Oxnard

Oxnard

Oxnard is California's strawberry capital, where the fields literally run up to the beach. Channel Islands Harbor is a quiet alternative to the busier Ventura and Santa Barbara, with great seafood and a chill Mexican food scene. The weather is the perfect 65-and-overcast that locals call 'June gloom' for most of summer. The Channel Islands themselves are a ferry ride away.

Greenville

Greenville built a city around a waterfall. The Reedy River drops right through downtown in Falls Park, with a suspension bridge curving over it that locals show off like a trophy. Main Street is a textbook of how to revitalize a small American city: brick, trees, patios, and a steady stream of festivals. BMW's largest factory in the world is a few miles up the road. The Blue Ridge foothills start just outside town.