Have a wonderfully socially distanced Christmas, this year, welcome to the quarantine holidays. Wow. When I wrote last year's blog Celebrating ALL Christmas in Los Angeles, I had no idea that, well, 2020 would happen, resulting in a Covid Christmas. No one did. And now, the happiest time of the year is...not so much. But, there is holiday spirit to be found in Los Angeles. I present to you (pun intended): A Drive-Thru Christmas.

Mentryville Park is a tiny oil ghost town rich in history tucked away in a tiny corner of Pico Canyon.  It's an important piece of US History for its role in the Oil Boon, but still draws people today for its beautiful hiking trails set in the Santa Monica Mountains. It's recognizable from several tv and movie productions but also draws a crowd for its reputation for being haunted.

Last Sunday morning, we did something completely different: we explored the street art in...

As our final trip of 2017, JD and I met up in Palm Springs...

Sipping morning coffee in the mountain air at Half Dome while watching the sunrise in Yosemite is one of the greatest moments I've ever had. I've written previously about my goal not just to see Yosemite, but to experience Yosemite. There is nothing like the experience of mixing fresh, hot coffee, with cold pine air, watching the light bounce off the icy needles in the trees.

My desire to see Bali had been a long-held dream, after studying Indonesian at school and most of my Australian friends making the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. So when the stars aligned and I found an opportunity to take a solo trip, I couldn't have jumped faster.