Oso Flaco Lake is a hidden natural gem. Oso Flaco lake is hidden in the Pismo Dunes Natural Preserve and it is surrounded by farm land. Situated about 30 minutes south of Pismo Beach and about 10 minutes north of the small town of Guadelupe, Oso Flaco Lake is hard to find. There is only one small street sign on Cabrillo Highway. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you will definitely miss it. Once you get to the sign there is another five to ten minutes drive through farm lands until you get to the Oso Flaco park. But what a beautiful place Oso Flaco Lake is! It is nestled among sand dunes and the state has built a beautiful walkway that goes almost over the entire lake. Then you can continue walking all the way to the ocean. You get an amazing view at the end of the walkway. It’s just a beautiful place!
Avila Beach is another hidden jewel of the California Central Coast. It is hidden in the San Luis Obispo Bay and if you don’t go there on purpose, you will never see it. Avila Beach is well hidden from the 101 freeway by a beautiful forest and some very tall hills. These hills provide amazing views of the ocean and of San Luis Obispo Bay. For now, I’m only posting a few pictures from Avila beach but pretty soon I’ll post my detailed Avila Beach travel guide. 
Pismo Beach is one of those hidden tourist jewels that is within easy reach but bypassed many times by tourists. The California coast is just beautiful off the 101 freeway in the Pismo Beach area. The fact that many larger tourist attractions like San Luis Obisbo and Hearst Castle are so close, most tourists just pass by Pismo Beach on their way up north. What a mistake! Pismo Beach is just an amazing stop even if you have only few hours to spare. Pretty soon I’ll post my detailed Pismo Beach travel guide, but for now 
Hearst Castle is one of the few buildings in America that bears the name “Castle”. We just don’t have castles here like they have in Europe. Castles are a thing of the past and especially in California we don’t have old buildings except for the few old missions that are scattered along the coast. I know I am exaggerating a little but not too much. So, just the name Hearst Castle becomes interesting almost immediately to the tourist. 
Big Sur is an area on the coast of California, roughly in between San Simeon to the south and the little town of Big Sur to the north. It is not clearly defined and many people refer to different places when talking about Big Sur. Some talk about the Point Sur light house while some talk about the Julia Pfeiffer Burns park. Regardless of the proper definition of Big Sur, this area of the California Coast boasts some breathtaking views of the Pacific coast.
Point Dume in Malibu, California is a very small place. It doesn’t really come up in conversations about California except for those who live in Southern California. Point Dume is a favorite place for locals especially in the winter months because it is right on the migration path for gray and blue whales as they travel north to Alaska. Between January and April, Point Dume is one of the few spots on the land where you can actually get to see some whales in addition to dolphins and other sea creatures. 
The Getty Center in Los Angeles is an amazing place. We were finally able to visit this place and be transported for a few hours in the heart of Europe. This was not because of the architecture of the buildings because they are very American and very modern. But the art on display at the Getty Center was amazing. We got to see Manet, Money, Renoir and even a very rare sketch by Da Vinci. Read more to see some pictures from the Getty Center.
La Purisima Mission is one of the 27 California missions that line up the California coast from south to north. Located in Lompoc, La Purisima is actually a state park and it has been extensively reconstructed to better capture the feel of the Mission times. With lots of things to offer for the entire family, La Purisima Mission Park is a great tourist stop for the California traveler. Read on to find out what is worth seeing at La Purisima.
We visited San Francisco a few times and we loved it every time. This time however it was in December and it was raining hard and the San Francisco Bay was covered in thick fog. We ended up mostly driving around but we were still able to walk around Fisherman Wharf area and enjoy the sites. San Francisco is spectacular despite the rain. Read on to find out the main tourist attractions in downtown San Francisco.
Lots to see in Palm Springs and the surrounding areas. If you make sure you don’t visit Palm Springs after middle of May and before middle of September, you will have a great time in the Palm Springs area. If you come during the summer, you will be confined inside your hotel where the air conditioner will make the temperature bearable.
Lake Tahoe is one of the most popular attractions in California. It is mostly known as one of the best winter resorts in the world. However, Lake Tahoe is a great family vacation spot in the summer as well. We found Lake Tahoe to be very relaxing and family friendly. My family found great things to see and we enjoyed the beautiful views and places to visit. This article contains our favorite places to visit in Lake Tahoe.
Every year the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California puts on the best show. Entitled the Tournament of Roses, this amazing parade is all about flowers and in particular about roses. We always wanted to go to the Rose Parade, but with two small children coming out in the very early hours of the morning just to get a somewhat decent seat, is out of the question. So, we opted to come see the floats in what is called the Post Parade event where you come admire the floats that have been parked on a couple of wide streets. Is it really worth it? Well, read on to find out.
Sometimes when traveling you get to witness amazing things that you were not planning to see at all. This is what happened to me when going to the beach again at Point Mugu State Beach in California. I have brought some relatives of ours to the beach since they have not been in this part of the state. When we got there, we noticed that the waves were pretty rough and very loud (about 10 feet high). The water was breaking very close to shore, which made it pretty hard for us to enjoy the water. Eventually we decided to head back home since we couldn’t really play in the water much.
