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Occidental: Host to the "New Hippie" Movement

"Occidental" is the opposite of "oriental" and in a general sense means western rather than eastern. Perhaps this explains why a town in the far western reaches of California bears the name Occidental. A tiny community, Occidental can boast barely more than a thousand permanent inhabitants, which make is somewhat unusual for a California community located slightly north of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Occidental was originally founded in the 1870s as a railroad town, but in recent history has been at the forefront of social protest movements. This has led to the rise of several communes nearby including ones called Star Mountain, Wheeler Ranch, and Morningstar. As a place that welcomed new ideas, it also became a focus of the "new hippie" movement of Sonoma County. To this day, tourists staying in holiday homes in Occidental will be able to enjoy the feeling of peace, brotherhood, and freedom that still permeates the town.

Dining and Drinking in Occidental

Not many communities in the United States still have traditional "family style restaurants that serve food to a party on large platters from which everyone helps himself. Occidental, in contrast, has two, both of them specializing in Italian cuisine. One of them is located at the Union Hotel, which was founded in the late 1870s; the other is Negri's, located on the Bohemian Highway.

The area is also home to a number of microbreweries, producing creative varieties of beer, as well as several wineries.