Discover A Whole New World With A Southern California Winery Tour

Most people know of the northern California wine growing regions like Sonoma, Napa Valley and the rest. What is still not truly appreciated are the great wines that come from the southern part of the state. Anyone who has not tried these southern Californian wines is missing something. One way to rectify this situation is to go on a southern California winery tour. Look upon it as the American version of the Tuscany wine tour.

What You Should Cover On A Southern California Winery Tour

Tourists come to southern California to sample the glittering white beaches, Hollywood and the Beverly Hills lifestyle, among other attractions. Or at least that is what they used to come for. A new attraction that is vying for the attention of visitors is the southern California winery tour. It offers a great opportunity to visit and explore one of the newer and most highly regarded wine growing regions of the country. You may not have heard of the wines and the vineyards before you undertake your southern California winery tour, but once you try the wines, you will not forget them.

About 45 miles to the east of LA is the Cucamonga Valley. This area is now part of greater LA, but previously it was larger that Napa Valley and Sonoma. It was once the home of over 60 wineries. Today only 3 remain working about 1000 acres of vines. Don’t let this drop in numbers fool you into thinking that this is not an area worth visiting on your southern California winery tour. The drop in numbers was not because of the wine quality. If your southern California winery tour includes this region, the wines you will be tasting will give you ample proof that the wines from here are second to none.

Another area that must be part of a southern California winery tour is the Temecula Valley, to the south east of LA. There are about 25 wineries here and you will find that the hot dry conditions are modified by the higher altitudes. This allows for the growing of many grape types like Bordeaux and Cabernet Sauvignon. Recently planted German and Italian grapes are also showing huge promise. This region is a must for any southern California winery tour.

Even if you are not a fan of wines, including a southern California winery tour in your vacation plans is a good idea. It is a fun experience and a great way to relax. These tours can be as long or as short as you want and are designed to fit every budget. And you never know, all the wine tasting you do on you southern California winery tours may convert you into a wine drinker after all! And those whoa re wine fans will find a whole new world of great wines waiting for them on a southern California winery tour.

Seaside Vacation Homes – Save Money South of the Border

If you are looking for the best seaside vacation homes at the most affordable prices, Mexico has the lot to offer when it comes to ocean views, sunsets, water sports, activities, and amenities in their vacation home rentals.

It wasn’t that long ago when foreigners of Mexico were not allowed to own or invest in beachfront real estate, which left a lot of “would be” buyers frustrated, knowing there was cheap oceanfront property available in a prime location but the opportunity to own or invest in beachfront real estate in Mexico was nil.

In 2005 the government of Mexico enacted fideicomiso, which is roughly translated to mean real estate trust, making it possible for US and other foreign investors to purchase the cheap oceanfront property available, making Mexico a popular spot for exclusive luxury style residences and a haven for beachfront real estate investments

What Makes Mexico a More Affordable Vacation Home Choice?

One of the biggest reasons that vacation homes are more affordable in Mexico is the fact that the value of Mexican currency has historically been consistently lower than US or other foreign currency.

Foreign investors having the opportunity to buy property and the need for economic stimulus in Mexico, has brought back the long forgotten idea of finding cheap oceanfront property and has made it a reality again.

Not only is the property less expensive to buy but the cost of building, staffing, and everything else that comes with developing vacation home rentals is far less expensive too. Some of the savings seen by developers is being passed down to the vacation home renters, keeping the cost of vacation home rentals at a very modest rate.

Naturally the lower cost of vacation home rentals in turn is bringing an increase in visitors. This makes it a win-win situation for both investor and consumer. Just as an example of the savings you can expect, consider this…luxury beach villas in Florida, with the same amenities and features will sometimes cost you two or more times the rent of a vacation home south of the border. The dollar doesn’t go near as far stateside as is does in neighboring Mexico.

The Trend in New Beachfront Real Estate Development is Luxury

Luxury beach villas with on-site golf course, tennis court, spa, and personal chef are just examples of the amenities you’ll get to choose when searching a vacation home in Mexico. The trend in the development of beachfront real estate has been to provide exclusive, luxurious residences and vacation homes with more amenities than thought imaginable. You’ll also find that you’ll have a unique choice in architectural features in many of the seaside vacation homes available. Luxury beach villas, with walls that seem to disappear, expanding your living area to the beautifully landscaped stone deck and allowing you the full enjoyment of beautiful views and seaside breezes.

It’s Not Just The Price That Makes Mexico a Great Vacation Home Area…

Mexico offers a vacationer a wide variety of lifestyle settings. A tranquil way of life, where clear skies over serene deserts engulf you or a busy tourist filled beach with amusements and lot of fun for the family. Some of the most popular spots are just minutes from the California border. And include Northern Baja, Cancun, Puerto Penasco, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta and San Miguel. Northern Baja is the major center of ecotourism, with whale sanctuaries, coral reefs, surf destinations, and desert areas with exotic animals and plants. Visitors come to enjoy the cactus covered mountains year-round, the soft beige sandy beaches, and the sparkling waters of the Pacific or the Gulf of Mexico. Baja boasts every type of available activity, including hiking a desert wash, kayaking, walking the miles of uninhabited beaches, boating, shopping or bird-watching.

four or five big bulls in your yard is bad, a whole herd of Roosevelt elk is dangerous.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Theory, Fossils, and a Two-sided Puzzle

Do fossils support evolution? Or do they undermine the theory? Scientists have now scrutinized over 100,000 specimen from around the world covering fauna from the past 3,500,000,000 years. What have they learned? Let’s check it out.

Glimpses from the Past

The fossil record has troubles of its own. See if you can follow this logic: Paleontologists start with the premise that evolution progresses from simple to complex life forms. Thus the simpler the fossil, the older it is. As a result, the fossil is roughly dated according to its complexity.

Paleontologists use the “dated” fossils to establish the age of rock segments in which they are found. Then they turn right around and say, “Look, evolution is a fact. We have a series of increasingly complex forms taken from chronologically dated rock segments to prove it.”

The assumption of evolution is used as proof of evolution! The whole thing reminds you of a dog chasing its tail. Just the same, rock layers occasionally play tricks on the experts. More advanced specimen are found in levels lower than expected, while simpler types show up where they shouldn’t be. These contradictions are dismissed as irregularities or nonconformities.

But if rock layers are sometimes uncooperative, so are the fossils. Geologists, as well as paleontologists, frequently rely on “index fossils” to provide a rough date for rock segments. That procedure gives us ballpark figures as long as the origin and the extinction dates of the index fossils are known. But what happens when the fossil, which has been officially declared dead millions of years ago, suddenly turns up alive?

All the rock segments dated by that fossil have to be reevaluated. This embarrassment has happened all too often. The tuatara lizard, the small mollusk Neopilina galatea, the maidenhair tree, the dawn redwood, and the coelacanth were all thought to be extinct. Now we know better.

Have we ironed out all the knotty little dating problems? Probably not, especially when you consider that most index fossils are small marine organisms, and the ocean depths are still largely unexplored.

Charles Darwin left us with a pretty good metaphor. He compared the fossil record to a book in which only a few scattered pages were preserved; on those pages only a few lines are found; of those few lines, just a few words remain; and of those few words, only a few letters are legible.

That was a very apt description of the fossil record in Darwin’s day. Our picture of the past is somewhat better than it was in the mid 19th century, but it is still limited. Bear in mind when we find anything at all, it is usually a tooth, bone, or shell – or more likely, just part of a tooth, bone, or shell. Most animals, past and present, have no hard parts. Consequently, we are not likely to find any evidence at all for most species.

Occasionally, paleontologists get lucky and find whole specimens preserved intact – soft parts and all. They discover insects in amber or entire communities of creatures encased in a mud slide. Outside of those rather unusual circumstances, we have little or no evidence of most animals’ soft anatomy.

You would think that such a scanty fossil record with all of its limitations and imperfections would be enough to make a paleontologist humble. The fossil record, spotty as it is, still tells us a story we cannot get from any other source. Fossils are our only real evidence of prehistoric life on earth.

Over 100,000 specimen from around the world now provide us with a series of glimpses from the past. An imperfect record to be sure, but it’s the best we have. Here is what the fossil record shows:

Early Fossils: A Two-Sided Puzzle

Precambrian Eon – 3,500,000,000 years ago – Blue-green algae and Bacteria found in 24 locations in western Australia, Africa, and Canada.

These were completely soft-bodied, single-celled organisms, known as prokaryotes. This is a relatively simple type of cell having no organelles, no nucleus, no paired chromosomes, no mitochondria, and no chloroplasts. They reproduce by simple cell division. The cell divides into two identical “daughter” cells. Since the daughter cells are identical to its “parent,” the only way change can come about is if an accident (mutation) affects the genetic material itself.

The difference between prokaryotic cells (blue-green algae, bacteria, and fungi) and eukaryotic cells (all other life forms) is so profound that prokaryotics are classified as a separate kingdom, the kingdom Monera.

Precambrian Eon – 1,500,000,000 years ago – Protistans found worldwide.

These were completely soft-bodied, single-celled organisms, known as eukaryotes. They too have a separate kingdom, called Protista. Some lived by photosynthesis like plants; others fed on food particles like animals; still others did both.

Eukaryotes are larger and much more sophisticated cells than the prokaryotes. Outside of bacteria, blue-green algae, and fungi, every other form of life – protistans, plants, and animals – are composed of eukaryote cells. The difference between the two types of cells is striking. Eukaryote have distinct nucleus with chromosomes containing genetic instructions and a nucleus membrane isolating the genetic material from the rest of the cell.

Moreover, eukaryotic cells include a nucleolus which synthesizes ribosomes: endoplasmic reticulum which transports materials and synthesizes lipids and certain proteins; golgi complex which stores materials and transports them out of the cell and synthesizes carbohydrates; lysomes which break down unwanted molecules; and mitochondri which performs cellular respiration.

What does all of this mean? It means after two billion years of nothing but prokaryotes, we run into an entirely different form of life. Cell by cell you, I, and an oak tree have more in common with a single-celled protistan than the protistan has in common with a bacteria or blue-green algae.

It’s a big leap from a prokaryote to an eukaryote. And there is nothing between. Think of two billion years of seeing nothing but three-piece jazz bands. Suddenly, you encounter a full symphony orchestra. If your theory was that jazz bands evolved into symphony orchestras, you would expect to find a few intermediate-sized bands between the two.

The puzzle remains. If prokaryotes evolved into eukaryotes, why don’t we see a progression of forms? Some reason that since the intermediate forms would be soft bodied, we shouldn’t expect to find any fossilized remains. The obvious reply to this argument is: All the prokaryotes and the protistans were soft bodied too. Yet we have discovered a good number of each intact, whole, and clearly distinguishable from each other. However, we find no transitional cells between the two.

Life in the fossil record is 3.5 billion years old. For 2.8 billion years – 80 percent of life’s fossil history – life apparently did not evolve at all. It stayed on the same level of single-celled organisms, each one carrying on all life’s functions independently. Then around 700 million years ago, multicellular animals began showing up in the fossil record.

Precambrian Eon – 700,000,000 years ago – Ediacara fauna found worldwide.

Ediacara fauna are the first known multicellular animals. These large pancake-flat soft bodied creatures were originally discovered in Australia but the fauna has since been found world wide. They may have been an experiment in multicellular life that failed. Their design matches no modern anatomical plan. By the Cambrian period, all traces of these animals had perished.

Cambrian Period – 525,000,000 years ago – Anemones, Clams, Crustaceans, Jelly Fish, Octopuses, Sea Lilies, Snails, Sponges, Starfish, Trilobites, and Worms. By the end: Corals and Chordates – found worldwide.

Paleontologists call it the Cambrian explosion. In a geological moment just before the beginning of the Cambrian, nearly all modern invertebrate phyla appear suddenly and simultaneously along with an even greater number of anatomical curiosities which did not survive.

Phylum already show their distinct characteristics. Transitional forms are conspicuously absent. Even classes, the taxonomic level below phylum are found in place and very similar to what they are today. At the lowest classification level, more than five thousand species have been discovered in the Cambrian layers.

Surprising? Yes, it is. Evolution is not suppose to work that way. In a geological blink of an eye, we go from single-celled organisms to a vast array of complete, multi-celled animals found worldwide. These animals are fully equipped with intestines, hearts, stomachs, bristles, eyes, and feelers.

The eyes and feelers tell us that complex nervous systems were already intact. Trilobites show a distinctive head and tail, numerous thoracia parts, joint legs, a complex respiratory system, and fully developed compound eyes.

The relatively simple single-celled prokaryote dates back 3.5 billion years; 2,975,000 years later we find the highly complex, multi-celled, multi-organed trilobite. For all practical purposes, everything between the two is a missing link. Did a prokaryote cell evolve into an eukaryote cell? Did an eukaryote cell in turn evolve into the trilobite, sponge, jellyfish etc., of the Cambrian period? The fossil record is completely silent on these subjects.

What we find is a two-sided puzzle. We have explored the first half of that puzzle. Life didn’t evolve. It stayed at the same level of single cells for 2,800 million years. Then after one or possibly two false starts, life exploded into a multitude of radically different, complex creatures.

Equally inexplicable is the flip side of the coin. Over five hundred million years have passed since the end of the Cambrian period, and not a single new animal phylum or basic design has shown up in the fossil record. Something opened the flood gates 525 million years ago, and out poured phyla and classes. The gates remained open for five to ten million years. Then abruptly, they were closed again.

Few new classes and no new phylum have appeared since that time. The last 500 million years have added nothing but variations to the well-established Cambrian designs. Most curious.

One explanation for the Cambrian explosion is that the period merely marks the appearance of shells in the fossil record. Before developing shells, multicellular life may have undergone a long history of gradually increasing complexity, leaving no record in the rocks.

If you will recall, that’s the pretext offered for not finding intermediate stages between prokaryote and eukaryote cells. That line of reasoning ignores all of the soft-bodies fauna gathered from rock segments dated before, during, and after this period.

In fact, soft bodies were the rule – not the exception in the early years of life. Bacteria, blue-green algae, the protistans, and the Ediacara fauna were all soft-bodied types. Even the creatures in the Burgess Shale were partially soft. Yet we find a number of them preserved intact. All of these soft forms defied the odds and found their way into the fossil record.

Bearing all of that in mind, let’s assume for a moment that the theory of evolution is correct. If single-celled eukaryotes took million and millions of years to evolve into jellyfish, trilobites, octopuses, and all of the other five thousand species of the Cambrian period, why haven’t any of those intermediate fossils turned up?

And another question: Why did all the Cambrian fossils, diverse as they are, choose the same geological moment for developing shells?

Here is one possible explanation. No Cambrian fauna predecessors have been found because — there weren’t any. And those shelled fossils all appeared at the same time because that is when those animals came into existence. This interpretation accounts for all the known facts. Moreover, it does not resort to any slight of hand, claiming that all the important evidence is for one reason or another “off the record.”

Feeding the pigs at Redwood Beach Resort in Nicaragua

Find More Redwoods Resort Articles

Surf’s Up in Santa Cruz

The city of Santa Cruz, originally named San Lorenzo, was discovered in 1769 by the Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolà. The city continued to expand and eventually became known as Santa Cruz, meaning “Holy Cross”, in honour of the local mission. By the 1820s Mexico had assumed control of the area and Americans began to arrive in great numbers over the next thirty years. California became a state in 1850, and Santa Cruz County was created as one of the twenty-seven original counties.

By the turn of the century, the agricultural, logging, lime processing, and commercial fishing industries all prospered in the area. Santa Cruz also became a prominent resort community, due to its scenic beauty and mild climate, and today it is well-known for water-sports such as surfing, paddling, sailing, diving and swimming. It is reputedly the site of the first surfing in California, when, in 1885, three Hawaiian princes – Prince David, Prince Edward and Prince Jonah Kalaniana’ole – surfed on locally milled redwood boards at the mouth of the San Lorenzo River. Santa Cruz has 11 world-class surf breaks, including the point breaks over rock bottoms near Steamer Lane and Pleasure Point, which create some of the best surfing waves in the world.

Santa Cruz also has a Surfing Museum at Steamer Lane, which continues to be staffed by early surfing pioneers such as Harry Mayo and others who have surfed Santa Cruz waves since the 1930s. It hosts several surf contests drawing international participants each year, including the International Longboard Association contest and the O’Neill Cold Water Classic.

Santa Cruz is also famous for the Derby skate park, the first public skate park in the USA as well as the brand new Mike Fox Skate Park, containing both shallow and deep skating pools and ramps, located along the San Lorenzo rover levee.

For those looking for an alternative to surfing or skating, other outdoor sports such as cycling, camping, hiking, and rock climbing are also popular in the area. The Santa Cruz Wharf is known for fishing, viewing marine mammals and other recreation. The city provides many great opportunities for butterfly watching and ornithology. Santa Cruz also has the Historic Downtown Retail District, which features numerous theatres, galleries, shops and boutiques.

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is California’s oldest amusement park and a designated State Historic Landmark. It features one of the oldest wooden rollercoasters still in use in the US as well as numerous modern attractions. It has been owned and operated by the Santa Cruz Seaside Company since 1915. Entrance to the Beach Boardwalk is free, but rides cost between -.

Winemaking is an important part of the economic and cultural life of Santa Cruz County, from the growing of the grapes to their venting. The Santa Cruz Mountains are home to some of the oldest and well-renowned wineries in California, producing fine Zinfandels, Chardonnays, Cabernet Sauvignons, as well as Ports, Pinot Noirs and other varietals and blends. The wines of the Ridge Vineyards and David Bruce Winery were selected for tasting in the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976.

To get to Santa Cruz, visitors can take advantage of cheap flights to the San Jose, San Francisco or Oakland international airports and from there arrange private transfer or take scheduled airport shuttles to their final destination. Booking a hotel in Santa Cruz can be done easily online and from there visitors can experience all Santa Cruz has to offer.

More Redwoods Resort Articles

Family Travel Ideas In California

California is a perfect place to go for family, there are many destinations that the whole family would enjoy.

Family Travel in Monterey Bay Aquarium

Monterey Bay Aquarium is an ideal family travel vacation with its wide array of sea creatures to amuse visitors of any age. Their exhibits have gotten numerous awards, including animals such as giant octopus, various sharks, otters, and jellyfish, among others. The place is known for its many aquariums, which your family can explore through their aquarium map. One whole day is good enough to enjoy many interesting sea animals on display, and your family can learn at the same time enjoy. There are daily programs and activities for first time visitors, check out to make sure you get the best of the Bay Aquarium have to offer. Their programs include Aquarium Adventures where your family travels and immerse in field observations and studies of various sea animals. There are also Guided Tours for groups of 6 to 10 people that will allow you in-depth and behind-the-scenes tours and destinations in the aquarium.

First time visitors in Lake Tahoe

In Northern California, Lake Tahoe has much more destinations to offer for first time visitors than just a lake. It has a rich history in its making, since it was formed as a result of geological faults shifting. The destinations consist of various accommodations for a perfect weekend getaway with the family, such as amusement parks, picnics, bowling, golf, and even movies. You can choose to stay at one of the many destinations in Lake Tahoe, or if your family travel is more of adventurous type, you can go camping. Explore the beautiful outdoors by foot or by bike. Experience the 10th deepest lake in the world and all its beauty together with your family for a wonderful bonding destinations and experiences that will allow you to appreciate nature at the same time.

Hollywood

Hollywood has city passes for the whole family travel, consisting of day tours in museums like Behind-the-Scenes, Hollywood Entertainment Museum, the Hollywood Wax Museum, among many others. Hollywood Studios is the location of many film classics, such as Jaws, with rides and various souvenir stores. You can also take bus tours and view homes of the stars in the Los Angeles area for your destinations, and check out the world famous Walk of Fame and find the footprint of your favorite stars.

San Francisco City destinations

The heart of downtown San Francisco offers much more than shopping, with its numerous restaurants, lively culture, and many things to see. Ideal for a long weekend family travel, first time visitors like you can book yourself at the many destinations in the city and spend the days exploring various landmarks such as Pier 39, or treat your family to world class chocolate at Ghirardelli Square. San Francisco is known for its Golden Gate, world renowned destinations. There is also the San Francisco Zoo, for a nature trip within the city. Also check out the Alcatraz Island boat tours, Napa Valley Wine, the famed Lombard Street, Cable Car Rides, and the vintage Haight Street.

Related Northern California Family Vacation Articles

6 Things To Remember When Traveling With Your Partner

Going on holiday with a partner is the true test of a relationship. Here’s how to get it just right.

What makes a perfect partner? Someone who wants to have sex first in the morning, never asks you to go shopping with her and renounces all rights so the remote control on Saturday afternoons? Maybe, but no relationship, no matter how erotically charged and compatible, is proven until your first holiday together.

Ah, the holiday, that breeding ground of vice and corruptibility. You go on holiday to relax, but unless you know exactly what you’re getting into, going on holiday with a partner is likely to leave you more stressed than you were when you handed in your leave form.

There are sound reasons for couples fighting when they’re on holiday. Because you’re out of your familiar, everyday situation, holiday actually increase some stress levels. Also, because you’ve convinced yourself that you should be having a wonderful time during every second of your precious holiday small fights and irritations tend to get magnified. A lot of couples break up on holiday, over things that would not have mattered quite as much had they happened during their normal routine.

Everything is more intense when you’re on holiday because it’s such a valued time for most of us. But more holiday fights are caused by lack of planning than unrealistic expectations. You might not be able to do anything about your heightened holiday emotions, but you certainly can plan for physical eventualities, and in so doing hopefully prevent quarrels in Quebec and sulks in the Seychelles.

So if you are planning to go away with a partner – especially if it’s the first time the two of you will be taking a trip together – follow these rules and perhaps you’ll still want to look at each other when you return.

1. Make sure you both want go go to the same place – It’s no use dragging her off to go hiking in the Himalayas if she’d far rather be lying on a beach in Thailand. If your idea of a good holiday is vastly different from hers, perhaps you shouldn’t be together, or perhaps you should take separate holidays. Or you could compromise and choose a place that offers both your types of enjoyment (such as a resort where one of you can go scuba diving while the other lounges next to the pool with a book and a pina colada).

Of course you might not know what her interests and idiosyncrasies actually are until you get there and find yourself shuffling from monument to monument to examine ancient firesoes, despite your longing to examine an affable pub. Holidays show us sides of our partners that we didn’t even suspect existed. That’s why it’s important to discuss you idea holiday before you book the hotel room. If you think she might be agreeing with your choice of destination only to please you, that’s her problem, but give haer a chance to voice her preferences.

It is always more fun to do the things you love with a partner who loves the same things, but it’s inevitable that there will be areas of common disinterest between you. Make it clear that you don’t mind pursuing your quest for the tallest redwood on your own, and make sure she knows that you don’t intend accompanying her on visits to Cambodian orphanages (unless you want to, of course).

2. Divide the money. Money and map navigation are the two most common causes of holiday tension. Money is perhaps more important because even if you’re lost, you’re still okay if you can afford a bed for the night.

No matter how compatible you might be in other spheres, in every couple there is a partner who is the spender. This is increased a hundred-fold when on holiday. The one with the more careful nature will shy away from impulse purchases, while the other spontaneously lashes out on memorabilia that you don’t need and that doesn’t fit into your suitcase.

Some couples try to prevent money fights by nominating one partner as holder of the resolve arguments by saying. “I’m the one in charge of the money and I say we can’t have more than one ice cream a day” is only going to lead to acrimony. Even if one of you is financing the holiday – in fact, especially need to have access to your own money, or the power imbalance will lead to bitterness.

Workout the budget for the entire trip. Say accommodation is paid for, work out how much you’ll need each day for food, and if one of you wants to exceed that budget on a particular day, then economize the next day. Divide your spending money in two and share it. Then, if one of you blows their entire allowance on a three-meter mahogany giraffe. It’s only faire for the partner who still has money to dictate how it’s spent.

3. No bagging the navigator- Democracy does not work when it comes to directions. Whether you’ve driving yourselves around or simply have to find taxis or stations in unfamiliar places, either draw lots or play roulette before you leave home to decide who will be in charge of navigation. Or split the duties, but when one of you is driving or reading a map, the other keeps his or her mouth firmly shut.

Talk about this before you go, otherwise you’ll end up in a ditch when you slam on brakes in the pouring rain and shout, “Do you want to drive?” If she’s driving don’t say a word. And if you know she took a wrong turn, never admit later that you knew the right road to take all along.

Stick to this rule and there’s a good chance you’ll have a happy holiday and perhaps an entire life. The words “shouldn’t you have turned left there?” have been the death knell of too many relationships.

4.Find out if she snores. It’s seldom that a couple goes on holiday without first getting to know each other well, but it happens. You may have shared a bed, but do you know each other’s bathroom? Does she know it takes you half an hour to do your hair? Has she done her morning yoga routine in front of you? Are you familiar with other’s most irritating habits?

A first holiday can bring nasty surprises, if you discover on your fist night away that she grinds her teeth, it could ruin your trip. Alternatively you could be prepared for some irritation, and decide beforehand that, unless it’s a non-negotiable violation of every value you hold dear, you will allow certain annoyances to wash over you.

Say you know each other quite well already and have learnt tolerate each other’s curious habits. You could still find that being on holiday with her drives you nuts (or vice versa) because she thinks that being away means she doesn’t have to be considerate of your needs as would be when you’re both at home.

Being on holiday does mean you can relax, but it doesn’t mean turning into a complete slob. If she doesn’t clean up after you at home, don’t expect her to do it when you’re away. And if she thinks being on holiday gives her licence to use your razor on her legs, explain (gently) that it doesn’t.

5.Don’t combine buddies and new lovers – You have a friend with a pad in Manhattan who’s been begging you to come and stay. “Bring your new girlfriend”, he says. “You guys will have the best time here.” No you won’t. not if you’ve never been away together before and you want to spend a lot of time catching up with your old buddy. They might like each other and get along fine, but a first time holiday is about romance, and you’re not going to get that when you’re trying to divide your time and attention between a friend and a lover.

Perhaps neither of you is the romantic type and you’re both quite keen on the idea of going away with other people. If these are mutual friends, no problem, but going away to meet someone whom only one of you knows isn’t a good idea, don’t do it if it’s the first time the two of you will be spending time together.

You might also discover when on holiday that that one of you is more sociable that the other. She wants to invite those two couples you met on the train to join you for dinner; all you want to do is spend time alone with her. These are things you can’t predict. All you can do is reasonably explain your desire to socialize – or your objections to talking to strangers – and try to reach a compromise.

6.If it all goes wrong.- There is no way to guarantee that your first holiday together will be fight – free, but you can stop fights from turning your holiday into a nightmare. It may sound stilted, but if you can face up to it, talk about how you’ll deal with fights before you go away. Make a pact that neither of you will storm out, even if it means spending three days in silence. There’s nothing more mortifying than returning home alone. Having the staying power to see it through gives you time to get over fights.

If all else fails then remember to;

Always keep your own passport and ticket if she leaves with your documents, you’re going to look an idiot in a foreign place.

Find More Redwoods Resort Articles

Travel to 8 of the Best Easter Eggstravaganzas

Although often not named as such, Easter can be situated right alongside Thanksgiving and Christmas as one of the must-travel holidays for families. All it takes is finding some cheap airfare and you could take part in one of the world’s best Easter festivities.

Central Park Egg Hunt Eggstravaganza Until you’ve scoured 40 acres of New York’s 834-acer Central Park for the perfect egg, you haven’t truly lived the egg hunt experience. The event is free and includes an egg roll race and a bunny petting zoo. Fortunately it’s pretty easy to nail down cheap flights to New York year round if you play your cards right, so you don’t have to miss out on this eggceptional experience.

Miami Seaquarium Easter Egg Hunt Score some cheap flights to Miami for Easter and be prepared for one of the less-traditional egg hunts. More like a carnival, the Seaquarium sets up a 5-acre Bunnypalooza every year, complete with rides, music, and face painting. And don’t miss the Easter Bunny arrival ceremony.

Hayes Easter Egg Roll You can pack some U.S. history into your Easter festivities this year in Ohio. President Rutherford B. Hayes started the White House egg hunt while in office, and his traditional is carried out every year at the historic Hayes home in Freemont, Ohio. Pack your history book for the flights and you’ll be well-versed to be the family historian for your trip.

Wells Fargo Golden Bunny Classic Candy Hunt and Fun Race Combine your spring ski vacation packages with your Easter celebration in Winter Park, Colorado. Airlines will often offer discount airfare for spring skiing, so you could easily find some cheap airfare to the resort and become part of the 30-year Golden Bunny Classic, complete with a candy hunt on the mountain and a ski “bunny” race for the tots.

Roaring Camp Railroad Eggstraordinary Easter Egg Hunt Catch the train just outside Santa Cruz, California and in just over an hour you’ll find yourself among the world’s largest trees in the redwood forest atop Bear Mountain for a chocolate candy egg hunt. In addition to booking your airline tickets in advance, you’ll want to make sure you make train reservations with plenty of time to spare in order to secure your spot.

Cypress Gardens Easter Visit the site of the Guinness World Record holder for the largest Easter egg hunt at the Cypress Gardens theme park near Winter Haven, Florida. The park just reopened March 28, so the Easter festivities this year may be not as extravagant, but that just means it’ll make for a cheap vacation package for your Easter weekend.

Guatemala Easter Festival For a more traditional Easter travel to the Guatemala Easter Festival in Antigua for one of the world’s largest Holy Week and Easter celebrations. The whole city partakes in the festivities and if you can find some cheap airfare you too could be whisked away to the city where some of the Easter traditions date back to the 16th century, including the processional where residents line the cobblestone streets with hand-laid carpet designs of dyed sawdust, pine needles, plants, and flowers.

Easter in Europe For some of the most scenic Easter egg hunts, travel to the United Kingdom. The castles and rolling green hills of England and Scotland are sure to offer a memorable family Easter vacation. If you can handle making last-minute travel plans, you might be able to snatch some affordable airline tickets for the whole family. Also check for the days and weeks following Easter weekend for some off-season discount airfare.

Related Redwoods Resort Articles

San Francisco is Located on the Coast of California

San Francisco is on the coast of California about 400 miles north of Los Angeles. It is situated along the shore of a large bay sheltered behind the California Coastal Mountains.

The city is renowned for its steep streets with panoramic views of beautiful San Francisco bay and the surrounding mountains.

It has a very moderate climate with warm summers and chilly winters but without extremes. Constant breezes off of the Pacific Ocean keep the summers from becoming too hot and also prevent freezing winter weather. Take a sweater, as the evening breezes can be quite brisk all year round.

Oakland and Berkley, California lies just across the bay from San Francisco and are easily accessible via the Bay Bridge. The more famous Golden Gate Bridge spans the narrow inlet that extends from the Pacific Ocean into the bay. The Golden Gate Bridge connects San Francisco with a mountainous peninsula called the Marin headlands that is primarily known for beautiful scenery and expensive homes with spectacular views.

Sausalito, a small village on the bay shore of the Marin headlands is famous as a local artists community. Alcatraz Island with its abandoned prison is situated in the middle. The city of San Jose lies about 30 miles south at the southern tip of this extensive bay. The area near San Jose and Santa Clara is known as Silicon Valley home of the largest concentration of electronics and computer firms in the USA.

It was founded in 1776 when father Junipero Serra constructed the mission San Dolores to Christianize the local native Indian population.

At the same time, Spanish troops constructed a Presidio, or fort, to protect this colony for the Queen of Spain. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the village of Yerba Buena, consisting of whalers, traders, adventurers and pirates, occupied the present site.

In 1848, gold was discovered in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains about 100 miles to the east. By 1849,it was inundated with forty niners as the gold seekers were commonly called, and the population of the city exploded. Ever since, it has remained the centre of commerce, entertainment, culture and tourism for Northern California.

San Francisco is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the USA. Steep streets lined with Victorian era houses, a great turquoise bay surrounded by low mountains, and antique cable cars that still shuttle passengers up and down the city slopes all make it one of the most picturesque cities in the US.

More Northern California Vacation Articles

Getting a taxi in Santa Clara County

The South Bay area of California is a great destination spot for vacationers from around the country.  The possibilities for a fun and relaxing vacation or weekend are endless.

San Jose alone offers numerous attractions.  Come to town for a concert at the Mountain View Ampitheter.  The Winchester Mystery House alone is worth the visit.  But don’t drive!  You can get a cab from the airports or Caltrain station.  The attractions are spread over a wide area in this South Bay city, and a cab can get you to any destination easily and quickly.  A taxi cab can transport up to 7 people for the price of a single person and is equipped with GPS computer dispatching, so you get another cab whenever and wherever you want.  No need to schedule your interests around a bus schedule and no driving around and around looking for a parking space and paying expensive parking fees.  The Tech Museum, art museums and Great America are among many attractions here.  Hundreds visit Stanford University and Medical Center every year.  A trouble-free cab ride will take you to the exact area of this vast complex with no hassle.  Parking on campus is unimaginably difficult, and then you may have to walk several blocks.

Santa Clara also boosts a University and law school; finding a cab is effortless from the Caltrain station.  There is also a huge convention center here, and visitors will find that hailing a cab is far cheaper and faster that trying to navigate a strange town on their own.

The whole of the South Bay offers beautiful, and often historic hotels, cozy B & B’s and lavish resorts.  Menlo Park, Mountain View, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, Redwood City, and Santa Clara attract many visitors to this ‘Silicon Valley’.  There are countless wineries located here; a perfect time to hire a cab for the day.  Don’t drink and drive–have fun and relax.  Hire a safe, clean-air-condition taxi for your transportation needs.  Drivers, familiar with the area, are police department tested and certified.

Check online for www.yellowtaxicabserviceca.com , conveniently serving the South Bay area for a long period of time

Redwood Writers, the Redwood branch of the California Writers Club, had Steve Hockensmith as one of two keynote speakers for the October 24, 2009 Conference at Santa Rosas Flamingo Hotel and Resort. Steve gave an exciting and humorous talk about getting published, Anything I Can Do, You Can Do Better: Getting Published Made Easy(ish).” About Steve Hockensmith: Steve Hockensmith is the author of the popular Holmes on the Range mysteries about Sherlock Holmes-worshipping cowboy brothers Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer. The first book in the series was nominated for the prestigious Edgar, Shamus, Dilys and Anthony awards in 2006, and since then St. Martins Minotaur has released two sequels. (The latest, The Black Dove, is set in 1890s San Francisco.) A fourth novel about the crime-busting cowpokes, The Crack in the Lens, will be out next summer. Before turning to fiction, Hockensmith was an entertainment journalist, covering pop culture and the film industry for The Hollywood Reporter, The Chicago Tribune, Newsday, Total Movie and other publications. He spent a year as editor of The X-Files Official Magazine and three years at the helm of Cinescape, a sci-fi/action movie magazine. He also covered mystery TV shows and films as a columnist for Alfred Hitchcocks Mystery Magazine. His first published crime story, Eries Last Day, won the Short Mystery Fiction Societys Derringer Award and appeared in Best American Mystery Stories 2001. (A short film based on the story is currently …

More Redwoods Resort Articles

California Recreation Clear Lake

California is known for its pristine coastline, but the state also has plenty of great fresh-water lakes, including Clear Lake, just a couple hours drive north from San Francisco.

A friend visited Clear Lake not too long ago and came back raving about the area’s unexpected scenic and natural beauty – so we had to investigate. On a recent swing through Northern California, we dropped in on Clear Lake, staying at a small, unpretentious waterfront resort that brought back childhood memories of vacationing at lakefront resorts in Central Washington state. It was like vacationing in a simpler place at a simpler time.

At 43,000 acres, Clear Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in California, and some say it may be the oldest lake in North America. The lake is the centerpiece for several communities in the Lake County area, including Lakeport, Clearlake, Kelseyville, Glenhaven and several others. Taken together, these communities and several parks in the area offer a wide range of family vacation activities.

Chief among those are boating, fishing and swimming, three main reasons people stay at the Seabreeze Resort in Glenhaven, headquarters for our brief stay in the Clear Lake area. Owner Steve Nash happened on the resort many years ago as he was looking to buy a waterfront house. His accountant advised him that the income from the resort would go a long way toward helping to pay for his new waterfront home, and so Nash – who had never operated any sort of lodging facility – took the plunge.

Today, Nash divides his time between Clear Lake and San Diego, where he lives during winter months. But every year, April through October, it’s back to Clear Lake and the round-the-clock chores of managing the resort. With only one housekeeper for help, Nash is up at dawn each day, working to well past sundown. But, as we discovered, he always finds time to chat and joke around with his guests – many of whom have been returning to the small resort for many years.

Since we were traveling with a four-year-old, we were booked into the “family wing” of the resort – some housekeeping units a little further from the water and from the guests in the waterfront adult wing. Our cottage was like a small apartment, maybe 1950s vintage, but nicely remodeled and cheerfully decorated. A full kitchen was included, as well as a living room, bath and a bedroom with two queen beds. Thankfully, on this summer visit, the unit was air conditioned.

Our cottage had a grassy area, lunge chairs and several individuals just outside the door. Nearby was Steve’s fragrant flower garden – which he obviously takes great care in maintaining – and then a few steps further was the boat launch, dock and swimming area. In short, the Seabreeze offered everything you need for a restful lakefront stay or a base of operations for your boating holiday.

But we were visiting Clear Lake to explore. Just why was everyone raving about this lake?

The first thing we discovered was that, as advertised, the lake and its surroundings are beautiful. The blue-water lake is in the middle of a hilly, mostly treed landscape that is especially interesting when approaching from the east. We also noticed that this lake is big. On the map it looked like it would be fairly easy to circumnavigate since there were highways, roadways and towns and villages on almost every part of the lake. Once we were driving, however, it soon became apparent our trip around the lake was going to take us at least a half day.

Along the way we stopped in several little lakeside towns, including the largest city, Clearlake, which is the largest population center in a region that only has about 12,000 year-round residents. Each town is different, but all share the beauty of Clear Lake and recreation opportunities are never far away.

Along most shores of the lake you’ll find a combination of private residences and small motels and inns like the Seabreeze. We did note, however, there is a large timeshare resort on the northwest shore, as well as the famous Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa, known for bringing headline musical acts in for performances in the Outdoor Konocti Field Amphitheater as well as the resort’s indoor showroom. Altogether, the resort puts on about 100 shows per year.

We noticed that parks are abundant throughout the region. Many are located on the more than 100 miles of shoreline but, in addition to camping and watersports, several parks offer other features. For example, the Anderson Marsh State Park is known for nature walks and birdwatching, while the Middletown Trailside Nature Preserve offers the “EcoArts Lake County Scupture Walk” conducted on 107 acres of natural park. The area’s history is highlighted at the Anderson Marsh State Historic Park.

There are plenty of other opportunities to learn about the history of Clear Lake, including two county museums, the Lake County Museum in Lakeport and the Lower Lake Historical Schoolhouse Museum in Lower Lake. Learn about the stars at the Taylor Planetarium and Observatory in Kelseyville.

For those who enjoy visiting wineries, this region has several that are all within easy driving distance of the lake.

No matter which shoreline, there seemed to be plenty of anglers taking advantage of what the locals say is the best bass fishing in the West. The bass fishing is so good that several professional bass fishing organizations have designated Clear Lake as the best bass lake in the country. But it’s not just bass — catfish, blackfish, Sacramento perch, hitch, crappie and bluegill are all caught at Clear Lake.

Related Northern California Family Vacation Articles