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 Appletons' 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 > 0:00:21memorable and curious...
0:00:22 > 0:00:26- ..in the United States. - Yee-haw!
0:00:26 > 0:00:30As I travel through this vast continent,
0:00:30 > 0:00:32I'll discover gold and silver,
0:00:32 > 0:00:36movies and microchips, oil and oranges,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39and learn how America's most famous railroad
0:00:39 > 0:00:43conquered the wild landscapes of the West.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16Many of us have at least a vague knowledge of the history of the east
0:01:16 > 0:01:18of what is now the United States.
0:01:18 > 0:01:23The arrival of the pilgrims on the Mayflower, the Boston Tea Party,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30But I certainly know very little about the colonisation of the West,
0:01:30 > 0:01:34by the Spanish in the 16th century, and later by the Mexicans.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38I hope to learn more as I travel towards Southern California on
0:01:38 > 0:01:40the Coast Starlight.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50My route, which began at Reno in the Silver State, brought me over the
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Sierra Nevada mountains into California,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57and to the birthplace of American counterculture, San Francisco.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59From there, I headed inland,
0:01:59 > 0:02:04to explore awesome nature in Yosemite National Park.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06I'll continue down the Pacific Coast,
0:02:06 > 0:02:11stopping at Monterey and San Luis Obispo, bound for the city of stars,
0:02:11 > 0:02:15Los Angeles. I'll end my journey in San Diego,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18a few miles short of the Mexican border.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22On this leg, I'll start in the former fishing port of Monterey.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27I'll travel south to Paso Robles, to visit a Californian castle,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31and on to the fertile farmland around San Luis Obispo.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34My final stop will be the city of Santa Barbara.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39On my travels I'll explore a millionaire's mansion...
0:02:39 > 0:02:43We had the largest media empire in the United States
0:02:43 > 0:02:45in the mid-20th century.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47..learn the secret of the perfect guacamole...
0:02:47 > 0:02:49You want to just give it a little twist.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Ah! I never knew that.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54..and discover a tragic American love story.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59It's like Romeo and Juliet, if they lived in Southern California in the 1860s.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14I'm alighting at Salinas,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18to spend the morning in the nearby seaside community of Monterey.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Today, it's a colourful tourist destination,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35but this town has a significant past.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39The historic city of Monterey, says Appletons', was, until 1847,
0:03:39 > 0:03:44"the seat of government and the principal port of the Californian coast.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46"But, since the rise of San Francisco
0:03:46 > 0:03:48"its commerce has dwindled away,
0:03:48 > 0:03:53"and it's now one of the quietest places, warm in winter, cool in summer,
0:03:53 > 0:03:55"dry all year."
0:03:55 > 0:03:58Monterey means the mountain of the king, but here,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02those in authority were toppled, and brought down low.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Down at the harbour-side, Michael Green, from the town's historic parks,
0:04:08 > 0:04:10starts his daily routine.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13- Hello, Michael. - Good morning, Michael.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15- Very, very good to see you.- And you.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17You're raising the flag! May I give you a hand with that?
0:04:17 > 0:04:20Yes, you can. If you'll take the bottom.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23So first, the American flag, then the Californian state flag.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25- The Californian state flag? - Uh-huh. The bear flag.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29It's certainly a bear!
0:04:34 > 0:04:37So, Michael, two questions. Why a bear?
0:04:37 > 0:04:40And California Republic, that's an interesting expression.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43The grizzly is the symbol of California, it's the state animal.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46During the very beginning of the Mexican-American War,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49there was a revolt against Mexican authority.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51They designed a flag, and it was, just,
0:04:51 > 0:04:55sort of a hand drawn bear with a star in the corner that resembled
0:04:55 > 0:04:58the star of the Texas flag. They became a republic before they became part of the United States.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02They were their own country for a while. California was its own republic.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08The Bear Flag Republic was led by Captain John Fremont,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11the renowned explorer and military officer,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13but was quickly superseded.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16Within a month, the American Navy captured Monterey,
0:05:16 > 0:05:20and the grizzly bear was replaced by the Stars and Stripes.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25This is the very spot where the American flag was raised over California
0:05:25 > 0:05:28for the first time, on July the 7th, 1846.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30And this great building is what?
0:05:30 > 0:05:32This is Custom House.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35This was the most important building during the Mexican era.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39It represented both the centre of trade, the centre of commerce,
0:05:39 > 0:05:41and it was the social centre as well.
0:05:41 > 0:05:44It's the oldest government building in California,
0:05:44 > 0:05:50constructed in 1827 to collect taxes on goods entering the harbour.
0:05:50 > 0:05:51Ah, thank you.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Michael, what a wonderful display. What does it represent?
0:05:55 > 0:06:00The kind of cargo that came into Monterey during the 1830s.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02The Mexicans were here, but before then, the Spanish.
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Tell me about the Spanish.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Well, the Spanish arrived here officially in 1602,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and actually named the bay "Monterey" after the Count of Monterrey,
0:06:10 > 0:06:12the sponsor of the expedition,
0:06:12 > 0:06:16but it was 168 years before the Spanish actually acted on that claim.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21It wasn't until 1770 that the Franciscans came in and created a mission.
0:06:21 > 0:06:22How did it fall into Mexican hands?
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Well, the Mexicans were living here under Spanish rule,
0:06:25 > 0:06:27and Spanish rule was kind of corrupt.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Spain was thousands of miles away. They prohibited international trade.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34The Mexicans wanted to open up trade to the world,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37and so the Mexicans eventually revolted in 1821.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39- What was the Mexican administration like?- In many ways,
0:06:39 > 0:06:41it wasn't much better than the Spanish administration.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45There were already many Americans living here in Monterey, and inter-marrying
0:06:45 > 0:06:49into Mexican families, and influencing these people into the idea of American governance.
0:06:49 > 0:06:50And they held the territory then,
0:06:50 > 0:06:55until the moment when the flag was raised on that flagpole which was 1846?
0:06:55 > 0:07:00- That's right. - This really is the beginning of the modern Californian story.
0:07:00 > 0:07:01You know, it really is.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04We like to say that California history begins in Monterey.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14Following its distinguished role as a political capital,
0:07:14 > 0:07:18in the 20th century this town became decidedly less respectable.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23Monterey was famous for its fish processing industries,
0:07:23 > 0:07:27portrayed by John Steinbeck in his novel Cannery Row.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30It was shown as a stinking and decrepit place,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33full of whorehouses and doss houses.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37But like so many locations of its sort, it's cleaned up its act.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41It's now a tourist attraction, complete with aquarium.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53Fish stocks declined sharply in the mid-20th century,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55and the local economy collapsed.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58But this aquarium, which opened in 1984,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01has breathed new life into the town,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04attracting around two million visitors every year.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17The aquarium really is spectacular,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20with this lovely light penetrating the water,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23illuminating shoals of silverfish.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27These enormous panes of glass are restraining tonnes of water,
0:08:27 > 0:08:31and revealing some really mean-looking specimens.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Up on the roof, one of the aquarium's directors,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Jim Covel, has invited me to feed the fish.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42- Hello, Jim.- Hello, Michael. Welcome to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Well, I love it! I never suspected it was going to have an open top like this.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49This is critical to the health of the plants.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51We have over 40 kinds of seaweed in here.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55And all of those marine plants need to absorb sunlight in order to produce their food.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58I've got a glove here. You may want to put that on,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00just to keep the krill juice off your hands.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Otherwise every whale in Monterey Bay will want to follow you home.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08- Wow! A quick response, eh? - That's right!
0:09:08 > 0:09:11- They catch on very quickly. - They certainly do.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Are these fish in here reliant on what you feed them?
0:09:14 > 0:09:18No. We have water circulating out of Monterey Bay, directly into this exhibit, 24/7.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22So these fish can grab a snack,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25of the plankton which flows through the sea water, any time they want.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Are there special features to Monterey Bay?
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Monterey Bay is one of the most studied parts of the ocean anywhere on the planet.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35There's a huge canyon beneath the surface here that's twice as
0:09:35 > 0:09:36deep as the Grand Canyon,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38and there's still so many mysteries to be revealed.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43How is it that this town has gone from the Cannery, from Cannery Row,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45- to an aquarium? - It's quite a change up.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47There used to be 20 canneries up and down Cannery Row.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51For years and years, this was the sardine capital of the world.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55The fishery collapsed, and they were several decades of pretty hard times here.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Right here, there used to be the old Hovden sardine cannery
0:09:58 > 0:10:01where they used to put fish in cans here, and sell them to eat.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Now people come to see them swim around.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Back on my Californian trail...
0:10:13 > 0:10:14Hello.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17..I'm heading 100 miles further down the coast.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25I'll leave this train at Paso Robles, where according to Appletons',
0:10:25 > 0:10:29"there are hot and cold sulphur springs in the beautiful valley of
0:10:29 > 0:10:33"the Salinas River. The climate is good, and salubrious,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37"and the accommodations for visitors, excellent."
0:10:37 > 0:10:42Which is good news. I was thinking of a place with maybe, 165 rooms,
0:10:42 > 0:10:44set in 127 acres?
0:10:52 > 0:10:56California has more than its fair share of mansions.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59But set up on a hilltop overlooking the ocean,
0:10:59 > 0:11:04the magnificent Hearst Castle is surely the most striking.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10The dream home of William Randolph Hearst,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13the greatest newspaper baron in American history,
0:11:13 > 0:11:19the inspiration for Orson Welles's masterpiece film, Citizen Kane.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23The flamboyant multimillionaire held lavish parties here,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26for movie stars and the rich and powerful.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31I arrive at the top of the steps, and I'm confronted by a Spanish cathedral,
0:11:31 > 0:11:36and it seems kind of absurd to recreate it in California.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40But, on the other hand, Hearst has done it with absolute skill and
0:11:40 > 0:11:42craftsmanship, and grace.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59This room has all the feel of a heavy, dark,
0:11:59 > 0:12:04sombre Spanish baronial hall.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09But its treasures, in particular these tapestries, are just exquisite.
0:12:11 > 0:12:17The castle became a museum in 1958. Scott Stec is my guide.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Scott, hello. I'm Michael.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22- Michael, very nice to meet you. - Well, as it were,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24against my better instincts, I'm hugely impressed.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26It is a formidable place.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31What was it that inspired Hearst to build a castle to look like this?
0:12:31 > 0:12:33I'll say it started at a very young age for William.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37He was taken on a tour of Europe by his mother, at age 11,
0:12:37 > 0:12:40and he fell in love with the art and architecture he saw.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42So when he finally had the means to build something,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46he took advantage of his knowledge of travelling to Europe.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48So it is absolutely his taste.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Presumably, he was helped by an architect?
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Yes. He hired a singular architect, for this project.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Her name was Miss Julia Morgan.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58She was one of the first licensed architects in California.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01And he worked with her, and only her, for 28 years on this project.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05I imagine then, that this is a combination of his collection,
0:13:05 > 0:13:07- and then some elements of pastiche? - Absolutely.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10The majority of what you're seeing here are pieces that
0:13:10 > 0:13:13he collected, and then put together by himself and Julia Morgan.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15And the setting? It is a stunning setting.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17What was this place?
0:13:17 > 0:13:20Originally, this was just a blank hilltop.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22This was property, a ranch that his father,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24George Hearst, had purchased.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28As a young boy, William used to camp up on this hilltop with his parents.
0:13:28 > 0:13:29So it's called Camp Hill.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Hearst used the magnificent collection of elegant rooms in the
0:13:34 > 0:13:38main building, the Casagrande, to entertain.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41But his private spaces were equally impressive.
0:13:41 > 0:13:46The Gothic Suite on the third floor includes two luxurious bedrooms,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49with views across the estate, and a vast private study.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53Scott, this room is rampantly Gothic!
0:13:53 > 0:13:55It's very elegant,
0:13:55 > 0:13:59and the man's clearly comforted by books. All around us, the books.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01Yes. A lot of his books have his handwritten notes in them.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03He loved books, and read furiously.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05His parents were clearly rich?
0:14:05 > 0:14:08His father was a miner and made a fortune in gold,
0:14:08 > 0:14:10copper and silver mines throughout the United States and he owned a
0:14:10 > 0:14:13newspaper called the San Francisco Examiner that was losing money and
0:14:13 > 0:14:17young William convinced his father, over time, to give him that newspaper.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19That was his first newspaper success.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21Hearst was inspired by Joseph Pulitzer,
0:14:21 > 0:14:25the newspaper publisher who went on to establish an annual prize for
0:14:25 > 0:14:28journalism in 1917.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31His first newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34modelled Pulitzer's New York World.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38The model really was sensationalist journalism.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41He wanted the common man to purchase these newspapers.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43That is what Pulitzer was all about
0:14:43 > 0:14:44and Hearst followed in that same vein.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Can you give me any measure of how successful, how rich,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50how influential Hearst was at his peak?
0:14:50 > 0:14:54He had 28 newspapers by 1935.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57He also had 13 magazines, magazines you would know today like Elle, Cosmopolitan.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02He also had radio stations and he produced over 170 movies.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04So he had the largest media empire
0:15:04 > 0:15:07in the United States in the mid-20th century.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11He died at the age of 88 in 1951.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15He was worth approximately 250 million at that time.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18You are so fortunate, you have the run of the castle.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20When you reflect upon the man who sat in here,
0:15:20 > 0:15:22what is it you feel about him?
0:15:22 > 0:15:24This was his Gothic study, he's bringing his business
0:15:24 > 0:15:26constituents up here, like Howard Hughes,
0:15:26 > 0:15:28other people of that ilk.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31So I always feel a sense of power when I walk in this room.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33That sensation of power, which I feel too,
0:15:33 > 0:15:34is very persuasive.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47After all that decadence, a moment of quiet reflection on the beach.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02This morning, I am continuing my journey down the Californian coast.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10My next stop will be 30 miles south.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15San Luis Obispo, says
0:16:15 > 0:16:20Appletons', "partially surrounded by hills of singular beauty
0:16:20 > 0:16:25"and by a fertile and well-tilled agricultural region.
0:16:25 > 0:16:28"Railroad connections, both north and south,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31"it's sure to become a flourishing city."
0:16:31 > 0:16:33And so it has proved to be,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37but who could have predicted the success of an imported fruit
0:16:37 > 0:16:39of which I am an advocate?
0:16:59 > 0:17:03San Luis Obispo, known as SLO to the locals,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07lies roughly halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15It's surrounded by rich, agricultural land
0:17:15 > 0:17:17and in the hills above Morro Bay,
0:17:17 > 0:17:22Jim Shanley has been running a fruit business for almost 20 years.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24- Hello, Jim.- Hello, Michael.
0:17:24 > 0:17:27- Very good to see you. - Nice to see you.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30- Harvesting your avocados?- Yes. - Can I give you a hand with that?
0:17:30 > 0:17:34Yeah, sure, grab a bag. Here's a cluster.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38Ah-ha. So I'd snip them right up close to the avocado, like that?
0:17:38 > 0:17:40Where does the fruit originate from?
0:17:40 > 0:17:42It comes from the Central American Highlands.
0:17:42 > 0:17:47The fruit was actually propagated by a large sloth that no longer exists.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Do we know the origins of the word?
0:17:50 > 0:17:55Yes, the word is from the Aztec for a body part,
0:17:55 > 0:17:59the aguacate is a reference to the male testicle.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01That is how we get the name of the avocado?
0:18:01 > 0:18:05Yes, that is approximately the shape.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07Avocados are pretty big in California aren't they, Jim?
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Absolutely, consumption has been rising at an almost unbelievable
0:18:11 > 0:18:12rate for the last ten years or so.
0:18:14 > 0:18:2090% of America's avocados are grown in California on about 5,000 farms.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24The fruit was first brought here in 1871 by a judge,
0:18:24 > 0:18:26who discovered the trees in Mexico.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31And by the 1950s, 25 different types were being sold.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33There's been a lot of hybridisation.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36The most popular variety worldwide is the Hass,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39which actually originated in the back yard of a postman
0:18:39 > 0:18:42named Rudolph Hass in Pasadena, California.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46These trees seem very full of fruit, you get a good crop, do you?
0:18:46 > 0:18:49The trees themselves, on average,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52produce about 100lbs a year when cared for properly.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54May I ask how many trees you have?
0:18:54 > 0:18:57- I have 4,000. - That's a lot of avocados.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00So, they need very particular growth conditions, I assume?
0:19:00 > 0:19:03Yes, frost-free is the most important thing.
0:19:03 > 0:19:04Jim, I can't help noticing that
0:19:04 > 0:19:06I'm carrying the avocados for both of us.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10Yeah, that wasn't an accident.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13- Do you mind if I empty my sack? - Please.
0:19:13 > 0:19:18- Wow, look at that! We have been productive.- Oh, yeah.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28- Sorry.- That's all right.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Jim and his family have invited me to their farm to try one of their
0:19:31 > 0:19:34favourite avocado recipes.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Here we go.
0:19:36 > 0:19:37Hello, everybody.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40My name is Michael.
0:19:40 > 0:19:41- Hi, Michael.- Hi, Michael.- I'm Megan.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44- Hello, Megan.- Nice to meet you.
0:19:44 > 0:19:45Megan joined her father
0:19:45 > 0:19:47as a director of the business nine years ago.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50She's offered to teach me how to make guacamole.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52Right, tell me what to do.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54So, slice this avocado in half
0:19:54 > 0:19:56and then careful when taking out the pit.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59We'd like you to leave with just as many fingers as you came with.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03- Split the avocado. - Let me show you how to do that.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06- OK.- All right, you want to just give it a little twist.
0:20:06 > 0:20:07Ah, I never knew that!
0:20:07 > 0:20:11Scoop it all out. Fairly kind of roughly, or does it need to be...?
0:20:11 > 0:20:12It doesn't need to have any consistency,
0:20:12 > 0:20:14it's all going to get mashed.
0:20:14 > 0:20:15Lovely, ripe avocado.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19- Let me see whether I learnt my lesson.- Good so far. OK.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22- Think you got it.- Wow!
0:20:22 > 0:20:26- I'm really proud of myself. - You make me a little nervous there.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28This is our secret ingredient in our guacamole.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30Called a finger lime. Slice this in half.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34It's filled with little pearls of citrus juice.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38So you just take that and sprinkle it over the avocados.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42Next, grab a jar of our favourite salsa.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Then I like to sprinkle some garlic powder over.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47Right, mash it up.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49I think we are ready for a taste test.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55- Wow.- Perfect, Michael.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59Ladies and gentlemen, a toast to guacamole and margaritas.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02Yay! CHEERING
0:21:09 > 0:21:13I'm continuing my route south along America's west coast
0:21:13 > 0:21:16on the last leg of my Californian journey.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25Santa Barbara, says Appletons',
0:21:25 > 0:21:28"has grown out of an old Spanish mission
0:21:28 > 0:21:30"which gradually drew around it
0:21:30 > 0:21:34"the native cultivators of the adjacent lands.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37"The town contains a Spanish quarter,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40"which will prove interesting to strangers by its tumbledown
0:21:40 > 0:21:42"picturesqueness."
0:21:42 > 0:21:46It seems that race is about to raise its ugly head again,
0:21:46 > 0:21:48but in a novel form.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Today, Santa Barbara is an affluent beach community.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14But its hilltop mission is still run by Franciscan friars.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21East of here lies another monument to the state's colonial past.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24This beautifully-preserved cattle ranch, Rancho Camulos,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27was established in 1835
0:22:27 > 0:22:31by a prominent Hispanic family, the Del Valles.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35The Rancho sits in magnificent landscape.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40The buildings have verandas where you could enjoy the shade in the
0:22:40 > 0:22:44evenings. There are tall trees and flowers.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46It's really delightful.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51It was built on the site of a former Native American village,
0:22:51 > 0:22:55whose local population came to work for the Mexican owners.
0:22:55 > 0:23:00Now a national historic monument, it became part of literary folklore.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Museum guide Maria Christopher plays
0:23:03 > 0:23:06the part of the novelist who made it famous.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08- Hello.- Good afternoon, sir.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10May I introduce myself, I'm called Michael.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14Hello, Michael. I'm Helen Hunt Jackson.
0:23:14 > 0:23:15A great pleasure to greet you indeed.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18What was it that made you want to come to this part of California?
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Well, I was working as a travel writer
0:23:20 > 0:23:24and so I wanted to come and see one of the beautiful old ranchos.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28But also I became enamoured with the Native American cause.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30Why so? Why were you interested in them?
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Well, I had become concerned about
0:23:33 > 0:23:37the Government's mistreatment of Native Americans.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40I wrote a book called Century Of Dishonour.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44It detailed every atrocity that I could uncover.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48I even sent a copy to each member of Congress. Nobody paid attention.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51I came here and I spoke with the people
0:23:51 > 0:23:55and I learnt their stories and I learnt their history.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58And so I decided I was going to write a romantic novel.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03I called it Ramona and it's like Romeo and Juliet if they lived in
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Southern California in the 1860s.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09What was it that divided these two star-crossed lovers?
0:24:09 > 0:24:13Ramona is this beautiful young lady.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18She's being raised as a senorita in the Hispanic culture
0:24:18 > 0:24:22in a very wealthy rancho, and she had everything.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25And Alessandro was an Indian, a Native American,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28and he had come to work on the rancho.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30They run off and they get married.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34These are people from two cultures, two economic classes.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37The Native Americans, the Indians, were living in poor housing.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39Health care was not being provided.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42There were doctors, but they were in the cities, not in the villages,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45not where the Indians lived.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Published in 1884,
0:24:47 > 0:24:53Helen Hunt Jackson's tale of romance and injustice was a bestseller and
0:24:53 > 0:24:56readers were fascinated to learn about the old rancho way of life.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01The popularity of Alessandro and Ramona
0:25:01 > 0:25:04caused the first tourism boom to California.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07It coincided with the arrival of the trains,
0:25:07 > 0:25:12and so in Chicago the posters went up, "Come see the home of Ramona."
0:25:12 > 0:25:14And so they came by train cross-country
0:25:14 > 0:25:18even though Ramona was a fictitious character.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22How would you sum up Helen Hunt Jackson's achievement?
0:25:22 > 0:25:27She is still in print today, four movies were done on the story.
0:25:27 > 0:25:34She captured old California, but she also opened up to people's minds the
0:25:34 > 0:25:36horrors and the inequalities.
0:25:38 > 0:25:44Every year since 1923 a pageant has been held telling the story
0:25:44 > 0:25:48of Ramona and featuring popular dances from the period.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50TRADITIONAL MUSIC PLAYS
0:26:01 > 0:26:03APPLAUSE
0:26:05 > 0:26:08That was marvellous. That was lovely.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10- Congratulations.- Thank you.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Oh! HE LAUGHS
0:26:12 > 0:26:16- Me invita a bailar?- Por supuesto. - Pero que privilegio. Gracias.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18What an elegant sombrero.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21- And what shall I do with this? Maybe...- Yes.
0:26:21 > 0:26:22- Like that, do you think?- Ah-ha.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32Cinco. Uno, dos.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53APPLAUSE
0:27:05 > 0:27:11Spain, which had made ill-gotten fortunes looting Peru and Mexico,
0:27:11 > 0:27:14was slow to realise the potential of California
0:27:14 > 0:27:18and failed to discover the gold and silver here.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22It allowed these fertile territories to slip through its grasp.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25They passed first to Mexico.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30For a few days in 1846, there was here a self-proclaimed
0:27:30 > 0:27:33independent California Republic.
0:27:33 > 0:27:35The shrewdest thing that the United States
0:27:35 > 0:27:39ever did was to hoist the Stars and Stripes at Monterey
0:27:39 > 0:27:42and then to admit California as a new state
0:27:42 > 0:27:44with unprecedented haste,
0:27:44 > 0:27:48because otherwise it might today face a formidable
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Californian competitor to its west.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04Next time, I bring Christmas to LA.
0:28:04 > 0:28:10- Pretty cool, huh?- Ha-ha! It's cool indeed!
0:28:10 > 0:28:14Discover the Metro's plan to tempt Angelinos from their cars...
0:28:14 > 0:28:18You're going to be able to go from Downtown to Westside in 25 minutes.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21That's unheard-of during the rush-hour period.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24..and become an all-action Hollywood hero.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27PUNCHING SOUND EFFECTS
0:28:27 > 0:28:30- WOMAN SHRIEKS - And cut!