Road Trips

Travel Within California By Amtrak Pacific Surfliner Business Class: It’s Worth The Upgrade

January 17, 2012

I’ve done the drive between San Diego and Santa Barbara more times than I can count. It’s long and sometimes made unbearable by traffic in Los Angeles. I needed to go to Santa Barbara for one night, so taking the train seemed like a better option than driving just myself during a holiday weekend. The train journey takes 5 hours. Driving takes about 4, depending on traffic. The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train fare from Solana [...]

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Road Trip To Santa Barbara: Where to Stay?

November 8, 2011

My parents live in Santa Barbara, so we drive north more than the average San Diegan. People always ask me where to stay, but I never have a great answer since we usually stay at my parents house. Except, last time we parked ourselves at Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara. La Jolla Dad was in Peru, so it was just a girls weekend for La Jolla Girl and I. We had a hard [...]

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Dinosaurs Within Driving Distance: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

October 18, 2011

La Jolla Girl is really into dinosaurs so on our way home from Santa Barbara, we spent the night in Los Angeles and visited the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. I hadn’t been there in possibly 25 years, but if your child loves dinosaurs, it’s worth the 2 hour drive from San Diego. Here’s why. Three T-Rex’s I haven’t met a child who isn’t fascinated by Tyrannosaurus rex.

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Wine Maker Wednesday at Temecula Creek Inn

September 14, 2011

There’s no better way to top off a day in Temecula Wine Country than with a Wine Maker Wednesday at the Temecula Creek Inn. I had the privilege of attending one last month. The chefs (Chef Sal is in the photo above) demonstrate how to cook several dishes and send you home with the recipes. A local winery partners with the event and pairs a wine with each dish. In our case, the winery was [...]

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How to Prepare for a Road Trip ($50 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway)

August 22, 2011

La Jolla Girl and I are taking a road trip up to Santa Barbara. We do it all the time, so it’s a familiar trek. I always make sure that my car is not due for maintenance prior to leaving and eyeball the tires. However, I am pretty sure I don’t have everything that I should keep in my car, so I did some research. Here’s a list of what I currently keep: Kleenex (though [...]

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Road Trip With Kids: Montage Beverly Hills

April 1, 2011

As we were getting ready to leave the Montage Beverly Hills, La Jolla Girl said sheepishly “I want to stay here forever.” Who could blame her. We just spent the weekend at the luxury. I went to the spa and socialized with my friends while she happily spent most of her time in Paintbox, the happiest place on Earth. We arrived early on a Saturday, after an easy drive from La Jolla. Within seconds our [...]

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