Sometimes you just want a vacation or getaway that is different from anything you've done before -- something you can take back to work and talk about around the water cooler. California is blessed with many such unique vacation adventures, and here ar...

It is said that Death Valley gets 1.8 inches of rainfall each year and, in our fist visit to this "parched" landscape, it felt like we got it all on our first day. It was enough, anyway, to wash out a bridge and require us to take a 40-mile detour just to...

Once we're onboard the Catalina Express, we immediately get the sense that we are leaving Southern California freeway traffic and congestion far behind. Leaving from Dana Point, we are soon "at sea" between L.A. and Catalina Island. We're on our way to...

For a city that home ports one-third of the U.S. Navy fleet, it seems surprising that it took until the 21st Century for the city to open a naval museum to rival similar attractions on the East Coast. But now that it's here, the U.S.S. Midway has made an ...

Okay, just where can parents take their kids nowadays where both the kids and parents will have a good time? Here are three examples of great getaways for holidays, or for any other time of year that you can take the kids along. San Francisco San...

Riverside, California, is a seeming metropolis and part of the L.A. basin, but it's hard to think of one distinguishing characteristic. But get on down off the freeway and you'll find one of the most unique getaway experiences in the state - an experie...

When you visit La Quinta, you can see why the Spaniards chose this place for a base -- it's ideally located near the mountains on the way to the San Gabriel Mission, and it's also a great location for the La Quinta Resort. Several centuries later, alon...

Point Reyes is an amazing preserved part of the California coastline that is just like a little bit of the Irish Coast. But this is not Ireland. This is the Point Reyes Seashore, a couple walking along the road an awe-inspiring landscape that brings to...

Venture into the northwest part of Washington State and it's like vacationing on the National Geographic Channel. Without question, you'll find more picture-postcard settings in this part of the state than any other - which is really saying something, con...

On your next visit to California, why not stay in a storybook cottage just footsteps from the beach and within easy driving distance of Hearst Castle? If you're the type who loves to take long walks on the beach, then Moonstone Beach in Cambria, Califo...

Sorensen's is not only a resort -- it's a town. We noticed on our Rand McNally map there is in fact a town called Sorensen's at the intersection of Highways 89 and 88 near Lake Tahoe. We double-checked with Innkeeper John Brissenden and, yep, there are...

For those who've tried them, Mexican beach resorts are among the most relaxing vacations or getaways one can imagine — long stretches of beach, palm trees, a cerveza or margarita never far from one's grasp. It's easy to drift along like some white fluff...

History buffs could hardly do better than a visit to California's Gold Country in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada where gold was discovered in the mid-19th Century, setting off a population explosion that helped shape what California is today. And mayb...

Warner Springs Ranch had its beginning back when ranch founder John Warner was given 48,000 square acres just for becoming a Mexican citizen. Of course, Warner had a little pull: he had married Anita Gale, who was raised as a ward of the soon-to-be gov...

La Jolla is the definition of "enchanting seaside village." With great weather, swaying palm trees and spectacular ocean views, it's just like a trip to Hawaii. This was decades ago and we had just returned from our first real long-distance travel expe...