Unique travel ideas in California, every month or so.

Hello, Subscriber First Name! I’ll let you all in on a secret: I have no idea where I’m traveling next year. Usually, in December, all I can think about is getting through the holidays—family travel logistics, buying gifts, booking an outing with girlfriends—and this month’s newsletter is a great reflection of what’s been on my mind lately.

Plus, a little recap of a not-so-typical California road trip Jon and I took this past fall. Enjoy + happy (almost) holidays!

CALIFORNIA GIFT GUIDE

My Favorite Thing to Gift During the Holidays?
A Piece of California.

Most of my family lives outside of California so when it comes time to send them a holiday gift, I love sending something from my home state. Plus, it’s a great excuse to shop local and support some of my favorite small businesses. A few ideas:

• Ceramics by MM Clay, a shop based in San Francisco.

• Italifornia Pasta Night Bundle, a fun combo of pasta by SF restaurant Flour + Water and L.A. sauce company, Ciao Pappy.

• Dandelion Chocolate is never not a hit.

• Hog Island has been adding some fun seafood-adjacent items and kits to their farm kitchen.

• Two cookbooks that were released by Bay Area chefs this year, Coastal and Seasons of Greens, make great gifts.

• Petaluma olive oil farm, McEvoy Ranch, has an excellent line of Oprah-approved beauty products. I love their hand lotion.

• Totes and home good by Gravel & Gold. Been rockin’ their dungeness crab tote all summer.

You can find the full list with these (and even more!) ideas on the blog.

ROAD TRIP

A California Road Trip That Skips The Pacific Coast Highway + National Parks? Yep.

This past September, Jon and I took a 10-day road trip in California with one goal in mind: skip the big, iconic places (Big Sur, Yosemite, etc.) and focus on more off-the-beaten path parts of California. It was a great excuse to explore some lesser-known places we hadn’t yet seen in our 12+ years living here.

I published a whole video series about it on Instagram, but here’s the gist of our unusual route—plus links to the videos:

PART 1: Tahoe > Alabama Hills

Highway 395 is a totally underrated part of the state, and takes you through some beautiful parts of the high Sierras. We started in North Lake Tahoe and ended in Alabama Hills, a popular Hollywood filming location for sci-fis and Westerns.

See the video

PART 2: Ojai

After a small side-quest to San Diego to see friends, we drove north to the cute SoCal town of Ojai. Lots of great food, artsy shops, and Bart’s Books, the largest outdoor bookstore in the world. Izakaya Full Moon was a highlight too.

See the video

PART 3: Santa Ynez Valley

I can’t stop talking about how much I love this region just northeast of Santa Barbara and its cute collection of small towns. Kitschy Solvang is probably the best known one, but we skipped it to spend more time in Cowgirl-cook Santa Ynez and up-and-coming Los Alamos. Plus: one of the best meals of our trip at Bar Le Côte in Los Olivos.

See the video

PART 4: Paso Robles

I’ve been to Paso a bunch, but every time I feel like there’s so much I’ve missed: new restaurants; yet another cute hotel; and dozens of wineries doing creative things. This time, we stayed right in the vineyards at Geneseo Inn, discovered winery Clos Solène (part of Paso’s French Mafia. IYKYK.), and finally made it to Sensario. Worth it.

See the video

IN OTHER NEWS…

Happenings in the California Travel Scene

A round-up of my favorite pieces of intel from the California travel scene:

🎅 Holiday Pop-Up Bars: It’s the time of year to hunt down a fun cocktail in a Surfin’ Santa mug with the Sippin’ Santa pop-ups. It’s nationwide, but in California find it at Flamingo Inn (Santa Rosa), Kona’s Street Market (SF), CanTiki (LA), and The Grass Skirt (San Diego).

🎄 Dear San Francisco, Holiday Edition: This show at Club Fugazi has a few holiday surprisings now through end of December. So fun.

🎬 Film Festival in Nevada City: The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is celebrating its 24th year of inspiring activism through film and art in Nevada City this February 19-23rd. Get tickets + book your hotel now—it’s a great excuse to visit this charming, small mountain town.

✨ Beach, Please: Monterey Beach Hotel reopened after a Marriott acquisition and major renovation. A rarity for the area, it’s right on the beach and 9/10 would recommend.

ICYMI: ON THE BLOG

➛ 24 Actually Useful Gifts for Travelers, According to a Professional Gear Reviewer

➛ The Perfect Weekend Getaway in Paso Robles, California (updated!)

➛ California’s Cowgirl Cool Wine Region: A Curated Travel Guide to Santa Ynez Valley

✈️ Planning a trip? ✈️

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No. But I can.

Let me plan and book your trip for you. Whether it’s Sonoma, Japan, or somewhere in between, I’ll handle the logistics, bookings, and even snag you some perks—like hotel discounts and VIP upgrades.

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