1. You Don’t Fork-And-Knife A Mission Burrito
There are incredible, overstuffed, delectable burritos all across the massive state of California, but if you were allowed to try just one, it would have to be a Mission Burrito from San Francisco.
This sucker features massive helpings of meat, spanish rice, beans, salsa and cheese, all wrapped in an enormous flour tortilla, and eaten exclusively with the hands.
2. California One Is The Best Drive In America
A route so dang beautifully it inspired indie rockers the Decemberists to write a near-ten minute ode in its honor, California One stretches from Los Angeles to San Francisco and beyond.
A drive all the way along the highway will take you over the Golden Gate Bridge, beside Pebble Beach Golf Links, through Malibu and across miles and miles of amazing Pacific Coast views.
3 In-N-Out Is The Only Fast Food Burger Joint That Matters
Forget Five Guys and Shake Shack. In-N-Out perfected the gourmet fast food burger back in the ‘50s and has barely raised prices since.
Californians also know that Animal Style is the best way to get In-N-Out burgers and fries, there’s nothing secret about the “secret menu,” and the neapolitan shake reigns supreme.
4. Coachella Is The Music Festival Every Other Festival Wants To Be
The massive music bash so nice, they do it twice (on two consecutive weekends, that is), Coachella beats out Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo as the biggest and best festival in America.
It’s where the Tupac hologram happened. It’s where Outkast finally reunited. It’s where Rage Against the Machine made its return. And it’s the only music festival in America where the ridiculous sunsets might just rival the stage show
5. Californians Have Been Eating Sushi Longer Than You
California was noshing on the Japanese street food back when most American people were still icked out by the idea of eating raw fish.
The dish gained steam in Los Angeles during the 1960s, spurred on by Japanese immigrants and the invention of the California roll. The rest of the country caught on eventually.
6. Comic-Con Is Held In San Diego, Not New York
Lots of fanboy conventions have co-opted the title “Comic Con” over the years, but the annual, San Diego Comic Con, officially known as San Diego Comic-Con International, is the one nerdy bash to rule them all.
7. Don’t You Dare Hate On Disneyland
People from the East Coast like to brag about the superiority of Orlando’s massive Disney World to Los Angeles’ Disneyland, but Californians can not and will not stand for that nonsense.
Disneyland predates Disney World by twelve years, and The Magic Kingdom was just a ripoff of Disneyland anyway.
8. Tupac > Biggie
Never, ever tell someone from California that Biggie, and not Tupac, was the most electric rapper of the mid ‘90s. They simply won’t have it. They respect Biggie, but “Me Against the World” > “Ready to Die” and “California Love” > every other song ever, and please don’t suggest otherwise.
9. People Here Do Yoga 24/7
In California, a yogi isn’t a bear that ruins picnics, it’s someone who practices yoga. And there are literally millions of them. In places like San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, and San Francisco, is hard to walk down the street without stumbling into a room full of people wearing Lululemon, breathing deliberately, and stretching to the edge of their comfort zone
10. There Are At Least Six Californias
A venture capitalist recently made national news when he proposed that California should be split into six different states.
It seems like a silly idea, but anyone from California knows that between the SoCal, San Francisco and the Silicon Valley, the Pacific Northwestern stretches bordering Oregon, the Tahoe area bordering Nevada and so much more, six Californias might be playing it conservative.
11. The Lakers Are The Best Franchise In NBA History. Period.
Sorry Celtics fans. You may have one more NBA title, but the Lakers have gotten it done in six different decades and played in a whopping ten more championships. From Mikan to Magic, no squad has meant more to pro hoops than the Lakers.
12. There Are A Million Reasons To Check Out The Getty
With the Getty Center, Los Angeles might be home to the only major museum in America where the facility is just as impressive as the art. Which is saying something because the Getty features the most impressive collection of European art in the world.
But it would be worth the trip to stroll around the insane Getty Center campus, with its location overlooking the city, supremely modern architecture, and incredible Central Garden.
13. Wolfgang Puck Is California Cuisine
There are celebrity chefs and then there’s Wolfgang Puck, the indisputable king of California cuisine. Austrian born, but Californian through and through, Puck’s name is attached to some of the best restaurants in Southern California, like Spago and CUT.
You can also thank Puck for turning pizza into a gourmet dish in California and beyond.
14. Don’t Knock L.A. Until You Try It
Los Angeles tends to be stereotyped by East Coasters (and New Yorkers in particular) as a land of vapid movie stars and New Age nonsense. But some of those L.A.-haters have never even spent a split second in the city.
Incredible weather all the time? Insanely good food at your fingertips? Always just a few minutes from the beach? Not too shabby at all.
15. There’s Nothing Like Hugging A Redwood
It’s a cliche because it’s true: seeing redwoods and giant sequoias in a picture just doesn’t do them justice.
Northern California’s redwoods are the tallest trees on earth, topping out at 380 feet, and the Sierra Nevada’s giant sequoias are the largest living thing on the planet. If you ever want to feel the sensation of awe, walk up to one of them and look up at the sky.
16. You Can Thank The Fillmore For Psychedelic Rock
The most beloved concert venue in San Francisco, the Fillmore has been in business since 1912, and famously helped usher in the psychedelic rock movement—the Grateful Dead played there a ludicrous 51 times between 1965 and 1969.
These days, there’s a diverse talent pool playing a show pretty much every day of the week. It’s standing room only, but you probably wouldn’t want to be sitting anyway.
17. An Hour Of Los Angeles Driving Will Make You Legally Insane
Trust us, it’s been medically proven. No one can spend longer than sixty minutes in traffic that moves slower than a walking pace and maintain their sanity. The same rule applies to getting three parking tickets in a week for violations you don’t fully understand.
18. If It’s Electronic And Convenient, It Came From California
Cupertino, home to Apple Inc. corporate headquarters, is ground zero for the development, engineering and marketing of i-everything. Add to that the headquarters of Facebook, Google, Netflix and eBay, and the Silicon Valley has roughly 99% of your internet browsing habits covered.
19. You Don’t Need The Ivy League When You Have Berkeley And Stanford
East Coast-centric folks tend to think that Ivy League schools are destined to win any “Best College In America” debate.
But brainy West Coast schools Stanford, UC Berkeley, and Caltech can go toe-to-toe with the Ivy League on almost any academic front. In fact, Forbes recently ranked Stanford the second best college in America, placing it ahead of every single Ivy.
20. The Weather Is Never Not Perfect In San Diego
It’s truly a riddle as to why everyone in the country doesn’t just up and move to San Diego. In addition to being an eclectic, beautiful city, it’s a perpetual 70 degrees and sunny with close to zero humidity almost all year round. When it does rain, it’s a novel change of pace.
21. The Giants Are Quietly Building A Dynasty
With two World Series Championships in the last five years, stellar pitching has been building a new legacy for a team that was previously best known for moving from New York and the Barry Bonds big head era. Not to mention, AT&T Park is one of the raddest (and windiest) places in America to see a ball game.
22. Things Occasionally Get A Little Shaky
If you’re from California, you know that occasionally the planet decides to start moving under you without your consent. Such is life when you live on a fault line.
23. There’s No Prettier Place In America Than Yosemite
A total gem of the California landscape, the rigid, glacier-carved Yosemite National Park is unmatched when it comes to natural beauty.
It’s nearly impossible to take in Half Dome, Yosemite Falls or Cooks Meadow without feeling some kinship with Mother Nature.
24. Ain’t No Beach Like A California Beach
Florida, South Carolina, and New Jersey do beaches just fine, but no one can touch Cali. From Catalina Island to La Jolla to Venice to Laguna, only the absurd beach beauty in Hawaii comes close to rivaling California in amazing places to get scantily clad and slightly sandy.
25. Nobody Does Pride Like San Francisco
It’s no surprise that the city of the Castro District and Harvey Milk also has an incredible pride celebration, but San Francisco Pride truly needs to be seen to be believed.
The two-day June festival is the largest LGBT celebration in the nation, featuring roughly 1.5 million annual attendees, booths, performances and the biggest, gayest parade you’ve ever seen.
26. A “Perfect Day” At USC Is Always A College Football Saturday
USC fans loathe rivals UCLA and Notre Dame nearly as much as they love their own squad. This could help explain why a “perfect day,” as coined by USC announcer Pete Arbogast, occurs when USC gets a win, and UCLA and Notre Dame lose. In total, there have been 35 “perfect days” since the phrase was born back in 1960.
What do you have to explain to out-of-towners about California? Tell us in the comments below! 
