20 > 0:21:2519th-century Californians were beginning to realise the value of

0:21:25 > 0:21:26their natural wonders.

0:21:37 > 0:21:41Back on the rails, I'm taking another tourist train,

0:21:41 > 0:21:44travelling south.

0:21:44 > 0:21:48This line follows the route of the Santa Cruz and Felton Railroad,

0:21:48 > 0:21:51a narrow-gauge line which opened in 1875.

0:21:58 > 0:22:00My destination is Santa Cruz,

0:22:00 > 0:22:03which Appleton's tells me is attractively situated

0:22:03 > 0:22:06on the north side of Monterey Bay,

0:22:06 > 0:22:10and is one of the principle watering places of California.

0:22:10 > 0:22:13This train is actually going to take me down to the boardwalk.

0:22:22 > 0:22:23- Hello!- Hello.- Hello. How are you?

0:22:23 > 0:22:25How are you enjoying your train ride today?

0:22:25 > 0:22:27- Loving it!- It's very nice. - Yeah?- Very good, yeah.

0:22:27 > 0:22:30- What are you loving? - So, I've never done this before,

0:22:30 > 0:22:34but I love being in the mountains, so I love, like, all the redwoods.

0:22:34 > 0:22:37I'm going down to Santa Cruz now to try my hand at some surfing.

0:22:37 > 0:22:39- Whoa!- Yeah? Oh, are you really? Wow.

0:22:39 > 0:22:41Have you surfed?

0:22:41 > 0:22:43- He has!- I've tried it once. Yeah.

0:22:43 > 0:22:45I've been in Pacifica.

0:22:45 > 0:22:47- It's cold!- Wear a wet suit!

0:22:47 > 0:22:49Now, how come you've only done it once?

0:22:49 > 0:22:51I thought Californians lived on surfboards!

0:22:51 > 0:22:52Just because it's too cold.

0:22:52 > 0:22:56- HORN HONKS - Not to scare you, but...

0:22:56 > 0:22:58Well, actually, I think you have scared me a bit.

0:22:58 > 0:23:00- Oh, no!- But never mind.

0:23:06 > 0:23:08And now, as the Americans would say,

0:23:08 > 0:23:11one of the darnedest things you will ever see,

0:23:11 > 0:23:14the train actually goes down the middle of a street,

0:23:14 > 0:23:16and there are houses on either side.

0:23:18 > 0:23:20HORN HONKS, BELL CHIMES

0:23:27 > 0:23:32In the 19th century, tourists flocked to Santa Cruz's beaches,

0:23:32 > 0:23:37and in 1907, an amusement park opened, offering thrills and spills.

0:23:37 > 0:23:39THEY SCREAM

0:23:52 > 0:23:56But, these days, adrenaline junkies are just as likely to be

0:23:56 > 0:23:58found on the waves.

0:24:02 > 0:24:07Santa Cruz was the birthplace of surfing on the US mainland.

0:24:07 > 0:24:10Instructor Ed Guzman is sharing the story.

0:24:12 > 0:24:15- Hello, Ed, I'm Michael. - Hey, Michael. Nice meeting you.

0:24:15 > 0:24:16Oh, and a lovely spot as well.

0:24:16 > 0:24:19- And I see there are some surfers out there, right now.- Yeah.

0:24:19 > 0:24:22Ed, how does surfing come to Northern California?

0:24:22 > 0:24:26Well, there were three princes in 1887 from Hawaii.

0:24:26 > 0:24:28They were going to college at Santa Clara University

0:24:28 > 0:24:32and they came over to Santa Cruz for a little vacation,

0:24:32 > 0:24:34and they saw these perfect waves peeling

0:24:34 > 0:24:36at the San Lorenzo River-mouth,

0:24:36 > 0:24:38right in front of the boardwalk,

0:24:38 > 0:24:41and they shaped some boards out of the redwood trees,

0:24:41 > 0:24:44and took them out into the ocean at the San Lorenzo River-mouth

0:24:44 > 0:24:46and rode waves and made history.

0:24:46 > 0:24:50Surfing is an important part of traditional Hawaiian culture,

0:24:50 > 0:24:53but Californians have made it their own.

0:24:53 > 0:24:56How quickly do you think that then caught on in California?

0:24:56 > 0:25:00It wasn't really until the '30s that surfing started becoming

0:25:00 > 0:25:04a little bit popular, and, by the '60s, it exploded.

0:25:04 > 0:25:07How much experience do you need to go out there?

0:25:07 > 0:25:11None. I can take you out on the first time, never surfed,

0:25:11 > 0:25:13never seen the ocean, and get you up on a board.

0:25:13 > 0:25:15Well, I am exactly in that category. ED LAUGHS

0:25:15 > 0:25:16But when you say "get me up on a board",

0:25:16 > 0:25:18you'll never get me to stand up on a board.

0:25:18 > 0:25:21If... If you fight it, yes, that's true.

0:25:21 > 0:25:23But if you go with me and you believe that you can

0:25:23 > 0:25:25and you, kind of, open up your mind a little bit,

0:25:25 > 0:25:27I can get you on your feet and riding.

0:25:27 > 0:25:30- Quite a challenge. - Yeah. Well, let's go for it.

0:25:40 > 0:25:42Hands go low, to the base of your ribs.

0:25:44 > 0:25:48Slide up in one smooth motion if you can,

0:25:48 > 0:25:50and drop your hands to your chest and stand up.

0:25:51 > 0:25:54Yeah, stay low. Excellent!

0:26:12 > 0:26:14ED WHISTLES

0:26:18 > 0:26:19Yay!

0:26:43 > 0:26:45ED WHISTLES

0:26:53 > 0:26:58From sparkling Pacific waters to towering redwood trees,

0:26:58 > 0:27:02I've discovered a state of dazzling natural resources.

0:27:07 > 0:27:11The United States wanted gold-rich California to be joined to it

0:27:11 > 0:27:15politically as a new state in 1850,

0:27:15 > 0:27:19and Californians needed to be linked physically by the completion of the

0:27:19 > 0:27:22Transcontinental Railroad.

0:27:22 > 0:27:25Neither party could foresee what would happen.

0:27:25 > 0:27:29The California economy is easily the biggest in the United States,

0:27:29 > 0:27:33eclipsing Texas and New York.

0:27:33 > 0:27:37Indeed, if it were a country, only America itself, China,

0:27:37 > 0:27:41Japan and Germany would be significantly bigger.

0:27:41 > 0:27:46The power of Californians' imagination and the vigour of

0:27:46 > 0:27:49their enterprise have astonished the world,

0:27:49 > 0:27:51and indeed shaped it.

0:28:02 > 0:28:05Next time, I'll explore a millionaire's mansion...

0:28:05 > 0:28:09We had the largest media empire in the United States

0:28:09 > 0:28:10in the mid-20th century.

0:28:10 > 0:28:13..learn the secrets of the perfect guacamole...

0:28:13 > 0:28:15You want to... You want to just give it a little twist.

0:28:15 > 0:28:18Ah! I never knew that.

0:28:18 > 0:28:20..and discover a tragic American love story.

0:28:20 > 0:28:22It's like Romeo and Juliet,

0:28:22 > 0:28:25if they live in southern California in the 1860s.