As a Californian, I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve never visited any of the historic California Missions. I finally got the chance to correct that oversight on a recent family trip (on …
California
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Palm Springs has long been known as one of the paramount destinations in SoCal. I’m pretty sure that an annul weekend getaway to Palm Springs is a mandatory legal requirement for residents …
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On my first trip out to The Living Desert Zoo|Gardens in many years, I rediscovered a true gem of a zoological park. I also discovered that the park had developed its own …
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When last I visited The Living Desert Zoo|Gardens (sometime in the late 80’s), it was actually called “The Living Desert Museum“. Then, as now, I had a keen interest in herpetology (the …
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On a whim, I decided on a last-minute road trip out to Palm Springs to do some hiking and check out the La Quinta Resort & Club, a Waldorf Astoria Resort. I’ve …
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Years ago, I summited Mt. San Jacinto in one day via the Marian Mountain Trail, and let me tell you, that thing kicked my @$$. Since then, I’ve been meaning to return …
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We just took a look at the brand new TownPlace Suites San Diego Central. In this post, we’ll take a look at the Residence Inn San Diego Mission Valley. Review: Residence Inn …
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Yes, “vanilla hotels” may not be the “sexiest” use of points in the travel-hacking universe, but they can often provide massive outsized value, especially when you just need a place to crash …
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After my prior stay at the upscale and trendy Kimpton Hotel Palomar San Diego, I opted to try another IHG hotel located in downtown San Diego. This time, I chose the Holiday …
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During my stay at the Hyatt Regency La Jolla At Aventine in San Diego, I chose to cash in one of my Club Access Award passes for access to the Regency Club. …
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Earlier, we took a look at several Category 4 (or below) “vanilla” Hyatt properties in the San Diego area, including Hyatt Place San Diego/Vista-Carlsbad and the Hyatt House San Diego/Carlsbad. We’ll keep …
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After my previous review on the Hyatt House San Diego/Carlsbad, I’m keeping the “vanilla” Hyatt hotel theme going with the Hyatt Place San Diego/Vista-Carlsbad. Let me be clear, “vanilla” hotels are not …
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On a recent weekend road-trip to San Diego to visit the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, we needed a quick place to stay for the night that wouldn’t eat a ton of …
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The word “heavenly” isn’t quite adequate as description for a California Poppy Super Bloom. This rare event happens only about once every 10 years, so when it happens it’s a major event. …
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At the conclusion of an epic 5 day/4 night backpacking trip hiking the Trans-Catalina Trail, we were beat. We found ourselves standing at the Hermit Gulch Campground in Avalon trying to decide …
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Our fourth day on the TCT marked a restful return to form on the Trans-Catalina Trail (TCT). Although several bison rumbled through Black Jack Campground periodically through the night, we awoke before …
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When we last left off (Day 3 on the TCT), we had made great time hiking to Little Harbor so we decided to push on through and try and make it to …
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At just 5.9 miles, day 3 on the Trans-Catalina was supposed to be our “easy” day. As such, we slept in a bit, before hitting the showers and then grabbing some proper …
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After a nearly perfect first day on the Trans-Catalina Trail (TCT), we were ready to tackle our second day. The plan was to start off “Day 2” with an early morning side-trip …
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Hiking The Trans-Catalina Trail (TCT): Part 1 – Two Harbors To Parsons Landing (Catalina Island, CA)
The Trans-Catalina Trail, otherwise known as simply the “TCT”, is an epic California backpacking adventure that treks from one end of Santa Catalina Island to the other. During this gorgeous but challenging …