unique destinations

A brown sign with yellow letters reads "Moorten Botanical Garden"

Exploring the Desert Wonderland of Moorten Botanical Garden

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The annual visit to Palm Springs, which is for Pat’s work, typically means I fill the days on my own – shopping, visiting museums, etc. This year Charles Phoenix recommended I visit Moorten Botanical Garden. And when Charles Phoenix tells you to go somewhere, you go! Home to over 3000 plant varieties, Moorten Botanical Garden…

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Inside the Redondo Fun Factory - wearing a vintage red shirt reading "Have a Coke and a smile" and wide leg blue jeans. In the background a variety of 80s arcade games, behind them a ton of vintage signs.

A Revisit to the Enigmatic Fun Factory

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Last year we visited the Redondo Fun Factory located on the Redondo Beach Pier after hearing news it would be closing. Over a year later the bizarre Fun Factory, with its eclectic variety of games and collection of odd signs, is still operating, but now has a large banner reading “Open Until December 2019.” With…

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Me riding the carousel.

Exploring the Historic Santa Monica Pier

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Nothing quite says summer like a day at the beach, especially if that beach is lucky enough to have a pier filled with rides such as a carousel, roller coaster, and more. Around the turn-of-the-century California’s coast was dotted with what was known at the time as “pleasure piers” a wooden boardwalk that jutted over…

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Art Installation - a faux billboard reading "The Last Stop For The Bombay Beach Resort" but with most of the letters fallen off, so it reads more like "The Last Resort"

Abandoned Resort Town of Bombay Beach Now Weird Artist Paradise

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Over the last couple days I have been entertaining one of our friends visiting from Portland. It was a whirlwind few days hitting up various tourist and not-so-tourist spots. We spent Sunday in the desert including a visit to the Salton Sea. I’ve been several times now, but it’s always worth revisiting as it is…

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Vasquez Rocks: Outlaw Hideout Turned Hollywood Filming Location

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What do Westworld, The Wild Wild West, Star Trek, Army of Darkness, and Zorro all have in common? Well, aside from being awesome, they all, at one point or another, filmed at Vasquez Rocks. For me, Vasquez Rocks is a gorgeous natural landscape that is a perfect meld of my favorite things – it is…

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The Weird and Hidden Figures of Old Trapper’s Lodge

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Off the 101 lies Pierce College in Woodland Hills, and on its campus is a unique and downright bizarre sight, a collection of concrete sculptures depicting old west figures, along with a faux cemetery featuring rather colorful epitaphs. What is this exactly? Well, it’s the remains of Old Trapper’s Lodge. Built in 1941 by a…

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Independence Day

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Without getting too political, the last couple days have been rough, culminating in yesterday, with Independence Day. I’ve been getting back in touch with my love of the American Revolution, and recently took a quick visit to the replica of Independence Hall at Knott’s Berry Farm. Some of you may recall my visit last July,…

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Remnants of Vegas’ Glitzy Past Live on at the Neon Museum

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If you only go to one museum in Las Vegas, it should be the Neon Museum. The Neon Museum is rich in what made Las Vegas famous – neon. That spectacular glow of gases swirling inside glass made the lure of Las Vegas so bright and people flocked. Sadly though, over the years, many motels, hotels,…

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