Activity: Safari Park Flight line
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Description: Went to the Safari park to see the wildlife and went on the Flight line overlooking the large animals- very fun!
Activity: Natural History Museum First Fridays
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Description: DJs, Dinosaurs and exhibits! On the first Friday of the month the museum opens up with music and food trucks for a night of fun
Activity: Storm King Art Center
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Description: Sculpture Garden outside of New York City. Great for a bike ride around the sculptures or a picnic. It is accessible by car or a 1 hour bus from Manhattan Port Authority. The land is 300 contiguous acres and founded over 50 years ago.
Activity: Half Dome Hike
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Description: Half Dome is a gorgeous hike in Yosemite. You can take a bus to the top and hike down or do the full roundtrip hike
Activity: Palm Springs and Salvation Mountain
Rating: 3.5-4 of 5 stars
Description: Went to a colorful hotel in Palm Springs, Traveled to Salvation Mountain, and stopped by the Banana Museum
Activity: Mexico City
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Description: The variety of things to do in one weekend in Mexico city is amazing. Just watch out for traffic!
Havana Days
Varadero and Viñales - Beaches, Cuban Cigar Farms and Caves
Panama City
Activity: Cuba and Panama Trip
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Description:
Activity: Cabazon Dinosaurs
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Website: http://cabazondinosaurs.com/
Description: This is a fun photo op on a pit stop to a long drive. There is a small museum of mechanical dinosaurs and some large ones outside to take pictures with. I only recommend going if you are in the Palm Springs area.
Activity: Ai WeiWei exhibit in London
Rating: 4.2 of 5 Stars
Website: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/ai-weiwei
Description: I went to the Ai WeiWei exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts in London for the last leg of my trip. The exhibit is about Ai WeiWei's experience in jail as well as other representations of political protests. The most interesting part of the exhibit is the diversity of installations. There are wooden chairs, crabs, vases, chandelier of bike parts, wall paper, etc. Each were very unique and represented an important belief of Ai WeiWei.
Tip: book tickets in advance or through a booking as the lines can be long
Activity: Traveling to Munich, Germany-- Oktoberfest and Neuschwanstein Castle
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Website: Viator tours of Munich
Description: I had never been to Germany so I thought a great place to start was Munich. My friend and I were able to make it for the last day of the iconic Oktoberfest. I had always wanted to experience this tradition first hand. I knew the last day would be very busy and from internet research is was mostly for locals, so I decided to book a tour package. Typically, you can get a reservation for a time slot as long as you purchase two beers and some chicken, however reservations are hard to come by and often passed down to those that have been for many years in a row. I do recommend confirming reservations well in advance, but beware of expensive tours in the $400 range. Any tour should be less than $200 for the day all inclusive.
The Oktoberfest tour was a full day event. First, we had a tour of the area where the guide pointed out German traditions. I did not expect Oktoberfest to include a carnival, but that is mostly for children in the day. As it gets later the men often go on rides after some beers and it can be quite a show. After the tour of the area and main tents, we arrived at our tent. The tables were very tightly packed, just as I had imagined. Water is quite expensive so I highly recommend brining your own if possible. A fun fact we learned is that waitressing for the event is a job that is handed down through lineage and a waitress in the two week period can make over 50,000 Euros!
The next tour was of the Neuschwanstein Castle. This castle was the inspiration for sleeping beauty and it lives up to the reputation. We arrived for our tour at a train station where we had tickets ready. The train took about 2 hours. When we arrived we had time to describe the options to get to the top of the castle for the tour. You could walk which is approximately 45 minutes up a paved incline, you could take a bus for 10 minutes and 1.60 Euros, or you could take a carriage ride. At the bottom of the town you could also see the Hohenschwangau Royal Castle. The tour described the elaborate decor as well as the innovation in running water at the Castle. The only let down was the sparse food selection- schnitzel/pretzel/etc. There were a couple restaurants, but the timing of the tour did not allow for a sit down meal. Overall, it was worth the trip to see the castle in person as it is more picturesque than in photos.
Activity: Repelling down the Moaning Caverns
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Website: Moaning Caverns
Description: The moaning caverns are located about 2.5 hours from San Francisco. It is an adventure park from limestone caves where you can go on a cave tour, repel down the cave, or go on an all day tour including crawling in the caves with a guide.
They do not allow reservations in advance unless you have a large group so make sure to arrive on time. Fortunately when I got there I did not have to wait. I paid, watched a short video, then I was instructed to put on the harness and ropes. The guide was there to set me up and answer any last minute questions. I was surprised that you do not go with a guide, instead you can go with a group or alone. The repel could take 15-40 minutes depending on how comfortable you feel going down. As I was going down the cave a group from the walking tour was able to see my shuffle down. At the bottom there is someone to help you with the harness and then you take a long flight of stairs back to the top. The only photos allowed for safety reasons are from a go pro strap to the helmet so make sure to bring any equipment that you may have.
The repel was a little frightening, but it was worth the spectacular view!
Activity: Mystery Spot Tour and Beach day at the Boardwalk
Rating: 4.2 of 5 stars
Website:
Description: The first part of the day we went to the Mystery Spot. The Mystery spot is a place of gravitational quirkiness. You can do a short tour where you go to the stop of the area and watch a few demonstrations of gravitational weirdness- meaning that gravity's effect is the opposite of what you would assume. I won't ruin it by telling you the secrets, but I do recommend taking the tour that is only $6. I suggest booking in advance as tickets the day of may require you to wait. Parking is also available for a fee.
After the Mystery Spot my friend and I went to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and enjoyed a lovely beach day. We even had the chance to see a lot of sea lion's up close which is not a rare occasion for the area as well as kayakers and even a beach wedding. On our way home we went to Greek food that was inexpensive and delicious. The overall vibe of Santa Cruz is very laid back.
I highly recommend Santa Cruz for a day trip. There are plenty of things to do in this beach town.
Activity: 4 hour night kayaking tour in bioluminescence Tomales Bay
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Website: Bioluminescence Kayaking
Description: Bioluminescence is defined as: "the biochemical emission of light by living organisms such as fireflies and deep sea fishes." There is no easy way to describe the experience except to see it in person. In the meantime I can attest that it is by far one of the coolest things to see in nature.
First, you arrive at the point of departure for the tour (bundle up!). There are only a few places in the world that have these bioluminescence tours so if you live in the bay area you have no excuse because there is one close by- Tomales Bay/Point Reyes. The other locations include Maldives and Puerto Rico. From pictures these locations are more spectacular because conditions lend themselves to brighter beaches full of bioluminescence, however I still recommend going to Point Reyes for this tour.
Once you arrive at the destination there is a safety and introductory section. Then you and your partner (kayaks are tandem) suit up in jackets, pants, and skirts (that go around the kayak to prevent water from coming in) and start the journey to the beaches. If you go from Point Reyes you will pass Hog Island. As you are kayaking it becomes very dark (this is standard as these tours only go during the summer and into Oct). After a few hours of kayaking, you arrive on a beach to take a break and learn about bioluminescence with some hot chocolate. Once the instructor has described the experience (ours said it would look like "fireworks, diamonds, or glitter!") you get back into the kayaks to go to the cove with the most activity. Once your paddles are in the water again, the area starts to glow. You can put your hand in the water to see it light up and make designs of your own. There are even fish that swim around in bursts of light. I can not describe how incredibly beautiful and interesting it is to see this in action.
Recommended: couples, groups of friends, outdoorsy people who are not afraid of the dark
