Best Secret Spots  to Visit in California - Pat's First 5 Hidden Gems

We have live with us Pat and Liza Patterson from Best of California. We're going to reveal California's top 10 hidden gems. I am turning it over to you two, who've been doing so much work to prepare these 10 gems. Well, I think we should start with the Hidden Gem Museum. Yeah, so this is the CAF SoCal wing up in Camarillo. Let's take a look at what I did up there. This is incredible. I'm at the commemorative Air Force Aviation Museum SoCal wing. And we're going to go up. Yes, we are. This is a World War II primary trainer PT-19 aviation experience. I'm Pat Patterson and I love California. What an experience here at the CAF SoCal Museum. You've got to check this place out. Thank you, Steve. Thank you for coming. It was incredible. Check this place out. More to Camarillo than I could have imagined. Talk to you soon. So, Yuliana Gonzalez got us up there. I really want to thank Kathy Newhart, Steve Rider, John Cutright, John Lutter, who was an incredible help. We did a whole bit with Jack in the Box because I was involved with some Jack in the Box stuff. And like I said, Yuliana Gonzalez. So, congratulations, CAF SoCal wing. Number two, I think we should have as our hidden gem resort. So, this is the Zachari at Mandalay Bay Beach. It's up in Oxnard. And I didn't know anything about this place. We went up there to do some segments about Oxnard. The Hilton Curio people have brought this place to life. And it's not to be believed. Let's take a look. And we're at the Zachari Dunes Resort. Tell me about this. Zachari Dunes on Mandalay Beach. Just went through a multi-million dollar renovation. And they are the only all suite property in Southern California located right on the beach. So, the Oxnard Ocean Restaurant here at the Zachari. Sounds incredible out there. Let's check it out. We're here at Oxnard Ocean and I'm with the chef. Damian, give me your last name Gilaberti. Gilaberti. So, what should we be eating? What should we be looking at? Oh man, there's so many good things on the menu. One of my favorites is our oxtail bao bun. I make my bao buns in-house with slow braised oxtail, house-made kimchi, jalapeno cupi, and hoisin. It's really awesome. Say that again real quick. I'm Pat Patterson and I love California. So, that's a great place to visit. The Zachari Dunes, Mandalay Beach. Andrew Sestrino is our helper there and Julie Bufo and Brittany Hendricks. Thanks for getting us up there. Oxnard. There's more to Oxnard than meets the eye. So, another one of the hidden gems was Ferndale and that was one of my favorite little towns as well. It is a Victorian city that it's kind of frozen in time. We like to think Caroline Titus, Lowell Daniels. It has a Victorian inn which was really incredible to see such a quaint area. And you got us up here and I appreciate that. And give us a quick rundown in two minutes of what the best things to see and what there is to do in Ferndale. Oh my goodness. Well, you're never gonna see another place like this. It is the whole town, the whole main street is on the National Register of Historic Places. Which is amazing. The most Victorian buildings. It is. And we all take really good care of our buildings and our ground. Just come and just zen out and relax. We have world-class hiking that's literally just steps away. We have live entertainment. We have great restaurants. We are in the heart of the Redwoods. State Park is right to the left of us. National Park is to the north of us. And the ocean. And the ocean is just five miles. So it's a great place you can come and stay at one of our lodging establishments. Park the car if you want and never get back in it. There's so much to see and do just walking around this place. I can tell that already. And there's a lot of bustling businesses here. Tell me about a few of the businesses real quick. Well, we've got great little shops on Main Street. Of course, gift shops, etc. Lots of artists. We've got a great coffee shop that has kayak making and canoe making. Kayak making. In the coffee shop you can sign up for one of Mark Daniel's classes and make a canoe. Every business has something different. Amazing holiday. A whole string of holiday activities. We have a lighted tractor parade on the third Sunday of December, which is incredible. All the farmers come in and light up their trailers and tractors. We have a huge tractor parade party in the front of our house. So we're busy all year round. And then some of the other events. I know there's a kinetic sculpture. Oh my goodness. Kinetic sculpture race. June 3rd is our annual pet parade. Anybody has a pet? If not, get a banana slug. Jack appropriately. Jack dressed up. We have a beautiful pet parade with all the kids pulling their pets and walking their dogs, riding their horse. Easy to do. So when you have time, you have got to come up and check out Ferndale. So there we go. Ferndale. At number four, we're going to have the Hidden Gem State Park. This place is incredible. This is Oso Flaco up in the Oceana Dunes area, a central coast. And I knew nothing about it. These hidden gems sometimes are hidden to me and I've lived here all my life. So let's take a look at the Oso Flaco. There's a causeway that goes out to the ocean and a walkway. We're going to go check it out and see where that ocean is. Come on. This is all preserved like only the California state parks know how to do. We love the state parks. Dunes level walkway all the way out 1.5 miles. You see all of San Louis Bay. This is San Louis Bay going out to the point out there. Beautiful, beautiful Santa Maria Valley. You've got to check this place out. Jennifer Harrison at the Oceana Dunes Center was very helpful with this. So check this place out. Number five. So it is the Hidden Gem. I'm just excited because food is one of my absolute favorite things in the world. This is our Hidden Gem foodie haven. So this is Orca. Unbelievable little western town that's a foodie haven. Let's check it out. So when you're in Santa Maria Valley, you got to try Shaw's Steakhouse. Incredible tri-tip Santa Maria style barbecue. They raise it up and down over the oak fire. Shaw's Steakhouse. Check it out when you're in Santa Maria Valley. So Orca. This is incredible. The Pizzeria Bellaforto. I had the stone fruit pizza. Jeff, our illustrious cameraman, had the three-beard knotty oak. Incredible. You got to check out this place. Orca. So we're at Kay's Country Kitchen. We're at Orca. I ordered the veggie omelet. Jeff got the Mediterranean scramble. I got fruit instead of hash browns. But just so I have something to look forward to, I've also got a short stack of pancakes. Great coffee. I'm an orange juice nut, so I love to check out the orange juice. Fresh orange juice. Fresh squeezed orange juice. One of my favorite things in the morning. Old Town Orca. You got to check it out when you're here in Santa Maria Valley. I have to ask you, Rebecca. Did Sideways come here? The movie? Everybody knows the wine movie Sideways. Paul Giamatta. They go all through this area here in Central California. I love it. What was your favorite scene? My favorite? I don't think I really have a favorite scene. Okay. I think what I really love about the movie is just like it's about our area. So you see all the locals. Liking the locals, exactly. I personally have a favorite scene, and it's Paul Giamatta. Is this the dump bucket? Yes. That's my favorite scene. Had to throw that in.