A trip to Santa Barbara is not complete without a visit to Stearns Wharf. When completed In 1872, it became the longest deep-water pier between Los Angeles and San Francisco (thank you Wikipedia) and is the biggest tourist attraction in Santa Barbara. To me, it evokes part boardwalk, with all of the cute shops and restaurants, with its own museum (The Santa...
I'm just a Chicago Gal experiencing the California Wildfires. First,it was the Sand Wildfire that began just weeks after we moved from Chicago to California. The Sand Wildfire was merely miles away from us.
My previous winters in Chicago always left me wishing I could be somewhere warm and wonderful. I needed to end the year traveling with a little adventure, a little bit of city, a little bit of luxury, a little culture, and of course, a little bit of nature. So I met JD in Palm Springs, the closest point to halfway between Phoenix and Los Angeles as we could get. It...
As our final trip of 2017, JD and I met up in Palm Springs with our families to say goodbye to 2017, with the three things Where Gals Wander is all about: Travel. Nature. Adventure.-Zanne First in our series: San Jacinto Mountain.JD: After my European travels this summer, I’ve vowed to fall in love with as many places as possible. I don’t always have the time to...
JD is settling in and she is discovering a love of hiking in Arizona. She is trading corn stalks for cactus and getting out to explore the new setting. Expanding her comfort zone, JD started hiking through the Sonoran trails. She was excited to share her newfound love of hiking through Arizona.
The Channel Islands have always been this alluring beacon to me to come explore. They always seem just out of reach as I can see their shadows from the Ventura Coast. My mentor, my friend, my confidant and advisor Kristin joined me for a few days exploring the Ventura Coast. We hiked up through the hills of the Ventura Botanical Gardens, and each twist around the...
When I need to feel peace and calm, I go to the beach. The salty breezes, warm sand, and cold water are cleansing and seem to wash everything away. Watching the waves put me in a meditative state. The mountains give me strength and as soon as we go above 6,000 feet my adrenaline kicks in when I see the tall pines and the amazing views. Hiking through the trails seems...
(Day One of Our trip can be found here ) Waking up on Sunday wasn’t easy because of the extra comfortable, luxurious bed and the effects of hanging out at the Gaslamp District the night before, but the beach still called, and today we continue exploring La Jolla and hike Torrey Pines. Luckily, the ocean was about 30 feet from the hotel. The early wake-up was...