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When you crave a night on the town, you'll find a collection of contiguous nightspots along Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade or Hollywood's famous Sunset Strip. Blues, jazz, rock and hip hop beats pack in the crowds at the House of Blues. Key Club and McCabe's are the best places to catch some live music. Conga Room offers a restaurant, lounge, several bar areas and endless Latin dance music (mainly salsa). The Well is the place to go to meet people in town. And those night owls that close the bar can take the rough edges off the morning with a cup of coffee at the Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop (a hot spot for film producers, writers, actors and studio execs). And even for someone who thinks they've "seen it all," hanging out at electric, outrageous Venice Beach is an eye-opening experience. Just up the road is Malibu, where the famous (and those who aspire to be famous) hang ten. With 329 days of sun, 72 miles of beach, 23.5 million visitors, 3.8 million residents from 140 countries, speaking 92 different languages, there's plenty to do in and around Southern California. You might catch nationally televised volleyball championships at Manhattan Beach, amusement rides on Santa Monica Pier, Pasadena's renovated Old Town, or the Long Beach Aquarium. Regular ferry service will take you 22 miles to Santa Catalina Island, where you can enjoy a tranquil setting while scuba diving, snorkeling, boating ... or watching the buffalo roam. An adventurous drive up Pacific Coast Highway, running north toward Monterey and San Francisco, will offer not only spectacular scenery, but a virtually endless marvel of attractions. Among them are the wineries and museums of Santa Barbara and the Hearst Castle near San Luis Obispo. Taking Interstate 5 down the coast brings you to the booming Southern California paradise known as Orange County, or "the OC," for fans of the television series. Resting on a 42-mile stretch of oceanfront, the OC is famous for beaches like Huntington (where catching a wave is always in season) and Laguna (known and loved for its craggy cliffs). For sunbathers, surfers, scuba divers and the like, it is simply and irrefutably ... heaven on earth.
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