Search Results for: california
30 Reasons to Visit Orange County in California
- California
- Shobha
- 2 Comments
Orange County is the typical Southern California paradise that the world expects from SoCal. No wonder then that there have been so many recent television shows set in the area, including 4 seasons of the O.C. and reality television fodder, Laguna Beach, The Hills and The Real Housewives of Orange County. If people are going to be beautiful, wealthy and live a charmed life, the least they can do is let us watch them live out their lives and provide us with entertainment. So why should you visit? I’ve listed below 30 reasons to visit Orange County in California. Get off the couch, folks, and go live the life you see on television even if its only for a vacation.
Sunny, affluent Orange County is the dream California that advertisers sell.
The End of the Road
The famous Pacific Coast Highway ends at Dana Point in Orange County. If you’re going to do a road trip it makes sense to go to one end or another of the road, right? We did the smart thing and headed south on the PCH towards guaranteed sunshine in southern California.
Beach Fun
Orange County is blessed with miles of sand and surf. But the kicker? It’s also got near-perfect weather all year-round so you...
Visiting the California Redwoods at Muir Woods With Kids
- California
- [email protected]
- 13 Comments
The mind boggles when you think about how old the California redwoods are. When some of these trees in Muir Woods were saplings 900 years ago, the world would have been a vastly unrecognisable place. To put things in perspective, in 1144 AD, the French and Germans were off on a doomed Second Crusade. In 1150 AD Angkor Wat in Cambodia was completed as the Khmer empire reached its height. Nearly a millennium later, the Middle East is still a mess (albeit a different kind) and Angkor Wat is a well-trod tourist attraction. We visited the California redwoods at Muir Woods with kids in tow because it was easily accessible to San Francisco. Even though we did not have time to visit Yosemite or any of the other redwood forests, we still wanted our children to see a primeval forest.
Easy trails and its proximity to San Francisco make Muir Woods perfect for a family visit.
A Quick Intro to California Redwoods
Folk hero, Woodie Guthrie, wove the California redwoods into the American popular consciousness with his catchy song, This Land is Your Land. Luckily, the redwoods are mentioned in the first verse because, let’s face it, most people only know the first verse of a lot of songs.
This...
The Madonna Inn in Central California Revels in its Quirkiness
- California
- Shobha
- 6 Comments
“What would you recommend for lunch?”
“You mean, here?” The waiter responded as if startled by the question. “To eat?”
Considering I was sitting in a booth in his restaurant at lunchtime, it was my turn to be bemused.
After a pause, he said, “The breakfast here is really good.”
I did not find his opinion very helpful since I was at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo at lunchtime. Maybe he was feeling stroppy because he was not wearing lederhosen unlike the waitresses who were outfitted in drindl dresses.
Visiting the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obisbo which is quirky and fun for the whole family
I was at the Madonna Inn because so many people have Inn on their bucket list that I thought I really have to see it. So my husband and I went with another couple on a mini road trip from Santa Barbara where we were staying. We were so entranced by the experience that we took our children there for a meal when we visited the area again. Clearly, the dizzy waiter was part of the places’ oddball charm and did not affect our opinion of the place.
Boy is it odd. My experience with the waiter was just the beginning. Of course, the...
Podcast Show Notes: Putting The Boom in Baby Boomer Travel
- 1001 Travel Tales
- Shobha
- 3 Comments
Welcome to the podcast show notes and transcript for Episode 5: Putting the Boom in Baby Boomer Travel. In this episode Rachel Heller and I speak with food, travel and video blogger, Vicki Winters, who has an enthusiasm for life that is infectious. She shares with us her plans to bring social media to the senior crowd as well as her zany adventures with videos and live streaming. Can she put the boom in baby boomer travel? Listen and find out.
Show Notes and Transcript from our discussion with Vicki Winters of The Vicki Winters Show
Time Stamped Show Notes
1:10 When Dinosaurs Roamed NYC
2:38 Putting The Boom in Baby Boomer Travel
5:35 It Takes Two To Make A Drone Go Right
8:46 In Search of Currywurst in Berlin
11:38 The Eternal Vagueness of Vlogging
14:58 Social Media For Senior Travel
17:53 Regrets I’ve Had A Few
19:48 You Call It Chaos; I Call It Life
21:07 Ain’t Nobody Got Time For Perfection
Why Boomer Travel is Going Places
Listen
Go here to listen to Episode 5 of the 1001 Travel Travels Podcast.
If you don’t use iTunes, you can listen by clicking on the link below.
Reviews and Subscriptions
Now if you like the podcast then it would be a HUGE...
Seven Cities With Child Friendly Cycle Routes for Family Cycling
I’m sure you have seen the rental bikes that have cropped up all over the world’s major cities that let you rent a bike for a short term spin around the city. The main downside with these bike hires is that you are not entirely sure if the numbers you need will be at the place that you want when you go to hire them. If you are travelling with a family, then you are better off using a city bike rental such as Donkey Republic to make sure your plans to cycle the city don’t get waylaid. I’ve put together this list of seen cities with child friendly cycle routes for family cycling from my own experience.
When everyone decides to rent a bike when you want to rent as well.
We love to cycle as a family but I am also a nervous mother. I think my children have more faith in their cycling expertise than I do. My daughter absolutely, positively refused to get on a bicycle until she was 8 years old no matter how much begging the rest of us did. She wouldn’t even get on a tandem bicycle or use a trailer. Once we stopped harassing her, she learned to ride a...
Our Instagram Year In Review: The Year That Was 2016
So much happened in the world in 2016 and much of it wasn’t good. If I only had a garden, I would do a ritual burning of a giant wooden 2016 sign just to make sure it was behind us. On the other hand, on a personal front, we’ve had so much fun this past year travelling to some very cool places. I didn’t realise all we had done until I started writing this article. Here is our Instagram year in review. As you can see, I didn’t necessarily post the photos of where we went during our travels. Nor did I just pick my most liked Instagram photos because if you went by them, I only ever stayed in England or went to the USA.
Our Instagram Year in Review: The Year That Was 2016
Instagram Year in Review by Most Popular Photos
My most popular Instagram photos were mainly of the USA and England as shown by this nifty collage created by this nifty site 2016BestNine. That globe photo in New York City was the first Instagram photo I took to have more than 500 likes!
My most popular Instagram photos from 2016
A map shows what our travel year looked like courtesy of Travellers Point...
About me
Welcome! My family and I love to travel, to learn more about different countries and to experience new cultures. We also like our nice hotels, good food and other comforts. Join us on our adventures!