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.
We wanted to go to the beach one weekend and we decided to go to Point Mugu since we haven’t been there in a long time. Since I have forgotten to take cash with me, I couldn’t park at the state beach and ended up parking right next to the Mugu Rock and then went down to a small rock beach nearby. We ended up having a great time and saw a sea lion and lots of pelicans. My daughter loved the trip.
I went with my daughter to the beach one weekend. She really wanted to go see “sharks” at the beach. So, we did go to the beach but didn’t see any sharks…which was good. We did see lots of pelicans and one sea lion swimming very close to shore. That was really cool! I decided that we could go to the Point Mugu beach since we haven’t gone there in a long time. We had a great time ! I’ll write more about Point Mugu in another post, but for now take a look at my pictures.
We have recently taken a day trip to Silverwood Lake and Wrightwood here in Southern California. While these destinations are practically unknown to tourists, they are popular for the local people. They are perfect travel destinations for a day trip on a sunny day (which are plenty in Southern California). Water, nature and maybe…snow will make a great weekend Southern California trip.
Silverwood Lake in Hesperia California is well known for many things: great picnic areas, stunning natural beauty and amazing fishing. We only got to stop at a vista point overlooking the lake. I wish we would have had more time to visit the lake this time. I have only visited Silverwood Lake once before…a few years ago and I was impressed by how blue and clean the water was. 
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.
The mountains around San Luis Obispo Bay area hide Avila Beach very well. But if you’re willing to get off the beaten path and get off the freeway you will be rewarded greatly with stunning views of the ocean and a relaxed atmosphere in one of the little known California beach towns. Avila Beach, California is the perfect beach town. It’s small, clean and simply beautiful!
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 
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.
