Welcome to California Girl Travels!
I moved to California, The Golden State, as a young adult and haven’t left. When I first visited California in my late teens, I knew it was home immediately. My goal is to show you through my words and photos why you will love it too and make traveling to California – this vast state – easier through this blog. Cheers!
Not only have I ridden my bike (no E-bike) from San Francisco to Los Angeles, which took six days to complete, but I’ve traveled to every corner of the state.
I have extensive travel experience in the following California locations:
In and around Los Angeles
- Altadena, Atwater Village, Beverly Hills, Big Bear, Burbank, Catalina Island, Hollywood, Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Los Feliz, Los Olivos, Malibu, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach, Ojai, Pasadena, Palm Springs, Pismo Beach, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Silver Lake, Solvang, Temecula, Thousand Oaks, Ventura, West Hollywood
- Orange County
In and around San Diego
- Black Beach Trail, Half Moon Bay, Mission Beach, Mission Viejo, North Park, Oceanside, Ocean Beach, San Diego, Slot Canyon
In and around San Francisco
- Atherton, Auburn, Big Sur, Berkeley, Bodega Bay, Calistoga, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Daly City, Davis, Fremont, Fort Bragg, Half Moon Bay, Healdsburg, Lake Tahoe, Los Gatos, Mendocino, Milpitas, Monterey Bay, Napa Valley, Oakland, Pacific Grove, Palo Alto, Petaluma, Point Reyes, Richmond, San Clemente, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Rose, Sausalito, Sonoma, Stinson Beach, Walnut Creek, Yountville
California National Parks
- Griffith Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Sunset Cliffs National Park, Yosemite National Park
Life Before Travel Blogging
I’m originally from Pennsylvania. I left as soon as I graduated high school.
I spent 6 months in Belgium where I acquired a love for beer. After my studies (and beer tasting), I traveled around Europe and fell in love with it. Below is a list of the places I’ve traveled to in Europe.
- France – Paris
- Germany – Frankfort, Berlin, Munich
- Italy – Rome, Venice, Milan
- Switzerland – Zurich
- Belgium – Brussels, Antwerp, Liege,
- The Netherlands – Amsterdam, Rotterdam
- United Kingdom – London
- Austria – Salzburg, Vienna
- Czechoslovakia – Prague
Since I could hold a pen, I’ve been writing. I write to understand my world. I wrote for Medium and decided to transfer my writing talent to blogging. I started this travel blog, as well as two other sites, about different interests.
I landed in San Francisco for five-plus years, the closest thing to Europe we have, then moved to Los Angeles, then Austin, Texas, and finally back to LA, where I’m based.
A great city from which to travel.
What turns me on:
- Intellectual challenge
- Mastering a new skill
- Travel, travel, travel
- The piano
- Chocolate
- Economics (I have a BA in Economics and International Relations)
- Detail
- Deep conversations with those I love
- Depth
- A good skin care routine (skin care products are my passion)
- The idea that you don’t attract what you want, you attract what you *believe* you deserve (it’s true! 👍🏻)
- Good listeners
- Getting to know someone I connect with from the jump
- Friends who talk about ideas and not other people (snooze)
- Being present
- Patience
- Kindness and courage
- Boundaries
- Positive male energy
- Not oversharing: it’s possible to be a successful content creator online and not overshare
- Giving back
- Ryan Gosling
- A good bottle of wine
- Writing. I’ve been writing regularly since I could hold a pen. I love writing non-fiction and scribbling in a notebook when the urge hits. Check out my writing on Medium.
- Fireplaces
- Packaging (well-designed packaging is my kink): opening the Oura Ring box was orgasmic
- California, California, California
- The Warriors (Steph especially)
- Facials (The Face Place is the only place I go for a facial)
- Music—good music is the most important thing in life. If it’s live, you’ve got it made. Prince was the first musician who set the tone for my love and good taste in music
“You don’t have to travel, but I find extended travel to be a helpful tool for reexamining yourself and the constraints you’ve artificially placed on your life. It’s easy to believe everything has to be done one way if you’re always in one place around the same people.
— Tim ferriss