California

Celebrity Sleepovers

sleeping bags ©karina y From the guy who brought us 101 Other Things to Do in Amsterdam, comedian Mark Malkoff is showing cheapskate vagabond-types everywhere how to couch surf Hollywood style. It only makes sense that in a city of overrun with overpriced hotel accommodations and celebrities the cheapest way to get a good night’s [...]

SFO Opens Yoga Room

Just say ‘Om’ to the new yoga room at SFO © lyn tally Yesterday SFO opened the very first airport-based yoga room. Stressed out travelers are free to come in and practice independently. The room is open during operating hours of Terminal 2, where it is located. The new yoga room is bathed in calming blue [...]

Disney Changes Rules and Lets Employees Sport Facial Hair

Disneyland Sleeping Beauty Castle ©Sean MacEntee Soon Disney theme parks will allow employees to wear goatees or beards–putting an end to a rule banning facial hair that dates back to the founding of Disneyland in 1955. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts announced the changes to the guidelines known as the “Disney Look” in a memo [...]

L.A.’s “Museums Free For All” This Weekend

The Getty Center; L.A. © shishito With a gloomy weather forecast for the weekend in Los Angeles, residents and visitors can beat the winter blues and visit numerous city museums for free. In it’s seventh year, L.A.’s ”Museums Free For All” kicks off this weekend. A wide range of museums–presenting art, natural history, science–are free, however [...]

Google Maps for Time Travelers

Google Maps ©Christine Rondeau Don’t you hate it when you travel back in time and get lost in old-timey San Francisco because the GPS on your iphone doesn’t work? Enter: Pastmapper. Pastmapper is a sort of Google Maps for historical locations (although right now it only covers San Francisco circa 1853) created by designer Brad [...]

Photo of the Moment: Top Down Cruising in San Luis Obispo, California

LAX Declared World’s Most Social Airport

LAX ©sfxeric Los Angeles International Airport Named Most Social Airport in the World by Facebook. LAX “likes” this. Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport comments, “yeah, but we are still the busiest.” Suvarnabhumi Airport comments, “we’re catching up!” Today, Facebook announced that LAX is the “Most Social Airport in the World.” The title was given based on [...]

California Road Trips: Discover Nearby California Destinations

Explore all that California has to offer without straying too far from home. Residents of the Golden State are lucky to be close to countless beautiful California destinations. Consider these points of interest when planning your next California road trip.

Woman Spends 8 Days in Airport Due to Baggage Fee

Airport © indywriter Terri Weissinger, a native of Sonoma County, Calif., has suffered a new scale of airport indignity: Seeking to start a new life in Idaho, Weissinger was condemned to eight days in the limbo of the San Francisco International Airport–because she was unable to pay the fee her airline assessed for an additional [...]

Photo of the Moment: Quietly Into the Woods, California

San Francisco Kicks Off 5th Annual Cocktail Week

Bar Friends © glennharper Today marks the start of the 5th annual San Francisco Cocktail Week in the Bay Area of California. Cocktail Week offers an incredible array of cocktail parties, one-of-a-kind spirit, bar and cocktail classes, neighborhood cocktail crawls, culinary events, festive galas and more. One of the popular events is called Best of [...]

California offers BBQ Bootcamp for Wannabe Grillmasters

On the Grill © LifeSupercharger Aspiring grill gods (or goddesses) grab your extra long spatulas and ironic aprons and make your way to California wine country for a BBQ Bootcamp. From October 27-30th, Alisal Ranch is hosting its first annual bootcamp taught by chef Pascal Godé and grillmaster/owner Frank Ostini of The Hitching Post II [...]

Blind Man to Sail Around the World

Sailboat © mikebaird Some people manage to be both incredibly inspiring and, well, seemingly a little crazy. Exhibit A: 62 year-old American man Dennis Howard who is planning to sail around the world after having lost 95% of his vision. He plans to depart on his specially designed 20-foot (6.1 meter) boat the “Avalo” from [...]

Undead Destinations

Bran Castle © Horia Varlan The recent pop culture obsession with vampires has led to a surge in fang tourism. Lonely Planet has compiled a list of the best places around the world to delve into the mystery of the undead. Explore ancient legends of beautiful Pontianaks– Indonesia’s version of a vampire–in their namesake city [...]

Photo of the Moment: Fire and Ice at Squaw Valley

Photo of the Moment: Dawn’s First Glow Over Emerald Bay, California

How to Hack Napa: World-Class Wines on a Beer Budget

© Adam Costa Napa ain’t what it used to be. Over the past few years, this idyllic small town – adorned with rolling vineyards and world-class wines – transformed into the Las Vegas strip for oenophiles … But fortunately, this hustle-and-bustle covers up some real gems. As a native Californian with several years in the [...]

Photo of the Moment: Incredible Alcatraz, San Francisco

The Accidental Sea: A Look at California’s Salton Sea

“A short film about my favorite post-apocalyptic hell-hole, the Salton Sea.” Fascinating.

Photo of the Moment: Down the Vines in Spring, Sonoma

Banksy Takes Los Angeles: Documenting The Street Artist’s Tour of Tinseltown

The British street artist Banksy is back in Los Angeles, just in time to create hype around his Oscar-nominated documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop. This past week, Hollywood has been abuzz with daily reports of new Banksy-claimed street art pieces—at least seven since we last checked. GOOD magazine has the latest.

Photo of the Moment: The Lighthouse at Trinidad Bay, California

Good Grief, Another Banksy!? Charlie Brown Burns Hollywood

Banksy strikes again. This time, inspiration comes courtesy of the Peanuts gang and an arsonist Charlie Brown. Good grief, indeed. (Hat tip: TravelsWithTwo.com)

Adios LA: Clever ‘Dear John’ Letter to Los Angeles

Artist Jon Jackson has had enough of his hometown of LA. Now it’s time to say Adios … You can slip out the back Jack or you can put up five 10 x 23 foot billboards in your neighborhood. Adios LA is a visual goodbye to the city Jon Jackson has called home for years [...]

Bleak Winter in Yosemite National Park

Videographer Henry Jun Wah Lee notes that this bleak, yet beautiful, video was: Shot over the 2011 New Year weekend when a winter storm arrived in Yosemite. Overcast skies the first day, followed by heavy snow on the second day, partly cloudy the third day and sunny the fourth day. You’ll see a mixture of [...]

Books & Bars: L.A.’s Thirst for Literature (and Style)

… there is currently a trendy movement occurring in Los Angeles that has seen the marriage of books and bars. That’s right – drinking establishments that have lined their walls, and shelves, with everything from hardbound classics and modern novellas to law encyclopedias and philosophical tomes. As for the current trend of styling everything from [...]

Photo of the Moment: Falling from the Sun Burst, Los Angeles

Photo of the Moment: Stargazing at Mission San Miguel, California

Snapping the Crazy Hills of San Francisco

BoingBoing points us to photographer Håkan Dahlström who snapped this interesting shot of the Russian Hill neighborhood in San Francisco: © Håkan Dahlström It’s simply a matter of perspective: Dahlström titled the camera to ensure that the cars (rather than the house) were level. Clever.