Los Angeles to Carlsbad Road Trip | Casa de Bandini Mexican Restaurant #carlsbad #mexicanfood

If you live in California there’s no shortage of weekend destinations. You can go your whole life and not hit them all.  From large cities to small towns, deserts, snow-capped mountains and miles and miles of breathtaking coastline -- the possibilities for day trips and getaways are endless. So crank up those tunes and roll down those windows and let’s gaze upon the beautiful Golden State as it rolls by while we head to The Forum in Carlsbad.

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Green Hills Country Club

Bees are buzzing around this beautiful lavender at Green Hills Country Club in Millbrae.

Beach Day

It's a beautiful day, in the high 70s, so we ventured out to the beach to play in the sand, soak up some rays with the scent of salt water and had a fun summer morning.

A Submarine Voyage

... to find Nemo in the Tomorrowland section of Disneyland. While in line, we heard seagulls saying, "mine, mine."

Bubbles came out as the submarine descends into the water.  Through the porthole, we saw corals, starfish, lobsters, clams and the characters of Disney-Pixar's movie Darla, Bruce, Squirt, Crush, Dory, Marlin and Nemo.

Above the Horizon

... the sun is rising on our way to Disneyland 

At Travel Town

All aboard!  Here comes our choo choo train, our choo choo train, coming down the track.  

We took the miniature train which circles the perimeter of the museum, we checked the wooden train cars and wandered around for a couple of hours.  It’s a great place for kids who love trains.

Midsummer Stroll in Santa Barbara

Friday afternoon while I was juggling a thousand reports without blinking an eye, husband called to ask if I wanted to go on a weekend getaway.  Of course, of course! I knew I had to finish some work stuff over the weekend, but who cares? I can do it at the hotel when they are both asleep.

The moment the Little Guy and I got home I started searching for hotels.   Forecast for the weekend was in the three digits so I narrowed down my search to towns/cities along the coast. Unfortunately, most of them were either fully booked or require a two-day stay.

Saturday morning we decided to just drive to Santa Barbara, dubbed ‘The American Riviera.’  First stop was at Stella Mares in Montecito for brunch, then we proceeded to Old Mission Santa Barbara,  strolled at the rose garden, then hopped on the car, drove to State Street all the way to Stearns Wharf, then on to Cabrillo Blvd to US-101 S.  

The sun was setting as we drive back home.

Brunch at a French Bistro Stella Mares

Ruffled curtains, distressed woodwork, floral quilts and  decorative wrought iron.  Elegant, relaxed, rustic  and charming. We ate escargot, poulet, salade niçoise and eggs benedict.   It felt like we were transported to the countryside of France for a couple of hours.

Old Spaghetti Factory

A few years ago, a good ole neighbor brought us to Old Spaghetti Factory in Duarte. Since we were in the neighborhood, we decided to revisit the place which is housed in an old school house that first opened in 1909.  In the middle of the main dining room is a train trolley where we asked to be seated.  The Little Guy was in awe since he loves trains.  We ordered minestrone soup, spaghetti & spumoni and salad, lasagna & spumoni.  Then we ate family-style.

  

Slide - Wee!

Slide -- wee!  walk, walk, up the stairs, slide -- wee!  repeat 20 times. 

See-Saw

~ see-saw, up & down, see-saw, up & down, up & down ~

Marine Layer

A coastal marine layer creeping over the mountain canyons forming a drape on Santa Monica Mountains... beautiful!

This snapshot was taken on a Friday morning as we drove on Los Virgenes Road which becomes Malibu Canyon Road on our way to Malibu Bluffs Park.

Ventura Highway

“… in the sunshine. Where the days are longer. The nights are stronger than moonshine. You're gonna go I know.”

A Trip to the Danish Village

A spontaneous getaway up north to the beautiful Danish town of Solvang about two hours drive from Los Angeles.

We strolled around as we had in the past, ate some sausages and the traditional Danish pancake called aebleskiver, grabbed a couple bottles of wine and some cheese and drove back home -- while enjoying the gorgeous wildflowers along the way.

Valentine's Day Picnic

On a gorgeous day at a park by the lake, we laid a blanket down on the grass. We munched on our picnic -- strawberries, peaches, almonds, biscuits, tapenade, artichoke, muffins and cheese. We watched the clouds go by, listened to the chirping birds and enjoyed doing nothing. A perfect Valentine's date.

 

Twinkle Lights & Holiday Cheer

On a cold day one month before Christmas, we spent a lovely evening at The Americana where the magic of the season is in full swing. Twinkle lights and red ribbons. A dazzling Christmas tree. Santa on his cottage.

Aboard the World's Tallest Observation Wheel

Move over Singapore Flyer.  At 550 feet, the High Roller is the world's highest observation wheel as of this writing.  I remember a decade ago, when we hopped at the London Eye at the bank of the River Thames,  it was the record holder.  In a couple of years, a new one will take the stage as they keep on building higher and higher Ferris wheels.  

Let's go up, up and away!

Autumn Harvest at the Bellagio Conservatory

Back at the Conservatory to see the talking tree, the pumpkins, the animated squirrels eating acorns and the Autumn flowers.

Blog and snapshots from our first visit here

Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill

Another favorite celebrity chef - Iron Chef Bobby Flay.  We're here to get a taste of his Southwestern cuisine.

On the table..

• Roasted Corn Soup

• Tiger Shrimp Roasted Garlic Corn Tamale

• Spicy Chicken + Sweet Potato Hash

• Ancho Chile - Honey Glazed Salmon

• Cocktail Drinks

Cheers!