a website for curious travelers
Travel guides, information, photographs, and stories about taking a vacation in California. See https://explorationvacation.net/exploring-usa/california/ to start planning your next trip.
The USA’s desert southwest has a lot of strange landscapes, but Joshua Tree National Park in southern California stands out as one of the most alien-looking. That makes it a fascinating place to explore. Along Read More …
Time is a shapeshifter at California’s Mission San Juan Bautista. San Juan Bautista is a place where the past slips into the present, where both the church building and the religious life conducted within it Read More …
Among the first California missions to capture the public imagination, Mission San Juan Capistrano (and its swallows) have been immortalized in song and film. A walk through San Juan Capistrano makes it easy to see Read More …
Spain authorized the establishment of Roman Catholic missions in Alta California with the intent that these missions would become the nucleus for new cities inhabited by loyal Spanish citizens. In many cases cities did grow Read More …
Mission San Louis Obispo de Tolosa has undergone many physical changes over time, leading to a church where past and present merge in interesting ways today. Past and present merge at Mission San Luis Obispo Read More …
The days leading up to Christmas aren’t exactly prime beach time in California. However, since we were in the area and had never been to any of the coastal communities south of Los Angeles, we Read More …
The lovely church of Mission Santa Clara de Asis is the mission’s sixth church and the second at this, the mission’s fifth location.
Morro Bay, California, is a wonderful place to watch the sunrise. First the sky turns rich shades of purple and pink. Then, as the sun peaks above the opposite horizon, it begins to illuminate the Read More …
Mission Santa Clara de Asis is one of only a small number of California missions to remain active throughout its history. Today it is also the heart of Santa Clara University.
I love the desert in bloom and have long wanted to visit Death Valley when it was awash in blossoms. You can never predict exactly when it will be a good year or when the Read More …