Tips to know when hiking Barker Dam at Joshua Tree National Park. When I...

The chance to hike Walden Woods where Henry David Thoreau wandered every morning, to dip my toes into Thoreau's own pond and see the actual site of his cabin where he wrote his philosophies that continue to inspire wanderers, travelers, humanitarians.  To see a place that both inspired and reflected his sense of simplicity, appreciation, gratitude, and kindness.

It's a round-up of my favorite SoCal Beach Piers because Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer...unless you are in Southern California and can hit those beaches all year long. SoCal beach piers are those iconic structures you find on postcards and t-shirts. They are an immediate way to identify which beach it is, and each beach comes with its own look and personality.

(Day One of Our trip can be found here) Waking up on Sunday wasn't easy...

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.