| California by Air |
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By Jeff Wise  California has 261 public airports where touring pilots can drop in at will. Many are served by at least one on-site business, called a fixed base operator, or FBO, which provides gas, bathrooms, coffee, telephones, and perhaps a computer terminal,where you can check the weather. Many will even loan you a car so you can drive to the nearest town. Here are some favorite stopovers.Catalina Lying 20miles off the coast of Southern California, Catalina is best known for the quaint port town of Avalon,which most visitors reach by ferry from Long Beach. Small planes can get there quicker, landing on the island’s strip (catalina.com/airport.html), perched atop a mountain at the edge of a 1,600-foot cliff. The DC3Grill (310-510-2196), located next to the small control tower, serves breakfast and lunch, along with a stunning view over the San Pedro Channel. Harris Ranch Inn When turbulence put a kibosh on my plan to cruise northward along the coast, I cut inland instead and wound up setting down in the San Joaquin Valley, at a remote resort that happens to have its own air strip. My spacious room had French doors that opened onto a garden courtyard with an Olympic-size heated swimming pool and hot tub. The nearby steakhouse serves up select cuts from the 17,000-acre cattle ranch’s herd. Doubles from $125; harrisranch.com Lone Pine Halfway between Reno and Los Angeles, lovely, lonely Lone Pine nestles in the shadow of Mount Whitney. The FBO is a charming little shack, and there’s a clean, inexpensive motel right next door, the Best Western Frontier (760-876-5571). It’s about a mile’s walk into town, where you’ll find the whimsical Merry Go Round restaurant (760-876-4115),with a circular dining room inside a facade that looks like a carousel. Comments (0)
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