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EAT, DRINK & PLAY - GET OUT OF TOWN
The climb up Half Dome is as much mental as it is physical. Sixteen miles of hiking and 4,800 feet of elevation gain require fitness and training. But it's the last 400 feet that get in your head.
As a father of two teenage daughters with busy schedules, it's not often I get them all to myself. But a day off school for them and work for me gave us the perfect excuse to go exploring in LA.
This is why we live in California.
That was my thought as we paddled in the Ventura Keys late on a Sunday afternoon. While much of the country looks forward to months of shivering, I'm on the water wearing board shorts and a long sleeve tee-shirt and watching the sun set behind a scrim of fog.
That was my thought as we paddled in the Ventura Keys late on a Sunday afternoon. While much of the country looks forward to months of shivering, I'm on the water wearing board shorts and a long sleeve tee-shirt and watching the sun set behind a scrim of fog.
This year was, of course, the one where vacations didn't go according to plan. That looked different for everyone, depending on how pandemic restrictions and closures affected your destination.
We lingered on our hotel balcony in Santa Barbara long after the sun dipped below the distant hills. The orange sky shifted to purple as fading daylight made way for emerging stars.
Jumping into a mountain lake is one of the most under-appreciated joys of summer.
Even with reservations, confirmations, itineraries and insurance, travel doesn't always go as planned. Certain things are beyond our control. Like traffic, weather or global pandemics.
As we emerge from the coronavirus shut-down, the mood is decidedly undecided as we look ahead to the months when most of us plan to get out of town.
We can't get out of town right now. But getting out of the house is more important than ever. After days of Zoom meetings and online learning, we need the weekends to trade screen time for sunshine and ward off that feeling of impending claustrophobia.
How do you get teenagers to put down their phones? Big questions sometimes require big answers. Especially now, following weeks of school closures and social distancing.
So try this answer on for size: the world's largest trees. You'll find them in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. And on a short weekend visit before the coronavirus lockdown, I found them powerful enough to overcome the pull of the phone.
So try this answer on for size: the world's largest trees. You'll find them in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. And on a short weekend visit before the coronavirus lockdown, I found them powerful enough to overcome the pull of the phone.
The panoramic perspective of Southern California's coastline changed by the minute as the Catalina Express carried us closer to Avalon. First the harbor cranes, then the high rises and finally the Palos Verdes peninsula all faded from view behind the ferry's churning wake.
Whether it is your New Year's resolution to work out more, get outside more, or get out of town, this one is for you. It checks all the boxes, and adds in a little history, too.
There's only one watersport in which I can claim basic competence and therefore enjoyment. It's stand-up paddle boarding.
A stark, desolate beauty draws visitors to the Owens Valley. Its rugged isolation and proximity to the soaring granite peaks of the Eastern Sierra promise solitude hard to find elsewhere in California.
I took what might have sounded like a wishful comment from my wife as a request. "I want to go camping at Jalama," April said in passing at some point last winter.
Given California's size, it seems there are always more roads that lead to undiscovered corners of the state.
Until recently, the western segment of State Route 178 was one of them for me. If it sounds familiar, it's that left turn off State Route 14, past Red Rock on the way to Mammoth, that seemingly leads to nowhere.
Until recently, the western segment of State Route 178 was one of them for me. If it sounds familiar, it's that left turn off State Route 14, past Red Rock on the way to Mammoth, that seemingly leads to nowhere.
When considering weekend get-away destinations, Santa Barbara is tough to beat. Lively bars. Intriguing restaurants. Abundant shopping. Chic hotels. All accented with that worry-free weather. What's not to love, right?
The grounds are bursting with luscious blooms; rich, glorious green is everywhere the eye can see; and the warming sun is balanced by cool marine breezes. It's spring at The Saticoy Club - and it is glorious.
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