Just the word ‘California’ conjures up images of beaches where buff, brown bodies frolic, and glamorous nightclubs where beautiful people feign annoyance at the paparazzi. California is dotted with entertaining diversions conjured both by Hollywood and a host of theme parks where young and old venture to alternate realms to mingle with cartoon princesses and talking mice. A quieter California exists in the wine regions of Napa Valley, Sonoma County and the Sierra Foothills, where award winning Zinfandels, subtle Rieslings, and dark Cabernets are sipped and savored. Daring souls can rappel 165 feet down into the Moaning Caverns to explore an underground cave discovered during the Gold Rush that’s big enough to hold the Statue of Liberty. Though California is popularly associated with summertime fun, lovers of winter sport have long flocked to the resorts of Lake Tahoe, one of North America’s greatest skiing, snowboarding, dog sledding and ice skating destinations. The University of California, San Francisco has a proud history of medical achievement dating back nearly a century. Dr. George Whipple’s research into liver metabolism, which was initiated at the UCFS, later resulted in his being awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Medicine.