Hidden guides combine unique travel choices, outdoor adventures and little-known locales into a guide where vacations meet adventures. Each guide includes detailed maps, complete internet information for each listing, highlighted author favorites, suggested itineraries and walking and driving tours. With so many famous places and hyped attractions, it's all too easy to get caught running (well, driving, actually) all over Southern California from one spot to the next. This guide tells how to get off the freeway and explore the boulevards and side streets of Los Angeles and San Diego as well the coast roads and inland desert highways. Hidden Southern California combines traditional attractions, including seven historic missions and eight theme parks, with outdoor adventures, including 123 beaches and parks, 270 hiking trails and 105 surfing spots. It provides selective recommendations for lodging in the city, along the coast and even in desert and mountain parks, including 15 beach cottages, 77 coastal inns and 13,193 campsites at 350 campgrounds. The author offers opinionated reviews of local restaurants including 14 Mexican, 14 Italian, 13 American diners, 8 California, 8 French, 7 bar and grills, 6 Japanese, 6 Chinese, 5 hamburger joints, 4 Thai, 4 Continental, 3 Indian and 2 Jewish delis, as well as Vietnamese, Caribbean, Columbian, Korean, Greek, Salvadoran, West African, Cajun, soul food, fresh seafood, Mediterranean, Argentine, Persian, Belgian and vegetarian (and that's just the first chapter on Los Angeles). The guide also contains special features on Los Angeles' historic Mexican public markets, Hollywood film making in action, the ultimate side trip south of the border and old-time Hollywood, including 15 historic theaters and a driving tour of old mansions.