Category California

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Halls of sea otters, jellies, tropical fish, seahorses, octopus, and other aquatic wonders on display at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Monterey Bay Aquarium is a delight of frolicking sea otters, delicate jellies, colorful choral fish, and awkward coastal birds. The Aquarium first opened its doors to the public on October 20, 1984 in the former 1916 Hovden Cannery. It currently boasts 34 major galleries with close to 200 exhibits featuring 550 different species totaling 35,000 creatures in residence. It is a joy for all ages but the child in me was particularly a thrill.

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The Best Point Lobos Hike

See whales, sea otters, sea lions, harbor seals, pelicans, herons, egrets, and all Point Lobos State Natural Reserve offers in an ultimate 5-mile hike.

Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is one of the most remarkable natural destinations along the California shore line. It is host to one of only two naturally occurring stands of Monterey cypress trees. Sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, great blue herons, snowy egrets, pelicans, and other remarkable wildlife regularly visit the point. Best of all, almost every foot of the shoreline is covered in hiking trails.

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San Francisco Ghost Hunt Walking Tour

Christian Cagigal is a fantastic showman, weaving dramatic ghost tales of San Francisco history and the macabre along a moderate walking tour.

We are not inclined towards ghost tours. Being a history buff, I get a little salty when tour guides start playing fast and loose with well documented points of local history to fix someone's odd experience into the larger tapestry of local events. Yet, when we saw that a magician and mentalist whose work we have followed would be in town doing a ghost tour, we decided to give it a go.

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Vineyard 29

The consistently 90+ rated wines from Vineyard 29 are the product not only of prime location in Napa Valley but highly advanced technology.

An upside of travel is the many beautiful places we can visit. Few compare to the cultivated grandeur of Napa Valley. Of course, the reason we were there was no so much to look at the sprawling vineyards and grand tasting rooms but to actually taste the valley's celebrated export: wine. We came with one exceptional winery in mind: Vineyard 29. The consistently 90+ rated wines from this winery are the product not only of prime location but highly advanced technology used in sorting grapes and every other step in the fermentation and bottling process.

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Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve

Mark Twain described Mono Lake as "lifeless, treeless, hideous desert... the loneliest place on earth" in his work Roughing It. And while adjectives like "desolate," "harsh," or "bleak" may be appropriate, "hideous" would not. Lake Mono is an expanse of lacy limestone sculpture flanked by majestic mountain ranges. This shallow saline soda lake is a thing of beauty.

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Palm Slot Canyon

After big horn sheep, our second greatest interest is in hiking a slot canyon. Along with being on our way, Palm Slot Canyon is accessed by a rough road that requires 4-wheel-drive, which scratched our overlanding itch. Though, our eagerness to tackle such a challenge may have gotten us in trouble.

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