We received a lot of advice about getting to Yosemite early, parking in one of the main lots and then taking the Shuttle, which takes you to just about every popular place, or you can hike from those popular places to where you want to be. This was our plan until my 14-year-old daughter sprained her ankle literally two days before our trip and ended up on crutches.  Our plans for hiking now had to be adjusted to Plan B: driving and parking as close to the sights as possible.

Malibu Beach Pier A Travel Guide to Malibu Pier rounds out our list of Favorite...

The sky reflected our moods, and we could see the white-topped peaks just out of our reach, lining the ring around our valley. I convinced my husband to go for a drive "to the top of the hill" just to get a better view. It will get us out of the house. We had been stuck inside for days because of rain. The same rain was making snow just 10 miles north of us. Why not?