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Is the grass always greener?

Alcatraz
San Francisco, CA

For some reason visiting Alcatraz has always been on my bucket list. I’m not really sure why, it’s not like I have a particular interest in old penitentiaries. The cell house audio tour was really well done and

Golden Gate NRA

Prior to our visit to San Francisco we watched a Modern Marvels episode on the Golden Gate bridge construction, a few videos about how the cable cars worked, and a segment on the earthquake of 1906. I guess we could call it an infras

Monterey, CA

We took a late afternoon walk along the coast between the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Lover’s Point. The biggest surprise was seeing probably 50+ sea otters riding the waves just off the shore! This was our last stop along the west

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Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA

TL;DR - go visit Point Lobos and plan to spend half a day or more there, it’s amazing!

While we were in Monterey we originally planned to go down to Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. Unfortun

Pinnacles National Park, California

We had a quick stop in @pinnaclesnps which is about 80 miles southeast of San Jose, CA. We had zero expectations going in, as this is a relatively small park. But we were pleasantly surprised! We had full hookups

Morro Bay Beach
Near San Luis Obispo, CA

Whenever I come across an area that looks worth checking out or that someone recommends to us, I add a pin to my google map for “want to go.” I can’t remember where I heard this recommendati

Montaña de Oro State Park
San Luis Obispo, CA

Bluff Trail
If you’re looking for a flat, easy walk with loud crashing waves, gorgeous views, and bird watching, this was a great spot!

Elephant Seal Vista Point

Situated on the beach near San Simeon, CA, this rookery is home to about 25,000 elephant seals (but not all at once). January and February is when many of them haul up onto the beach to have their babies, nurse for about a

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Channel Islands National Park

While we were in Oxnard we took a day trip over to @channelislandsnps, specifically Santa Cruz Island. The ride over was beautiful and we saw a large pod of dolphins which made Miss E’s day before we even got to t

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California Science Center
Los Angeles, CA

In our quest to “collect” all of the remaining Space Shuttles, we couldn’t pass up the California Science Center! It is home to the Endeavour, as well as an array of other amazing exhibits.

Discovery Cube
Orange County, CA

Overall this was a pretty good pick for using our ASTC membership. The kids liked the grocery store which was more interactive with reading nutrition labels and learning about healthy or eco-friendly choices but didn

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Orange, CA
Orangeland RV Park

I put this campground on my radar after seeing it recommended by @elementaryexplorers quite a while ago. Every site has its own citrus tree! The front office has a map and pickers to borrow. We wish we would have bought

Joshua Tree National Park, California

We spent one very windy day at @joshuatreenps This was another park where we went in not really knowing what to expect but it was beautiful! We hiked the Hidden Valley area which was super easy. A ranger had adv