2Shoes Travel

Catalina Island

2022-11-05T11:11:00.004-07:00

GMC Savana Van Build

2022-11-05T09:32:00.004-07:00

Busting Out of the Box

2022-11-04T11:35:00.003-07:00

Women 50+ are Taking Over Adventure Travel

2020-06-29T09:13:00.001-07:00

Surf, street eats, succulents: Oceanside's Sunset Market

2016-01-05T12:00:00.001-08:00

Every Thursday night for the last eight years, starting at 5 p.m., Oceanside’s Sunset Market kicks off. Consuming four blocks down near the pier, this market’s more than your standard farmer’s fair. With live music on every corner, festive lights, spicy aromas and boisterous vendors, downtown becomes a family-friendly party.

Altadena: a rustic Los Angeles

2015-12-15T12:52:00.001-08:00

Author Zane Grey said, "In Altadena I have found those qualities that make life worth living."

Walking down Mariposa Street, “Millionaire’s Row,” where Grey’s home still stands – past the oversized craftsman-style bungalows and through Janes Village, the English cottage-style homes set back behind fences and overgrown hedges as an affordable housing option for the town founded on Victorian opulence – you’d never suspect that anything but easy, quiet living transpired in this small community. (Read more...)

SoCal's San Dunes

2015-12-15T12:49:00.001-08:00

I typically love the sea, sun and sand. Interestingly though, not all the sands I’m drawn to lie in coastal regions. In fact, most of the sand on Earth is stacked in massive piles in remote areas – rarely in coastal regions, which you might expect. That doesn't stop surfing sufis from hitting the slopes.

The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado claims the continent’s tallest dune, Star Dune at 750’. This particular dune is estimated to be approximately 12,000 years old, formed by deposits carried down the Rio Grande River canyon.

But SoCal’s got its share of sand. (Read more...)

The Queen Mary's Sir Winston's Smoking Deck

2015-12-15T12:43:00.001-08:00

There is no smoking on the Queen Mary. Signs are posted everywhere stating just that. So, when we arrived at the topmost deck to dine at the luxurious Sir Winston's Restaurant and Lounge, I noted the rather large glass front humidor.

“Are those for sale?” I asked.

The tall waiter raised an eyebrow at me, wondering if I had asked because I, myself, indulge. I smiled and shrugged, not feeling the need to explain my inquiry.

“Uh, yes, they are,” he answered, still considering the type of gal I might be.

“But, there’s no smoking allowed on board,” I offered. He smiled hugely at this comment.

“True, there isn’t. Except for this portion of the deck right here.” The young man gestured to me where I might smoke a cigar if I so chose. “And on the bow.” (Read more...)

ZAPPED!

2015-09-16T10:17:00.003-07:00

Photo Credit: Deviant Art

You can zig, and you can zag, but lightning kills about 30 people in the US each year, and more in Florida than in any other state. Of the 25 lightning deaths reported by the National Weather Service (NWS) already this year, five have occurred in Florida.

Welcome to East Jesus, CA

2015-07-04T10:12:00.001-07:00

Overlooking the Salton Sea in the shadow of mature Ironwood trees rests a man still much loved. The former “mayor” of East Jesus, a fenced community of free-roaming, ever-rotating artists, musicians, scientists and builders located on the far western edge of Slab City, Charlie Russell rests in peace. Read More...

Catalina's Calling

2015-07-04T10:09:00.001-07:00

Santa Catalina Island, one of the Channel Islands, (but not included in the Channel Islands National Park), lies 22 miles off the southern California coast. though it is privately owned by the Santa Catalina Island Company, it's accessible by private boat or ferried that leave from Long Beach and Dana Point.

You can get there, to what locals call the "Interior," by obtaining a hiking permit and trekking the 37-mile (one way, 74 miles round-trip) Trans-Catalina Trail, or by purchasing a ticket to ride on the SafariBus.I should clarify: the island’s two port towns are accessible to the public. The rest of the island is not. Not, at least, without a permit. Read More...

Whiskey in the White House

2015-07-04T10:05:00.001-07:00

"George Washington slept here!" And he did, too. Truth be told, he slept there as well. And there. What can I say? The man got around. With four family homes, you’d expect as much. He was partial to the spirits, too, but I’ll get to that.

Mount Vernon, 15 miles south of Washington, D.C., is perhaps the most known of his homes. It also happens to be the most popular historic estate in America, drawing over a million visitors annually. Read More...

Altadena: A Rustic Los Angeles

2015-07-04T10:01:00.001-07:00

Author Zane Grey said, "In Altadena I have found those qualities that make life worth living."

Walking down Mariposa Street, “Millionaire’s Row,” where Grey’s home still stands – past the over-sized craftsman-style bungalows and through Janes Village, the English cottage-style homes set back behind fences and overgrown hedges as an affordable housing option for the town founded on Victorian opulence – you’d never suspect that anything but easy, quiet living transpired in this small community. Read More...

Florida's Space Coast

2015-03-03T09:56:00.001-08:00

“Houston, all systems are GO. We are ready for takeoff! Final countdown. 4, 3, 2, 1 Liftoff!”

America’s Space Coast with its telltale 321 area code extends for 75 miles along the Atlantic, south of Daytona, and encompasses both the Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station where NASA-launched manned (and unmanned) spaceflights have departed from 1961 with Project Mercury to the final days of the 30-year Space Shuttle Program that closed in 2011. Read More...

Conquistadors, Confederates, and Cattle: Florida's Cracker Culture

2014-07-24T22:11:00.002-07:00

There is a Longhorn standing in front of me, only I’m not in Texas. Just beyond the urban borders of Florida’s metro regions, lies the wild stuff, the un-manicured and non irrigated Florida, where the cattle roam.

Yep, you heard me. Cattle. Descendants of those abandoned by the gold seeking Conquistadors, bred with imported heat resistant varieties from Texas and India.

Coral, Coquina, and Oolite—The Castles Disney Didn’t Build

2014-07-24T19:21:00.001-07:00

The winter playground for America’s Industrial blue blood, Florida boasts many grand estates that are open to the public. Perhaps best known for Walt Disney’s Cinderella Castle in Orlando, Universal Studio’s Hogwart's Castle, and Ripley’s Moorish style Warden Castle in St. Augustine, the state lays claim to several less publicized castles. Built in the Gilded Age by the country’s nouveau riche who were inspired to build replicas of castles that had been erected by the very monarchies our founders sought refuge and independence from, many of these structures are recognized National Landmarks.

Florida's Hill Country along the Ridge Scenic Highway

2014-07-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

Loads of tourists come to the Sunshine State each year to absorb some vitamin D along the 1,350 miles of coastline. Being a peninsula, it’s surrounded by water and, being significantly marshland, is comprised of more than 4,500 islands. Then there are its 7,500 lakes. Florida sports 27 first magnitude springs, more than any other state. In fact, Florida barely qualifies as solid land sitting just above sea level.

County after county, Florida is an expanse of water infused flatland riddled by sink holes and cedar hammocks, the tell-tale sign of a potential sink hole. However, there are few hills. A few mountains even.

Be a Marine!

2014-06-12T06:34:00.000-07:00

"Be a Marine" read the 1940 style poster archived at the entrance to the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Virginia not far from Quantico. The female Marine depicted was holding a clip board, I noted, but if this was any indication that female Marines would be clearly and fairly depicted in the following exhibits, I'd be impressed.

Turning the corner, I see a dozen photos of female Marines, three erected beside the quote, "The Marine Corps...took a boy and made a man." A cynical voice inside me whispered, 'Figures'.

The Happy Shak—A Throwback Hippy’s Haven on the Beach

2014-06-12T05:13:00.002-07:00

“For Sale!?” Good God, NO! It couldn’t be. Not an icon of the most blissful season of my life—what was I to do if this were true? What did it all mean?

I almost hadn’t come, dreading to resurrect the memories I had long since quite effectively buried. But, as Fate would have it, a series of mishaps had sent me back retracing bits of the path he and I had trekked a few years earlier, and there I was, and there it wasn’t.

Then I saw it. The sign.

Solo Trekking Sisters: Women Who Walk Alone

2014-04-18T14:24:00.000-07:00

Coast to Crest Trail, west of the Pacific Crest Trail

The man sitting across from me looked at his wife then turned abruptly back towards me asking, “Why are you alone?”

Stunned, I sat silently, trying to better understand the question by studying his mannerisms. I had just emerged from a week solo hiking in Death Valley and was re-hydrating in Shoshone, a small town that serves as the “Eastern Gateway” into the Valley.

“I mean,” the man continued, glancing at his wife. ”I don’t understand why a woman like you…” She kicked him under the table.

OH. That’s where he was going with this line of inquiry. Women who travel solo hear it often. I hear it in almost every destination where I stop to mingle with other travelers. From men and from women, but, mostly from the guys. Understandably, because though women travel and always have, those who do it solo, especially those who do it primarily on foot solo, are a rare breed far and few between. And, also because solo adventuring historically has been viewed a man’s thing. You know, when his cave just isn’t big enough, or when it’s just too darn close to civilization.

The Non Spelunker's Guide to Caving

2014-02-21T19:55:00.000-08:00

Photo courtesy Creative Commons.

Most caves keep a constant median temperature. That in large part is why humans have use them as shelter since the beginning of time. They don’t get too cold; they don’t get too warm. Not so with Crystal Caves in Nancia, Mexico.

Discovered in 2000 by miners working for the Industrias Peñoles, this cave sits above a magma pool. The stable 122 degree Fahrenheit make it inaccessible to visitors not donning refrigerated suits and cold breathing systems.

Putting the CHILL in Chillaxin': Florida's Ice Festival and Bar

2014-02-21T18:16:00.000-08:00

There truly is something gloriously wonderful about light through ice. Andersen’s Snow Queen certainly thought so. And so, too, does Jennifer Lee’s Elsa in Disney’s Frozen. Yet, those ladies’s didn’t hold an icicle to Empress Anna.

Texas Canyon, Arizona

2014-02-21T06:01:00.000-08:00

Located about 20 miles east of Benson, Arizona, along I-10 east lies the Dragoon Mountains, a geological landmark studded with massive batholiths. I-10 has several of these formations from San Diego eastward frequented by big rock enthusiasts, each with its own tale to tell. This particular site at Texas Canyon Rest Area encompasses the peaks once used by Apache resistance leaders.

Cobras and Crocs South of the Border

2014-01-04T09:32:00.001-08:00

Emerald Tree Boa, Pedro's Reptile Lagoon

Folks in Southern California, being in close proximity to Mexico, can quite easily make the border crossing when wanting to spice things up culturally. Those living on the east coast can’t.

Hold up! Yes, they can—if Pedro’s South of the Border (SOB) in South Carolina counts.

Freestyling: Life of the Long Term Traveler

2013-12-29T10:04:00.000-08:00

Car tent camping

A few years ago I decided to take a gap year off from work and social responsibility to travel at my own pace doing what I wanted with whom I wanted wherever the wind blew me. I had been a single parent for twenty years living on a nominal income and felt I deserved it. Felt if I didn’t do it then, I’d never do it. So, I got rid of my stuff and tapped the first of many destinations into my Garmin.