Barack Obama's California College Days

Huell visits LAMILL in Silver Lake for a look at L.A.’s newest coffee craze.

The Warnors Theatre, a Fresno landmark that opened in 1928, houses a pipe organ that is the only one of its kind in the world still performing inside its original theatre.

After years of neglect, the future of the theatre was in jeopardy until Frank Caglia bought it in 1973 and returned it to its former luster. Huell hears the Caglia’s family story, which intersects with the story of the Warnor's Theatre at its opening and is as much a jewel as the theatre itself .

Huell learns the full history, from 1923 till now, from the people who work to preserve this L.A. icon.

The adventure starts at the dry cleaners and ends with a pita feast. Huell learns all about this wonderful flatbread when he visits a pita factory.

Huell travels to the high sierras on horseback to see how trout are dropped from an airplane into High Sierra Mountain lakes -- a spectacular sight.

A visit to the annual Society for Calligraphy, Southern California Conference: “Letters California Style”. The Society for Calligraphy, Southern California, is a non-profit educational organization which promotes the study, teaching and practice of calligraphy and related disciplines. It also encourages the exchange of ideas through speakers, program meetings, workshops, its journal and bulletin, the annual retreat and regional groups.

Huell visits the Monterey Customs House State Historic Park, discovers the tallest bridge in California, and checks out the town of Cool -- all unplanned adventures.

Huell Howser visits Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (Los Angeles Unit) located in downtown Hollywood, CA. Huell spends the entire episode learning about how the organization records textbooks for every subject from A-Z for students and people with learning disabilities.

Huell rides through the middle of California history on this visit to Beal's Cut and Groveland, CA.

Huell visits with Willie Rivera and Raul Ojeda at Willie’s Shop in Hollywood to learn about how shoes are repaired in the old fashioned way. This is a hands lesson in craftsmanship.

Huell goes to sea on an urchin diving adventure off the Channel Islands. Huell joins the crew of the fishing boat “Janice Anne” as they travel to the waters off the Channel Islands to go Urchin diving. Urchins are big business in California and some call them “Blue Water Gold”. Huell finishes the show at Piranha, a popular sushi restaurant in Santa Barbara for an urchin feast.

When you mention Anaheim to most folks, Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm come to mind, but this city has a rich history and some genuine surprises. Huell spends the day with the President of the Anaheim Historical Society and visits everything from a family owned bowling alley celebrating it's 50th anniversary to a statue built in 1935, that is the oldest piece of public artwork in Orange County. We'll also visit the home of the man who started Carl's Jr. and a very historic cactus garden in Pearson Park.

Huell meets a special woman in Lancaster who has not only turned her personal recipes into a line of delicious salsas, but also a successful family business.

When most people think of Yosemite, they imagine towering peaks and cascading waterfalls, but there is an amazing human history that is told through some of the many buildings that dot the valley floor. In this adventure, Huell discovers two small buildings that are very historic and very beautiful. He visits the Yosemite Valley Chapel, which was built in 1879 and is the oldest structure in park. The little chapel continues to serve as a place of worship for residents and visitors alike, as it has done for over 125 years.

Huell, with the help of his friends from the Braille Institute, learns about the history of jacaranda trees in California, which dates back to the 1890s when horticulturalist Kate Sessions first planted the seeds in Balboa Park. The blooming purple trees can now be seen all across the state, and we will find that some people call the jacarandas a “mess” while others call them a “miracle”.

Huell travels to Point Loma to learn about the history of Juan Cabrillo’s ship, the San Salvador, which arrived at San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542. We then meet the builders and see the progress of a full-scale replica of the ship at the San Diego Maritime Museum.

Huell travels to the Tehachapi Mountains to visit The Cesar Chavez Foundation. Set on 187 acres, the buildings where once home to a tuberculosis hospital and then it's where Cesar lived and labored during his last quarter century as he fought for better rights for migrant workers. Now the Center is a carrying on Cesar's dream and welcomes visitors to learn about this important chapter in our state's history. Huell gets a very special and personal tour of the Center from Cesar's son Paul.

Huell takes an inspirational voyage upon Franklin D. Roosevelt's Presidential Yacht, the U.S.S. Potomac. Now stationed at Jack London Square in Oakland, the ship is operated by a staff of volunteers and is now open for public tours.

Huell visits this unique house which was built on a 20 by 20 square foot lot in the heart of Old Town Santa Barbara.

Huell travels to the mountains above Fresno to tour "Big Creek"' which was America's first large-scale integrated hydroelectric project, begun in 1911. This massive engineering marvel consists of 23 generating units in nine powerhouses with a generating capacity of approximately 1,000 megawatts, and six major reservoirs with a storage capacity of more than 560,000 acre-feet. Not only do we get a behind the scenes tour, we'll also meet and hear some great stories from a one of the first families that worked at this remote Edison outpost.

Huell visits with the Whistling Champ Carole Anne Kaufman at her salon, then stops in at her Mom's store — the Wizard of Bras... its a combo you won't want to miss.

Huell finds out what's ticking at a watch convention in Pasadena.

Huell tours the Vincent Price Art Museum, which opened in May 2011 at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park. The museum contains 9,000 items, many of which were donated by the late actor. Victoria Price leads the tour of her father's vast collection of fine art and shows why this gallery is one of Los Angeles's best kept secrets. We also look back at Huell's original 1989 'Videolog' interview with Vincent Price himself.

Huell goes in search of the crookedest street in the world. A small section of Vermont Street in the Potrero Hill section of San Francisco is just miles away from the more famous Lombard Street. Which street is crookeder? Huell grabs a gang of experts and finally solves this mystery.

Huell visits two California restaurants that are great examples of "California's Gold." Fosters Freeze has been a tradition since 1946 when George Foster opened his first store and the company now owns over ninety locations and has become a California favorite. Founded by the five Havadijas brothers, the first Farmer Boys restaurant opened its doors in Perris, California in 1981. Their generous portions and farm-fresh food quickly gained a loyal following and at last count there were 68 Farmer Boys restaurants at locations all over Southern and Central California and in Nevada.

Spend the day with Huell at Angel's Stadium as he meets up with the good folks at West Coast Turf and learns all about the grass that they install at venues all over California.

Huell visits two historic flagpoles. The first was (at one time) the tallest flagpole in the world, but it's located in Calipatria, which sits 184 feet below sea level. So with its 184 foot pole, the Calipatria flag flies just at sea level. Then on to Livermore where the flagpole has an even stranger history ... it's being carved into various wooden chotchkies including smaller flags!

Huell travels the state in search of "old wood." His first stop is the Petrified Forest in Calistoga which has trees that date back three million years. Tourists have been enjoying this geologic miracle for over a hundred years. The next stop is the beautiful Knights Ferry covered bridge which is the longest and one of the oldest authentic covered bridges west of the Mississippi River and has spanned the Stanislaus River since 1863.

The hour-long "California's Gold" special looks at the history of In-N-Out Burger. This was the first time TV cameras were allowed to shoot inside the restaurant. The episode also includes an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the In-N-Out headquarters in Baldwin Park, where it all started back in 1948.

Huell travels to Chico to join the celebration of the arrival of thousands of waterfowl that come from the north to spend their winters in the temperate North Valley climate. Snow Geese, Tundra Swans, Sandhill Cranes, Pintail Ducks and many more, fill the rice fields and wildlife refuges throughout the area. The Snow Goose Festival has grown to be one of the major Birding and Wildlife events in the state of California and you'll be amazed at the shear beauty of this spectacle.

Huell visits a lumbermill... or is it a working museum? Join Huell, the founder's great-grandson and a cast of characters at this historic place.

Join Huell as he travels to the town of Taft to celebrate its 100 years as an incorporated city with a celebration called Oildorado Days that takes everyone back to a time when rugged pioneers carved out a bustling community in the middle of one of the world’s most productive oil fields. There is everything from an oil field skills contest, queen pageant, melodrama and a petroleum industry trade show. We cap off the adventure with a dedication of a huge bronze statue of an oil worker that is sure to become a focal point of this historic town.

Huell's television first! Will it be a hit or will dogs be howling all over our viewing area? Will Huell be the next recording star to come out of Nashville? Well, after his visit to the Musicians Institute, Huell was so inspired that he grabbed the mic and recorded his own version of "California, Here I Come" accompanied by the students who also produced the rock video.

Huell travels to the small town of La Grange to see an amazing part of our states history. The Tuolumne Gold Dredge sits abandoned right of the highway and is an incredible site. Huell and some local historians visit the dredge and the now virtual ghost town that was once home to the many workers that kept this behemoth running around the clock in search of gold.

Join Huell as he travels to the western-most point in California in search of the Cape Mendocino Lighthouse which was activated in 1868 and finally abandoned in the 1970's. After over 20 years of neglect, a group of locals banded together to move the light house to Shelter Cove and restore the lighthouse to its former glory. Huell also stops at the entrance to the Humboldt County Fairgrounds where a full-sized replica of the lighthouse actually houses the original fresnel lens.

Huell visits the onetime Palm Springs home of Elvis Presley. This home is now designated as a historic property and open the public.

Huell gets a special tour of a California icon: the Catalina Casino. It has been the focal point of Santa Catalina since it opened over eighty years ago on May 29, 1929. Completely restored just a few years ago, the ballroom retains its original romantic style — with beautiful rose-hued walls, an arching, fifty-foot ceiling and five Tiffany chandeliers.

Travel with Huell to Gold Country on this very historic road trip. Most people assume “gold country” is all mining tours and gold panning, but Huell finds lots of hidden gold! We visit Moaning Caverns, which are big enough to fit the Statue of Liberty, a historic pipe organ, and a wonderful museum in Angels Camp and a giant gold nugget housed in a winery. There’s also a very important Mark Twain connection, a very historic hotel in Murphy’s and a stop at the Calaveras Jumping Frog Jubilee. We’ll even meet a historic jackass named Mollie.