Evergreen Lodge: Not only did it have everything I was looking for, but activities for the kids, a rustic, but comfortable cabin, a solar-heated saltwater pool--and onsite restaurants. This meant less time cooking after a long day, and less frustration of hauling and trying to store food.

It's ironic that my husband and I are both bloggers given that we met back in 1995 on this new little thing called AOL.

I never thought I would be hunting Thomas Dambo's famous giant wooden trolls in a forest, but here I am.

The Uncomfy Room is the most bizarre room of Un-Natural Gardens at Descanso. I step into a space covered in pink, fuzzy fur carpet. The walls have wigs growing out of them. I feel disconcerted. Also, I am a little creeped out by the hanging nylon stuffed objects dangling from the ceiling. I navigate through the weirdly lit room, and there are nooks and curves that should be invitingly cozy, but it just makes me more uncomfortable. Turn the corner, and the passages are tighter, with more of the pink things (reminds me of intestines) hang in my face. Part of me wants to stay and figure out what this is, and part of me wants to get out of there as fast as I can. It's funny, and bizarre, and definitely thought provoking. The interactive exhibit at Descanso Gardens. #WhereGalsWander

My guide on where to go for spooky,not scary, Halloween in Los Angeles. I love Halloween, but I'm not a guts and gore kind of gal. Fake haunted houses aren't for me, but I found a few really unusual experiences to check out before Halloween arrives.

The chance to hike Walden Woods where Henry David Thoreau wandered every morning, to dip my toes into Thoreau's own pond and see the actual site of his cabin where he wrote his philosophies that continue to inspire wanderers, travelers, humanitarians.  To see a place that both inspired and reflected his sense of simplicity, appreciation, gratitude, and kindness.