Category: On the Road

Where Next?

Traveling to Kansas a couple of weeks ago made me realize that aside from trips to Temecula to say overnight at my parents’ house, we really haven’t gone anywhere since we moved here! No wonder I have been feeling so antsy. I need to see a new city!

When we got married we made a plan to visit somewhere cool for each anniversary. Traveling and having new experiences is simply a priority for us! For our first anniversary we visited St. Louis and last year we took an epic Europe vacation!

Where should we go this year? With our anniversary in just a few short weeks, we’re thinking of places to visit that aren’t very far from home, so a quick two or three day trip can be squeezed in.

The Ace Hotel, by Elsie Larson, A Beautiful Mess

First choice is a place that it seems like every blogger has gone to recently–Palm Springs! It seems like the place to be is the Ace Hotel, but that’s much too pricey–right now, anyway–and I found a couple of steals on priceline.com for places just as cool, like The Saguaro, recently documented by Elsie at A Beautiful Mess.

The cabins at Twin Oaks, Big Sur. Photo by Trey Ratcliff, Stuck in Customs

Secondly, last year’s West Elm catalogs and various articles in Sunset make me want to go glamping (glamorous camping) …possibly in a cabin or a yurt at Big Sur? I love the great outdoors–especially forests–but I’ve never been much of a camper… we don’t own a tent and I think we only have one sleeping bag between the two of us, so a luxurious cabin with a real bed seems like my style of camping.

Las Vegas, Wikimedia Commons

Many So Cal people take advantage of our proximity to Las Vegas for a quick getaway–stay somewhere cool, gawk at the interiors of each strip hotel, shop, take in a show–eat sushi unreasonably late, etc. It seems like every time I turn around I hear of someone gearing up for a Vegas weekend or just getting back from one!

Keep Portland Weird, photo by Barry Caruth on flickr

Lastly, it would be really neat to fly up to Portland, if we found a steal of a ticket. With a few friends in/near Portland, we could see friendly faces, check out all the must-see stores and restaurants, and reenact our favorites scenes from Portlandia.

*All photos used under Creative Commons. 
Click to be taken to photographer's gallery.

Happy Halloween!

Earlier this week, I tried to stop by San Diego’s spookiest coffee house, Lestat’s, to take some photos for you, but it was so overrun with people staring at their laptops (seriously–like every table) that I only managed to get a couple good shots. This morning while I was brainstorming a few alternate ideas, I came up with the perfect idea–doctor up some shots I took this summer at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris! So I took the idea and ran with it.

(Did you know that most old movies shot “night” scenes during the day, with a dark filter?)

The cemetery is actually a pretty peaceful place to take a stroll during the day, and it’s worth stopping by to see some famous graves, like Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, and Jim Morrison. Just be sure to check their hours before heading over–it closes around 5 or 6 PM, so no creepy night visits possible (phew!).

I suppose you could call both photos above “The Escape!”

Seriously, though, beautiful cemeteries like this are so fascinating to me. Graves upon elaborate graves–something very, very different than the rolling grassy area dotted with headstones that typifies the average graveyard here in the USA.

To get the special effects on these pictures, I used (and then tweaked) a few of The Pioneer Woman’s Photoshop Actions.

Guest Post: The Best of San Diego

Hi My Friend Staci readers! My name is Liz and I blog over at Bon Temps Beignet. Staci asked me to write a little post for y’all about one of my favorite things to do in San Diego. Well the first thing that popped into my head was “eat Mexican food!!” But I’m more than positive that y’all don’t want to read an entire post about burritos and carnitas fries (although I could go on and on about those carnitas) so I’m gonna take y’all along on a little trip out on the San Diego bay. So, jump in my virtual boat, throw on a life jacket, slap on some sun screen and enjoy the ride.

First we’ll launch in the South Bay area…

…pass under the Coronado bridge…

Then make our way over to one of my favorite places on the water. The USS Midway, which is a decommissioned Navy aircraft carrier, was turned into a museum in the summer of 2004.

You can drive your boat right up next to it and sit in the shade of the flight deck. My other favorite part about this spot is over on the right side of the picture below…

How awesome is this?

It’s a 25-foot statue of the famous “Kiss the War Goodbye” photo. Every time we’ve passed by the statue, we see people on shore reenacting the pose for a photo op. So romantic.

A little further up the bay is the Star of India, the world’s oldest active sailing ship. She was built in 1863, but the old girl still looks pretty good for her age! You might recognize her from this episode of  Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel.

Right next to the Star of India is a pirate-style ship that still makes trips around the bay and shoots (blank)cannons in their show.

Next stop is the Pacific Ocean! Right near the mouth of the bay you’ll find the bait barges. And where there’s bait, there’s seals. These cuties lounge around all day waiting for a free meal.

We’ve saved the best for last. Get your cameras ready because, if you timed your boat ride correctly, you’ll be reaching the ocean just as the sun is setting. Gorgeous.

Well, it’s time to head back in now. I hope y’all enjoyed this virtual tour of San Diego’s bay! And if you’re ever in the area, grab a burrito from Lolita’s before you head out onto the water! You’ll thank me later!