Everyone should visit Manzanar. The lessons within its borders are necessary. I didn’t know Japanese Internment during World War II was something that happened until well after high school graduation. I’d never heard the slightest murmur of such things all through high school, and I took advanced history classes. At 22, I’d moved to Front Royal, Virginia, a small town about an hour from Washington, D.C. One December day in 1997, I had the opportunity to visit the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of American History. Fortunately, I’d visited twice before as a child and a teenager. It was a favorite of mine, and I looked forward to seeing the First Ladies’ exhibit and the pop culture section. Imagine my confusion when I stumbled into a portion of the museum that looked like a neighborhood in California. Shops and restaurants in this replica San Francisco street were closed and boarded up,…
Driving Along the Entire Oregon Coast
This may seem crazy, but on one of our longer road trips, we decided to drive the entire Oregon coast, all in one day. On this road trip, we arrived at the northern tip of the Oregon coast in Astoria the previous afternoon. We had a great time exploring The Goonies sites from the film that afternoon before calling it a night at a Hampton Inn on the water. To read about that adventure, click here. The next morning, we checked out of the hotel and hit the road. Our goal was to drive the coastline of Oregon and spend the night in a camping cabin at a KOA in Crescent City, California. By that evening, we were able to say, “Mission accomplished.” The Adventure Begins… After we checked out of our Hampton Inn in Astoria, we hit the road. We had one more Goonies destination to see to round…
See the La Jolla Sea Lions and Seals in San Diego
When I discovered that you could see sea lions and seals in the wild at La Jolla in San Diego, I knew we had to make La Jolla Beach a part of our quick diversion to San Diego. We only planned one night in San Diego after two in Los Angeles, so we had to prioritize our activities. Visiting the seals and sea lions was a perfect activity for our family! Finding the Sea Lions and Seals This was our first visit to San Diego, so we weren’t sure what to expect. We chose Fairfield Inn and Suites San Diego Old Town for our hotel for its proximity to Old Town. La Jolla is about 20 minutes away, so it’s an easy drive from Old Town. Once we got to the La Jolla area, we looked for a place to park. Here is a map of the area from the…