Weekend Getaways

Despite the name, there are many good-for-you experiences to be had in Carlsbad. United Airlines offers nonstop flights from San Francisco that can get you to San Diego International Airport—about 30 minutes from Carlsbad—in about an hour and a half. Here are some suggestions to help you have a healthy and happy vacation that’s good for you, the community and the environment. 1. Stay at West Inn & Suites (especially

Even in a state enviable for a laid-back culture and countless natural and culinary assets, San Diego is a place apart. The sprawling, sun-drenched city has a paradisaical feel, with a number of attractions (including zoos and beaches) that often rank among the very top in the nation. Indeed, California’s southernmost city offers so much it would be impossible to see it all in one weekend, but we’ve outlined the nuts and

About 15 years ago, I got a job in Sausalito. Within days, I was eating my lunch on the bay-front rocks while the egrets and pelicans dined on theirs 40 feet away in the San Francisco Bay. I weaved my way through tourists and window shoppers, all of us giddy with the Northern California sun in January. I met the locals in bars and restaurants on Bridgeway. We talked crystal

Kids or no kids, there’s something, well, magical, about the Magic Kingdom. From the old-fashioned charms of the Happiest Place on Earth to the newfangled thrills of the updated California Adventure Park, the Disneyland Resort offers up diversion, delight, and then some. And the pleasure is all the richer when you don’t have to contend with lines, hassles, and high temps. Enter, “off-season.” While Disneyland technically does not have such

Oxnard is a “little bit country, little bit rock-and-roll” kind of place. It sits halfway between bigger (and better known) cities, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, and although it’s Ventura County’s largest city, it maintains a cozy, small-town feel. Here, home-style salsa and strawberry festivals peacefully coexist with the famous Hollywood Beach (a past getaway spot for the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Clark Gable). Whether you choose to kayak

With family ties to Midwestern farming culture, I occasionally feel like something is missing from my metropolitan life in the East Bay. “Where are the endless rows of corn, larger-than-life skies and barn dancing parties?” I ask myself at the end of another evening at a crowded, expensive bar. One day, after spending an hour Googling the nearest line-dancing venues in the Bay Area, I decided that it was high

On a recent car-free weekend in wine country, we discovered the lesser known pleasures of Napa Valley, from a classic 1960s-style diner to educational adventures in aging caves to a 13th century-inspired castle on a vineyard. Settle in to Old Napa I set up base camp at the Wine Country Inn (1152 Lodi Lane), a quintessentially quaint establishment located just off of the St. Helena Highway. The first bed and breakfast

The O.C. might be known for its beach culture and “real” housewives, but it’s also a great place for a family getaway (hold the sigh—we’re not talking Disneyland). Rich in agricultural history (“Orange County” comes from the acres of orange trees that once grew here) and teeming with marine life, the area is a “magic kingdom” in its own right, with myriad family-approved activities, from farm tours to pirate ships,