California Beaches Blog

After reading a review on another web site about a trip I was embarking on and hotel I picked at $150/night, I freaked when I read several complaints from previous travelers about bed bugs in the hotel. Oftentimes I sleep on the floor if the bed is too soft, and the thought of being easy [...]

Thanksgiving is coming up in just a few weeks and this means only one thing. I gotta run!
With the popularity of turkey trots increasing, the coast is nearly covered with them. So instead of chasing turkeys, you can be one. The 2nd annual Turkey Festival at Lopez Lake in San Luis Obispo County draws hundreds [...]

Californians love their islands–and so do tourists. From the romance of the Avalon Ballroom (shown in the photo above) where big bands performed in concerts and dances, to the hillsides dotted with colorful houses, the island exudes charm. It usually begins the moment you arrive and begin to step off a boat. As you look [...]

Budding writers, travel pros, promoters and others are invited to learn about what AAA publication, Westways, and its readers are looking for today. On Nov. 5, Elizabeth Harryman, Westways Travel Editor and Jon Carlew, Westways Research Manager, will offer their insights (and a tour) at the historic circa 1920’s building of the Auto Club of [...]

Maybe there’s someone out there who doesn’t love San Francisco, but he or she is hard to find. It’s quite easy to hop aboard a plane from Burbank, San Diego, Los Angeles, Ontario, Orange County, Long Beach or even Sacramento and enjoy a weekend getaway attending an event, doing some shopping, riding a boat, taking [...]

Hospitality leaders throughout San Francisco and Napa Valley recently had the  opportunity to showcase their best practices in a competition with other wine tourism businesses from around the world. Great Wine Capitals Global Network  “Best Of” Wine Awards announced the  winners of the 2010 San Francisco/Napa Valley “Best Of” Wine Tourism Awards recently, with Napa [...]

Hot Day in Southern California on Oct. 16, 2009
Los Angeles winters often are as hot as the “devil” winds called the Santa Anas. At 6 p.m. on Friday evening in mid-October it was 91 degrees in L.A.  Taking a break from the office to walk along the oceanfront on a hot day, I was roasted [...]

The last car you’ll ride in is usually a hearse. And the most unusual car exhibit you’ll ever see features hearses at the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento. “Hearses: The Last Rides,” runs through December 11, 2009 at California Automobile Museum. It highlights vehicles designed to create an air of dignity and style for that [...]

California Beaches–When the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Competition arrives each summer, it’s no surprise that a Californian wins or comes in the top two or three contestants.  America simply loves their wieners and buns and the press coverage of the event spans all the way around the globe when the Japanese take home the prize.
The [...]

I love my National Parks in California. And, if I had my way, I’d be driving in the gates of Yosemite National Park right now! Since the in-park hotels are pretty booked, I’d stay outside the gate at Tenaya Lodge, or down the road at Yosemite View Hotel. The point is that I don’t live [...]