California
Big Bear, CA
Big Bear is a lake / mountain town that is only a 2 hour drive from Los Angeles and surrounding areas, making it an easy weekend getaway! The best part about Big Bear is getting a change of scenery. Forests and mountains are much prettier than the sprawling city! The only downside is that everyone in the coastal city towns know about Big Bear, so it can get crowded with lots of traffic going up the mountain. The biggest draw to Big Bear is to get outdoors. The best time to visit is either in the winter to go skiing, snowboarding, sledding, or to just play in the snow and…
Going to Universal Studios in Hollywood
Universal Studios gives you insight into the inter workings of your favorite movies! From famous sets, to special effects, to fun rides, you can get it all here! What I really love about Universal Studios is how it truly captures all the little details of your favorite movie or TV show, so you feel like you are there! Harry Potter Land! My absolute favorite part, of course, is the Hogsmeade Village as part of the Harry Potter land. It is amazing how they make you feel like you are stepping into the book / movies (minus all the tourists). There is Honeydukes to buy candy, Olivanders to buy a wand,…
Hiking Trail Canyon Falls with a Dog
Trail Canyon Falls is a random hike in Southern California I picked out from the All Trails app, and it turns out to be one of my favorites! The hike is a little over 4 miles out and back in Angeles National Forest. The trail is only about an hour from Orange County, making it pretty convenient for a half day outing. The draw of this trail is the stunning 40ft waterfall at the end of the trail! My dog LOVED the waterfall. Overall, it is a relatively easy hike that will take about 2-3 hours, depending on how long you hang out at the waterfall. For directions please go…
Serrano Campground at Big Bear Lake
Serrano Campground is a very popular campsite in Southern California. There is not much lake front camping in So Cal, but Serrano Campground is as close as you are going to come! The campsite is just across the street from the lake with a few of the sites having a lake view (although you can barely see the lake through all the trees). It is a quick 2 minute walk over and you can have your toes in the water. Location, location, location! The best part of this campground for me is the proximity to the lake. I have a dog so I am always conscious of the dog friendliness…
Hiking Bridge to Nowhere in So Cal (with a dog)
Sounds like a movie title, but Bridge to Nowhere is a hike in Southern California. One of the best hikes at best according to many articles! And I can see why. The hike is a long one, 10 miles round trip. For the most part it follows along the stream crossing through the water many times throughout the hike. The other parts are up on rocks to go around the stream or through more of a dirt area with vegetation. The hike ends in an amazing bridge literally what is in the middle of no where. Difficulty I would call this hike moderate. It’s more the pure length in time…
Weekend Itinerary for Catalina Island
A long weekend is the perfect amount of time to spend on Catalina island. The island is pretty small and you can do just about everything the island has to offer in four days. Here is my sample itinerary that I actually went on: Getting there The flyer to get to and from leaves Long Beach, San Pedro, Newport Beach, and Dana Point. It is a quick hour trip over to Catalina and if you shop at Costco, they have great deals on the flyer. The flyer cost is about $75 per person round trip. Day 1 Start your day taking the early morning flyer out to Catalina. If you…
Skiing for the First Time
Ever thought of picking up a new hobby as an adult? What about strapping a plank to each foot and going down a mountainside? Skiing is so popular I honestly wasn’t too nervous about it until I was doe-eyed at the top of a what looked like a cliff in my eyes. What to expect I have been snowboarding before and all I remember from when I was 10 is falling on my butt over and over. I was excited to see how skiing differed and I have heard it is much easier than snowboarding. Do a lesson I would highly highly highly recommend you do a lesson for the…
What to Expect Camping at Coachella
So you’ve decided you want to camp at Coachella? This will be the best/worst decision! Camping was by far my favorite part of Coachella BUT it was a major pain at the same time as far as getting in and out of the campsite and could have been made soooo much more efficient. Logistics of camping Getting to Coachella Camping is first-come first-serve…I left Orange County at 1am ON THUSRDAY which the festival doesn’t even start until Friday (yes I didn’t sleep) and got to Indio at 4am. I was in line for security and then to the group meet up area for I kid you not 5 hours. Security…
First Time Going to Coachella
Instagramers playground, the Coachella music festival! Coachella has always been right in my own backyard and it took me 4 years living in Arizona and 2 years living in California later to finally make it. Coachella is famous and people travel from all over the world to come. Known for celebrities, fun art work, and world class DJs. What can you expect at Coachella? What you need to know Prices Going to get this one over with first, Coachella is expensive. It cost $510 for the ticket alone and add on $120 on top of that for camping for the weekend. Luckily, I am in driving distance so it’s only…
What you Need to Know about Getting Scuba Diving Certified
Has it ever crossed your mind to enter the deep blue ocean and go down 60ft where there is no direct access to air and your surrounded by water? This TERRIFIED me. Okay, okay you have a regulator in your mouth so you can breathe and you have a mask over your face so you can see, but still it is a dangerous sport where drowning is a real possibility. I just love snorkeling and my boyfriend is scuba certified so for years now he has been trying to convince me to get certified. So should you do it? Test out the waters The first thing you can do if…
