Posted by Andrew Hickey on Jan 19, 2010 in
Guest Nomad This week’s “Guest Nomad” is Colleen Lanin. Colleen is the creator and editor of TravelMamas.com, a site for parents who want to travel with children…and stay sane! She is a freelance writer and author of the upcoming book, The Travel Mamas’ Guide.
She has written articles for such magazines as Babytalk, San Diego Family, and 101 Things To Do San Diego. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two children. You can follow her on Twitter at @TravelMamas.
Colleen Lanin, a.k.a. the Travel Mama, with her daughter on the Beach Trail in 2007.
With the high cost of housing, gasoline, and even groceries, San Diego County residents like me pay what we call “the sunshine tax.” That’s the price we pay to live in a beautiful city where the weather is mild and sunny year-round.
Luckily, there are many affordable activities visitors and locals can enjoy here, such as hiking or spending a day at the beach. A perfect place for both is Torrey Pines State Beach and Reserve in La Jolla. Go here to picnic on the expansive beach and splash about in the ocean’s waves or to hike one of the reserve’s several trails.
This is my family’s favorite San Diego beach. We love its long stretch of sandy shoreline set against the beautiful backdrop of the reserve’s cliffs…and it doesn’t hurt that it’s a ten-minute drive from our house! Torrey Pines State Beach is popular with locals because of its lack of tourists.
There are no kitschy gift shops, no beachfront bars selling beer on tap, and no boardwalk bustling with tattooed college students on beach cruisers. If that’s your cup of suds, then head to Pacific Beach or Ocean Beach instead. Come here for a laid-back, family-friendly beach scene.
Be sure to bring along some drinks and snacks since there are no restaurants either. Bathrooms and outdoor showers are available.
The reserve is named for the rare, twisty Torrey Pine Trees, which only grow here and on a coastal island near Santa Barbara. You can also spot Yucca, Prickly Pear Cactus, and many varieties of Spring wildflowers along the trails. If you’re lucky, you may even see California Gray Whales on their migration between the Bering Sea and Mexico.
I have explored many of the reserve’s eight trails. None are overly strenuous. My favorite is Beach Trail, which descends over three-quarters of a mile from the cliff’s top to the beach. It affords gorgeous, sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean.
The easiest path, Guy Fleming Trail, is a two-third mile loop. This is probably the best pick for older seniors and families with young children. Everyone, including those in wheelchairs or pushing strollers, can enjoy Discovery Trail, a short half-mile loop featuring information markers near the Torrey Pines Lodge.
Ample free parking is available along the beach but those spaces fill up quickly, especially during summer. Paid parking is $10 per vehicle, your money supports California State Parks, and it’s tax deductible. If you don’t want to hike all the way up the mountain on a paved road to reach the trails, drive and park half-way up for Guy Fleming Trail or park at the top to access the others.
No food or drink (besides water) is allowed on the trails, so plan your picnic for the beach below.
The lodge atop the hill opened originally in 1923 as a restaurant. Today, the lodge acts as a museum, visitor center and ranger station. It houses displays about the Kumeyaay Native American Indians who once lived on the land, the Torrey Pines and other local plants, and a history of the lodge itself. Stop by to pick up a free brochure about common trail plants for a natural scavenger hunt of sorts .
More Information
For additional information about hiking in San Diego County, pick up a copy of Afoot & Afield: San Diego County, a wonderful resource for those wanting to explore San Diego’s natural beauty. For more on San Diego’s beaches, check out this listing on the City of San Diego’s website.
Tags: california, San Diego
Posted by Andrew Hickey on Jan 6, 2010 in
Travel
Airlines kick off 2010 with major sales.
If you are looking to plan that 2010 getaway, now might be a good time to check airfare. Virgin America, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue have all announced some pretty good sales this week.
Virgin America is offering discounted seats if you book by January 11 and fly between January 7 – March 10. There are even a few select seats available through June 20. A three day advance purchase is required. Some one-way fares include:
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San Francisco to Las Vegas – $39
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Seattle to San Francisco – $59
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Boston or Washington DC to Los Angeles or San Francisco – $99
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New York or Ft. Lauderdale to Los Angeles or San Francisco – $109
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For more information and fares, check out Virgin America’s website.
Southwest Airlines is offering “3 Days of Deals” with some pretty decent deals. Hurry because you only have until this Thursday January 7, 2010 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time to grab a seat on sale. Travel is good through May 14, 2010 and a 14-day advance purchase is required. A few one-way fares that caught my attention include:
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Chicago to Long Island – $80
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New York to Baltimore - $59
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Denver to San Diego – $92
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Milwaukee to Ft. Lauderdale – $101
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For more information and fares, check out Southwest’s website.
Finally, if you are looking to “shake up the new year” and jet for less, check out JetBlue’s first sale of the new year. What is great about this sale is that you can either purchase tickets or use your TrueBlue points. You must book by January 13, 2010, travel by March 24, 2010 and blackout dates do apply. Some of the one-way fares that stood out include:
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New York to New Orleans – $84/$89
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Austin to Orlando - $79/$89
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Fort Lauderdale to Nassau - $29
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Boston to Chicago - $67/$79
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For more information and fares, check out Jetblue’s website.
Tags: boston, chicago, fort lauderdale, jetblue, Las Vegas, los angeles, new orleans, new york, San Diego, san francisco, southwest airlines, virgin america, Washington DC
Posted by Andrew Hickey on Dec 14, 2009 in
Travel 
A few months ago I wrote a piece called “25 Interesting (And Odd) New York Facts” for my blog. It received many “re-tweets”, a few comments and a lot of clicks to my site. It is still in my top 10 most read blog entries since I posted it back in July. So I figured why not mooch off that story’s popularity with a sequel featuring another U.S. state.
California is a part of the United States that provides travelers with many great attractions such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Lego Land, Highway 1 and tasty Mexican food. But it is also home to the likes of Paris Hilton, the “Governator” and the Brooklyn…er I mean Los Angeles Dodgers. So sit back, relax and enjoy a little California love.
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California is bigger than eighty-five of the smallest nations in the world.
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Nicknames include The El Dorado State, The Golden State, The Grape State, and The Land of Milk and Honey.
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Death Valley is the hottest and driest place in the United States. Summer temperatures reach over 120 F!
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About sixty percent of the world’s tallest trees can be viewed along the 31 mile Avenue of the Giants.
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California is the king of dairy production in the United States.
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Do not even think of molesting a butterfly in California. A law on the books will fine offenders $500.
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Like turkey? California produces more of the gobbling bird than any other state.
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Los Angeles ranks as the fourth largest economy in the United States when compared to other states.
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The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles is the world’s largest outdoor amphitheater.
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The Raisin Capital of the World is located in Fresno.
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The Artichoke Capital of the World is located in Castroville.
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The world’s largest almond plant is located in Sacramento. It turns out 12 million pounds per day in during the high season.
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With more than 300,000 tons of grapes grown each year, California produces 17 million gallons of wine annually.
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San Francisco is home to the Classic Toy Museum, Pez Memorabilia Museum and American Antique Slot Machine Museum.
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One out of every eight music festivals in the United States is held in California.
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The oldest Jazz Festival is held every September in Monterrey.
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California has the largest economy in the United States.
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If the size of California ’s economy were to be measured by itself to other countries, it would rank the 7th largest economy in the world.
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More than 87 million people board a plane each year in California.
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The massive migration caused by the Gold Rush was the largest in the history of the world.
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Between 1848 and 1852, four short years, California’s population grew from 14,000 to 223,000.
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The first motion picture theater in the United States opened in Los Angeles on April 2, 1902.
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San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge has enough steel wires in its to circle the earth’s equator 3.5 times.
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Blue jeans, Barbie Dolls, the pill, white zinfandel wine, soda, the computer “mouse,” the wetsuit, and theme parks were all invented in California.
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One out of every eight United States residents live in California.
Tags: california, los angeles, sacramento, San Diego, san francisco
Posted by Andrew Hickey on Oct 30, 2009 in
Travel
Decide my next trip.
As you may know by now, I really like to travel. I also assume that if you read my blog that you also really like to travel. I mean I am always looking to visit some faraway locale and usually have the next destination planned before my current trip is over.
As a travel junkie, I am not picky either with how I get there…just as long as I get there. I will jump on a plane, train, bus, car, boat, mule, or hail a piggy back ride in order to get from point A to point B.
But with so many places to check out it can often times overwhelm me with the possibilities. Recently I added a poll on the side of this very page asking people to vote and help “send me somewhere.” I chose 10 cities that were all within the United States and Canada.
The options include: New Orleans, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Portland OR, Montreal, Quebec City, Vancouver, Austin, and Chicago.
All great cities with plenty of things to see, do, eat, and drink. So for the next 10 weeks I will be asking you to vote for which city you would like me to check out and cover on this site. Each week the lowest city will be eliminated and then on January 1st the winning city will be announced.
Once I find out where you are sending me, I will call upon the experts of that particular location to assist me with recommendations like restaurants, nightlife, attractions, hotels, and more. The trip will take place sometime within the first four months of 2010.
To vote each week, check out the poll on the site.
Tags: austin, canada, chicago, montreal, oregon, portland, quebec city, San Diego, san francisco, seattle, texas, Travel, united states, vancouver
Posted by Andrew Hickey on Aug 5, 2009 in
Travel 
When you use Twitter, having followers is pretty important. I mean it would be pretty lame tweeting to yourself. So when JetBlue reached the 1 million follower mark, you know the sort of following that the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Ashton Kutcher enjoy, they felt the need to celebrate.
So when you book either a round-trip or one-way flight today, travel by October 31, and use the code “MLNTH09“, the low-cost carrier will knock off 20% from the total price. Oh JetBlue you shouldn’t have! But remember you only have until 11:59pm EDT to receive the savings. So stop reading this and click here to get jetting.
Tags: austin, baltimore, boston, california, chicago, Denver, houston, jetblue, Las Vegas, new york, orlando, phoenix, sacramento, San Diego, san francisco, seattle, tampa
