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EAT, DRINK & PLAY - GET OUT OF TOWN
While hiking may not be a top-of-mind activity for most San Diego visitors, an abandoned rail line makes for a worthy detour from the city's typical tourist destinations.
After a winter of near-record-setting rain - and even snow - in Santa Clarita you might be craving sunshine.
A day that started late, and with the vaguest semblance of a plan, turned out to be one that yielded worthwhile discoveries.
If green means go, then the mountains around Santa Clarita are displaying a clear sign that now is the time to explore.
If your recipe for romance includes harbor views, a tasty brunch and live music, then plan to spend your Valentine's Day in Marina del Rey with City Cruises.
It's called the Bridge to Nowhere, but ironically, it's now a destination in its own right.
It seems the older you get, the more difficult it is to pull off surprises - especially travel surprises. There are so many variables to orchestrate: time off work, childcare, pet sitting and the most challenging of all: packing clothes for someone else.
Onscreen, Maverick schooled his proteges in the finer points of fighter-jet flying. Overhead, in real life, jumbo jets winged across the night sky.
This one was the do-over, our second attempt to reach the summit of Mount Whitney in one very long day. On the previous attempt, my son Drew and I got close enough to see the summit, a little more than a mile away, but were forced to turn around when a sudden thunderstorm rolled in and smothered the peak.
The string of state park campgrounds along the 101 north of Santa Barbara - El Capitan, Refugio and Gaviota - are popular destinations, and for good reason. They boast prime beachside locations, plus they are well-known, given their visibility from nearby Highway 101. That combination means it can be almost impossible to get a site sometimes.
It's nearly 10am as I follow the fire road into Sycamore Canyon. Although the sun is shining bright, it's still cool down here amid the shade of oaks and profusion of greenery.
Getting out of town during spring is difficult for us. With four kids in four different sports, if we're traveling, it's to a race or a meet. And when we're home, someone always needs a ride to practice.
In Southern California you can add an ocean view to almost any dining experience, no matter how simple.
We bumped and rattled along Soda Lake Road, following its winding path north. Low hills rippled away on the left. The corrugated Temblor Range rose far to our right. Ahead, the unbroken flatlands stretched for miles under a ceiling of clouds before dissolving into the gray horizon.
Long before it became a hashtag and aspirational lifestyle, April and I lived the van life. We spent a summer driving across the US in our VW Vanagon - two months, 30 states and 10,000 miles.
Camping is a four-season activity in California. While all the leaves are brown and the sky is grey elsewhere, we're packed and ready to get away, especially to the beach.
A day after turning 16, my daughter Brooke stood amidst a group of other nervous hopefuls waiting to be called forward. The tension was palpable. Months of training, planning and dreaming led to this moment. Would she get what she came for?
It seems counterintuitive to drive inland when visiting Santa Barbara during the summer. If it's coolest by the beach, why turn toward the mountains that rise behind the town like a backstop?
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