Why Visit Redding, California

My dad and step-mom are quite the drivers. Two or three times a year, they pack up the Volvo (safety first) and head for some seemingly boring place in California's Central Valley, the Northwest US, the desert, or the Midwest.

Their latest jaunt takes them through Redding, California. Redding is known for two things: 1. being really hot and 2. being close to Mt. Shasta and Lake Shasta (great for house-boating and water-skiing).

It turns out, though, that there is one other really cool thing there. Have you checked out the Sundial Bridge in Redding? It's a foot bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava, the Spanish architect who designed, among other things, the Milwaukee Art Museum -- which is also pretty cool, apparently.

Otherwise, what attracts my dad and step-mom to Redding is Mount Lassen , the lesser known of California's two big volcanos.