2015 Weekend Getaways Contest
Find ideas for your next San Diego weekend getaway!
China Lake: California's rock art library
See the largest gathering of petroglyphs in the northern hemisphere.
At night, especially under a full moon, the locals say you can hear the voices of the ancient ones. They ride the wind, telling the story of their people as they glide across the rocks. ...
Baja's Valle de Guadalupe on a budget
Photography, glamping, wining, and star gazing: all a couple hours away.
Two hours south of San Diego, around sixty miles from Tijuana, sits Valle de Guadalupe inside Ensenada, the largest municipality in all of Mexico. Dozens of wineries with tasting rooms and fancy eateries sit near ...
Bishop, CA: Eastern Sierras gateway
Boulders, burgers, bristlecones, add a dash of history.
For outdoor adventure, a dash of history, and crisp mountain air, head north to the Eastern Sierras to the small top of Bishop. Nestled between two of the largest mountain ranges in the contiguous United ...
Welcome to Bear Country
Solo camping in the Sierras' Little Lakes, a 6.5-hour drive north of S.D.
Although I had only been home a month, I had irrationally hoped to get my ideal big girl job and within a few months be settled in my big girl apartment. Since I was nowhere ...
Antelope Valley's fields of orange
Time the 3.5-hour drive north in the spring for spectacular waves of color.
Officially known as the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve, the rolling hills of the southern Mojave, 15 miles west of Lancaster, explode with color each spring as 1,745 acres of wildflowers end their hibernation and burst ...
Downtown L.A.: trashy to trendy
Get your arts & culture fix, no driving required — just an easy ride up the Pacific Surfliner.
In the 90s and early 00s, despite its impressively tall high-rise skyline, downtown Los Angeles was generally NOT somewhere you would go by choice. Maybe once in awhile for a museum or a convention. Or ...
To Baja and back again
Will south of the border remain the same in a post-Trump world?
After what appeared to be a never-ending campaign of presidential media blitzes, president-elect Donald Trump won the race. Lost the popular — but who’s counting? And now, a storm is coming, but the conditions are ...
Dog days in Havasu Canyon
This hike to blue-green waterfalls is just outside Grand Canyon Nat'l Park.
Adjoining the Grand Canyon on the south side of the Colorado River is a tributary canyon called Havasu, which, in the language of the Havasupai people who live there, means “blue-green water.” Havasu Canyon is ...
Western ghosts in the Alabama Hills
There must be a cowboy in here somewhere.
When thinking of the Owens Valley along Highway 395 in Central California, you might consider it a gas-station stop on your drive to ski Mammoth Mountain, or maybe a great fishing area with numerous lakes ...
Hermosa and Manhattan: L.A.'s last real beach towns?
What's left of traditional SoCal beach culture in the sprawl.
Off the radar for most visitors to Los Angeles County is the South Bay area — since for beaches, people generally seek out the well-known spots of Malibu, Santa Monica and Venice. However, just below ...
Backyard escape: the Cabrillo Monument & Tide Pools
Must-see natural beauty and history a hop and a skip away in Point Loma.
San Diego is such a beautiful part of the country. One might even go as far as to say the most beautiful part — there's so much to see and explore, even in our own ...
Best bets for your Joshua Tree weekend
Hiking, camping and reality-escaping in the closest national park.
As a recent transplant to Southern California, I've been anxious and excited to get out and explore what this part of the country has to offer. Joshua Tree has been at the top of my ...
Youth and 20/20 vision in Indian Wells
The BNP Paribas Open goes down in Coachella Valley every March.
A chance meeting in the desert provided answers on the requirements for becoming an official at a major professional tennis tournament, like the one at Indian Wells. Just a 2.5-hour drive from San Diego, the ...
One night, one bag, one bike: Gaslamp to Sweetwater camping
Embracing the idea of "microadventure."
At the turn of the New Year, I declared 2016 the year of "doing." Of approaching life with a no-holds-barred attitude. Instead of just talking about great adventures, I’d be the one out there breathing ...
America's largest park: Death Valley
Make the 5.5-hour drive now for the El Niño superbloom, while it lasts.
A visit to Death Valley can be a wonderful opportunity to clear your mind of some of the mental clutter we accrue in our daily routines and enjoy a digital detox while soaking in some ...
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