US-4751361 Governor's Mansion in Sacramento, California, USA

Governor's Mansion is the official home of the Governor of California. It housed thirteen governors and their families from 1903 to 1967 and began housing the 39th, and current, governor in 2015. The mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

George Pardee was the first governor to live in the house. Ronald Reagan, who lived in it for only four months, was the last governor to reside there for nearly 50 years.The Governor's Mansion was not occupied by state governors between 1967 and 2015.  Governor Brown, in his fourth term, decided to move into the Mansion after it had undergone massive renovation.

The thirty-room, three storey Second Empire-Italianate Victorian mansion was built in 1877 for a local hardware merchant. The State of California purchased the house in 1903 to serve as a governor's mansion.  The structure has been renovated a number of times over the years. In 1967 after the Reagans moved out, the mansion was turned into a museum and opened to the public. 

This postcard came from Heather (27 July 2017).

WC 85-505 WC 95-535 El Capitan in Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park in the central eastern portion of California, commonly referred to as Northern California. The park covers an area of 747,956 acres (302,687 ha). Over 3.7 million people visit Yosemite each year: most spend the majority of their time (including us) in the seven square miles (18 km²) of Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park was designated a World Heritage Site in 1984.

Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves and biological diversity.  One famous granite monolith is El Capitan which is a vertical rock formation located on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. El Capitan extends about 3,000 feet (900 m) from base to summit along its tallest face.  Source: Wikipedia

Personal Note: These are the postcards which I would have love to buy (but could not find then) when we visited Yosemite in 2008.

The first postcard of El Capitan came from ShyAnn64 (30 June 2015) Swap-bot. The second postcard (featured below) came from Bianca (31 August 2015) Swap-bot.

 

US-3454269 Pigeon Point Lighthouse in California, USA

Pigeon Point Lighthouse is one of the most picturesque lighthouses on the Pacific coast. The tower stands on a rocky promontory and has long been a landmark for ships approaching San Francisco Bay from the south.

Pigeon Point lighthouse was built in 1871. It is the tallest lighthouse (tied with Point Arena Light) on the West Coast of the United States. It is still an active Coast Guard aid to navigation. The white masonry tower is 115-foot (35 m) high.  Because of its location and ready access from the main highway, Pigeon Point entertains a large number of public visitors. The former lighthouse residence is now a youth hostel.

The lighthouse and the land around have been preserved as Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park, a California state park. The lighthouse is designated as a California Historical Landmark.

This postcard came from Melissa (1 July 2015) Postcrossing.

US-3408246 Santa Fee Train Deport (Union Station) in San Diego

Union Station, also known as the “Santa Fe Depot,” has served residents and visitors to San Diego for almost 100 years. Located in the heart of downtown near the cruise ship piers and other bayside attractions, the station anchors the larger Santa Fe Place, named after the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad (ATSF) that conceived and built the station from 1914–1915.

Due to its role as a major transportation hub for southern California, San Diego ranks among the top ten busiest stations in the national Amtrak network. The station is served by 22 trains daily among which is the popular Pacific Surfliner.

This postcard came from Marylou & Greg (5 June 2015) Postcrossing.

US-3338241 WC 88-514 Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. It is at a surface elevation of 6,225 ft (1,897 m) and is located along the border between California and Nevada. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. Its depth is 1,645 ft (501 m), making it the second deepest in the United States after Crater Lake (1,945 ft (593 m)).

The lake was formed about 2 million years ago and is a part of the Lake Tahoe Basin with the modern lake being shaped during the ice ages. It is known for the clarity of its water and the panorama of surrounding mountains on all sides. The area surrounding the lake is also referred to as Lake Tahoe, or simply Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe is a major tourist attraction in both Nevada and California. It is home to a number of ski resorts, summer outdoor recreation, and tourist attractions. Snow and skiing are a significant part of the area's economy and reputation.[ Mountain and lake scenery are attractions throughout the year. The Nevada side also includes large casinos.

This postcard showing Lake Tahoe in winter came from Renae (May 2015) Postcrossing.

This second postcard of Lake Tahoe came from Kelsey S. (26 June 2015) Swap-bot.

SW EP-365 Laguna Beach - a seaside resort city in Southern California

Laguna Beach is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California. Laguna Beach is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic beaches and coves and its artist community. It has a population of about 23,000 people.

Tourism is the primary industry with an estimated 3 million people visiting the community annually. Annual large events include the Pageant of the Masters, Festival of the Arts, Sawdust Festival, Art-A-Fair, and Kelpfest.

This postcard came from Lisa (4 December 2014) Swap-bot.

 

 

SW CH-196 Hemet - in the San Jacinto Valley

Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of 27.847 square miles (72 km²), about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighbouring city of San Jacinto. The population is about 80,000.

The city is home to the Hemet Valley Medical Center, a 320-bed general hospital. The city is also known for being the home of The Ramona Pageant, California's official outdoor play. Started in 1923, the play is one of the longest running outdoor plays in the United States.

The City of Hemet was incorporated in January 1910. In the 1960s, large-scale residential development began, mostly in the form of mobile home parks and retirement communities, giving Hemet a reputation as a working-class retirement area. Currently, the retirement orientation of the town is still there but the area's affordability, its proximity to employment centers such as Corona, Riverside and San Bernardino, and its relatively rural character makes it an attractive location for younger working-class families priced out of other areas of Southern California.

This postcard came from  Julia W. (16 July 2014) Swap-bot.

SW CI-201 Beverly Hills – homes of the rich & famous

Beverly Hills is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, surrounded by the cities of Los Angeles and West Hollywood. Originally a Spanish ranch where lima beans were grown, it was incorporated in 1914 by a group of investors who had failed to find oil, but found water instead and eventually decided to develop it into a town. It is now home to 34,290 inhabitants. Sometimes merely known by one of its primary ZIP codes, "90210", it has been home to actors and celebrities. The city also includes the shopping district Rodeo Drive and the Beverly Hills Oil Field.

This postcard shows the Beverly Hills Hotel.  According to the sender, this hotel has been seen in many films and many famous people have slept there.

Personal note:

When we were doing a tour of the American South-West, we were in Los Angeles and were taken on a tour of the houses in Beverly Hills.  I wasn’t very impressed as I have very little interest in TV / movies celebrities or other famous personalities except for people who gained fame from work in research, community work, aid or faith.

I received this postcard from lovesreward (18 July 2014) Swap-bot.

 

SW BW-166 Lancaster, the largest Californian city in the Mojave Desert

Lancaster is a charter city in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California. The population of Lancaster has grown from 37,000 residents at the time of incorporation in 1977, to about 158,000 people as of 2012.  This makes Lancaster the largest city in the California portion of the Mojave Desert. Lancaster is located approximately 70 miles (110 km) north of downtown Los Angeles.

To kick off spring, Lancaster hosts each year the California Poppy Festival which draws upward of 60,000 guests. The California Poppy Festival began as an Earth Day celebration and has grown into an event with over 55 acres (220,000 m²) of activities and extensive wildflower information.

Shown on this postcard is The Boeing Plaza.  It is a designated area in Lancaster on the corner of Lancaster BLVD and Sierra Hwy.  The Plaza highlights some of the greatest aviators known to the aerospace industry. It is composed of various monuments and tributes to honour these heroes and to remember their significant achievements. In the Boeing Plaza there is a McDonnell F-4D-25-MC "Phantom II" (AF 64-0952) airplane to add to the aerospace atmosphere.

This postcard came from Tammie (8 July 2014) Swap-bot.

SW AH-050 Twin Lakes in the Mammoth Lakes Basin, California

This postcard has the words “Mammoth Lakes” in the front.  This name could refer to the Mammoth Lakes Basin or the nearby town of Mammoth Lakes, CA.

Most lakes in the Mammoth Lakes Basin and many of the other 100+ nearby lakes were scooped out by glaciers. The Basin is a large glacial cirque basin that was carved by the grinding movement of glacial ice and rocks entrained within the ice. The lakes in the lower basin, including Lake Mary, Lake George and Horseshoe Lake, fill depressions in glacial moraine deposits. The lakes in the upper basin, including Duck Lake, Shelton Lakes and Deer Lakes, fill depressions in the underlying bedrock from metamorphosed sedimentary rocks that were scooped out by glaciers. The lakes are only accessible during the summer months.

The lowest in the chain of lakes are Twin Lakes (Elevation 8,540 ft. / 2,602 m).  They are located three miles (4.8 km) from the town of Mammoth Lakes.  This postcard shows the view from Lake Mary Road at the top of Twin Falls.  Twin Falls tumbles 300 feet (91 metres) into Upper Twin Lake.

There are camping sites at five lakes of the Mammoth Lakes Basin and many visitors come to this area for outdoor recreation as well as sight-seeing.  There seems to be general agreement among visitors that Twin Lakes offer the most scenic view.

I received this postcard (24 April 2014) from Maria Garcia (Swap-bot).

US-2666527 & SW GB-533 Map of California, the Golden State

I always like map postcards especially this type of  well illustrated touristy postcard which shows the various towns in a state.  I have received (so far) two postcards of California.  One is from Sherry (14 March 2014) Postcrossing and the other is from Sybil (21 October 2015) Swap-bot.

 

California on the West Coast of the United States is the most populous U.S. state and is the third largest state by area (after Alaska and Texas).  It was the 31st state to be admitted to the Union on 9 September 1850.  Sacramento is the capital city and Los Angeles is the largest city in California.