Are You Ready to hit your bucket list after you are Vaccinated for Covid? I have booked three major “bucket list” dream destinations!
[Read more…] about Are You Ready to Hit Your Bucket List after you are Vaccinated for Covid?
The Highlights of a Trip to South Africa
South Africa is a popular destination on travel bucket lists, and a quick glance at what the country has to offer can help you understand why. It’s a beautiful country combining the charm and adventure of rural Africa with bustling urban destinations and pristine coastline. There’s an international flavor to much of the country given that it attracts visitors from all over the world, and the truth is it’s pretty easy to enjoy yourself there. Even so, we’re going to point to some of the highlights you should be sure to check out if you’re fortunate enough to travel there.
A Resort In Cape Town
Cape Town tends to be the main draw for people who are traveling to South Africa, and it’s largely because of what the city looks like. Looking up images of the city, one gets the image of a cliff-side party town up against the water on the southern tip of Africa. It seems all at once impossibly exotic, wildly attractive, and intriguingly luxurious. It’s also the last point that you can really explore by staying at a resort, and you may recall that we’ve actually highlighted the best one before. The One & Only Cape Town suites are about as good as it gets, and are well worth their hefty price tags if you’re going all the way to South Africa for a vacation.
A Horseback Safari
When you look up fun activities to enjoy in South Africa, you don’t get your typical vacation checklist. There are a lot of wild things to try in the country, and one that you won’t find in a lot of other African destinations is a horseback safari. One list of awesome South African activities noted that you can try this at the Isimangaliso Wetlands, and the experience is like nothing else. You can ride horses alongside wild wildebeests and giraffes for an up close and personal view of African wildlife.
Kiteboarding Lessons
Kiteboarding is becoming one of the trendier watersports in the world, and some of the beaches near Cape Town are particularly well known for it. Destinations like Langebaan, Bloubergstrand, and Cannon Rocks are all noted as good spots to give it a try, though you may need to cough up a bit of cash to have some lessons if you’ve never tried this sport before. It’s tricky to get the hang of, but it’s a lot of fun once you get the hang of it. This is also a great opportunity to try one of the better spots in the world for the sport.
A Casino Visit
Casinos rarely pop up as factors in travel decisions anymore, and it’s easy to understand why. Online versions of casino games have become incredibly sophisticated, and offer a wide range of classic games to play. This includes everything from traditional slots and card games to games like roulette, which has been enjoyed by casino goers all over the world for generations. With so many options available at their fingertips, it’s no surprise that real life casinos have fallen by the wayside, but ignore visiting one at your own peril. Throughout the world there are still casinos worth seeing in person, and a few of them are located right in South Africa. The Sun City Resort outside of Johannesburg is truly a sight to behold, built like a palace sticking up in the middle of the bush, and filled with all the fun and amenities of a classic casino.
Diving Expeditions
Cape Town boasts a lot of great scuba diving activities, including both reef and wreck dives. But that’s not all you can find there. You can also find dives that put you in close proximity to friendly seals. If you really want to give yourself an adrenaline rush, you can sign up for a dive where you’ll be in an underwater cage swimming with the sharks. These activities aren’t necessarily unique to South Africa or Cape Town, but many find the diving at this destination to be particularly good.
A Tabletop Mountain Hike
Last but not least, you should also make time for a hike up Tabletop Mountain, which is the cliff-like plateau that looms over Cape Town. This is a manageable hike for those inclined to try it, and we’re not talking about monstrously high altitudes. It’s definitely something to try, if only to enjoy the view from the top. It’s truly a sight unlike anything you can see elsewhere in the world.
Guest blog by Philip White
San Francisco’s Beautiful Golden Gate Bridge Must be on your Bucket List!
I left my heart in San Francisco long ago….it is one of my favorite cities on the planet. Nothing says San Francisco like the Golden Gate Bridge! So here are 14 Facts, Six Things to Do and 24 Ways to See It From Every Angle!
Fourteen Little-Known Facts:
A bridge across the Golden Gate Strait was first proposed in 1872 and championed by railroad mogul Charles Crocker but the idea didn’t catch on.
Chief engineer Joseph Strauss’ first design, in 1921, was rejected as too ugly.
The great California nature photographer Ansel Adams worried that building a bridge across the Golden Gate would ruin the beauty of the place. When Adams saw the finished Golden Gate Bridge, he changed his mind.
Eleven men died in accidents during construction, 10 of them on the same day. Another 19 workers caught by a safety net below the bridge were dubbed members of the “Halfway to Hell Club.”
The Navy suggested that the bridge be painted in black and yellow stripes. The Army Air Corps wanted candy cane red and white stripes. The signature International Orange hue was actually the color of the primer. Consulting architect Irving Morrow successfully lobbied for the bridge to be permanently painted International Orange.
According to urban legend, the Golden Gate Bridge is painted continuously, end-to-end. Not so. The bridge is painted and touched up according to need.
Fifty thousand people walked across the new bridge on May 26, 1937. It was opened to motor vehicles the next day. On May 24, 1987, some 300,000 people squeezed onto the bridge for a 50th birthday party called Bridgewalk 87. The weight of bridge walkers that day caused the roadway to sag in the middle by 7 feet, but bridge engineers said the structure always remained safe.
The six-lane bridge is 1.7 miles long, linking San Francisco on the south with Marin County on the north.
Total cost of construction was $35 million.
The bridge weighs 887,700 tons, after shedding 12,300 tons when the roadway was replaced in the 1980s.
The two main suspension cables use a combined 80,000 miles of wire. Looped around the Earth’s equator in a single strand, it would circle the planet three times.
The Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world until 1964. It is now the ninth-longest.
By 2015, more than 2 billion motor vehicles had passed over the Golden Gate Bridge
Six Ways to Visit:
Visiting the Golden Gate Bridge is a great experience but needn’t end with the bridge itself. There’s a wide range of things to do within walking distance of the bridge.
Marvel at the Golden Gate Bridge Strauss Plaza
Approaching from San Francisco heading north, visitors come to the Golden Gate Bridge Strauss Plaza, a handsome gateway named for the bridge’s dynamic first chief engineer, Joseph Strauss. The plaza, opened in 2012 just southeast of the bridge toll stations, includes the Bridge Pavilion, the Round House Café and a small parking lot. Approaching from Marin County heading south, the parking lot is accessed from the bridge’s far-right lane via the Merchant Road exit.
Buy Gifts at The Bridge Pavilion
The Bridge Pavilion, a glassy modern building in signature International Orange, is the place to go for branded Golden Gate Bridge merchandise. This attractive visitors’ center highlights orientation and interpretive information about the bridge and its construction from 1933 to 1937 and offers views of the bridge and the Pacific Ocean.
Eat at the Round House Café
The neighboring Round House Café, a circular 1938 Art Deco building, was reopened in 2015 as a contemporary eatery. The café offers barista service behind large, view-friendly windows and a classic roadside menu of clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls, apple pie, hot dogs and the motorist’s friend, hot coffee. All are sourced from Bay Area companies.
Visit the Walt Disney Family Museum
The Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio, located inland and south of the bridge in a repurposed heritage building on the expansive, eye-pleasing former Army base offers an engaging variety of changing, interactive exhibits about the famed movie studio and its entrepreneurial founder, appealing to children and adults.
Wander Down to Crissy Field
Another lure is waterside Crissy Field, the Presidio’s transformed former airfield, located downhill and to the east of the bridge. It includes a popular and helpfully flat pathway. It winds past beaches and restored sand dunes studded with native plants all the way to Fort Point, which affords commanding views of the world-famous bridge from the water’s edge.
Look out at the Bridge from Battery Spencer and Vista Point
On the Marin side, aptly named Vista Point overlooks the bay, the bridge and the city skyline from just off the bridge’s east sidewalk. From the west, head up Cozelman Road to Battery Spencer, a reinforced concrete battery that was a part of the Harbor Defense of San Francisco.
Run along Baker Beach
Stretching a mile below the rugged cliffs on the Presidio’s western shoreline, Baker Beach’s spectacular outside-the-Gate views of the Bridge and the Marin Headlands are unsurpassed. The beach lies on the shore of the Pacific Ocean to the northwest of the city. It is roughly a half mile long, beginning just south of Golden Gate Point (where the Golden Gate Bridge connects with the peninsula), extending southward toward the Seacliff peninsula.
See It From Every Angle:
Go Over the Bridge
The famed bridge gets 10 million visitors a year. Most drive across on U.S. Highway 101. A $7.25 toll for 2-axle vehicles is paid electronically at the San Francisco end. Limited paid parking is available in the compact lot southeast of the San Francisco toll plaza. In the northeast lot at Vista Point on the Marin County side, parking is free for up to four hours. (Both lots may be closed at major holidays.)
Bridge crossings can be made by tour bus, taxi, ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft and public transit. The hop-on/hop-off, open-top Big Bus includes a Sausalito and bridge tour with a Dynamite ticket. City Sightseeing San Francisco’s Sausalito Loop crosses the bridge in both directions. Gray Line’s Sausalito Loop includes a bridge crossing. Golden Gate Transit buses and San Francisco Muni buses stop at the San Francisco toll plaza, where visitors can get off to walk or cycle the bridge, toll-free.
Walkers and bicyclists share the east sidewalk overlooking San Francisco Bay and bicyclists also use the west sidewalk on the ocean side. San Francisco City Guides lead richly informative and free bridge walks. DYI walking and cycling give easy access to nearby scenic attractions like the California Coastal Trail in San Francisco and the Marin Headlands and Fort Baker in Marin County.
Leading bike rental companies, some of which organize bridge rides include: Blazing Saddles, Bay City Bikes, Bike and Roll San Francisco, Bike and View, Golden Gate Park – Bike & Skate , Park Wide Bike Rentals & Tours, Spinlister and Sports Basement – Gear, Apparel and Bike Rental. Some bicycle tours end in Sausalito and offer the option of returning to San Francisco by ferry.
Go Above the Bridge
Want to see the sights from on high? San Francisco Helicopters offers view-friendly flights above the bridge on their Vista Grande option.
Go Under the Bridge
Going under the bridge allows visitors to appreciate its immensity and brilliant architecture. Walkers can pause under the span at Fort Point. Blue & Gold Fleet’s San Francisco Cruise Adventure sails under the bridge from Fisherman’s Wharf, as does Red and White Fleet’s Bridge2Bridge Cruise. City Kayak has a Golden Gate Bridge Trip from Crissy Field for advanced sea kayakers. Hornblower Cruises & Events showcases stupendous views of the bridge. Adventure Cat takes swift sailing catamarans under the bridge and around the bay. Also check out the Events calendar on Tideline Water Taxi’s website for their Golden Gate Bridge Float Cruise which departs from Sam’s Anchor Cafe in Tiburon.
Over, under or across — no matter what the approach, the Golden Gate Bridge always enthralls.
The San Francisco Travel Association is the official destination marketing organization for the City and County of San Francisco. For information on reservations, activities and more, visit www.sanfrancisco.travel, read the Visitors Planning Guide or call 415-391-2000. San Francisco Travel also operates Visitor Information Centers at Hallidie Plaza, 900 Market Street at the corner of Powell and Market streets and on the lower level of Macy’s Union Square. For more information, visit www.sanfrancisco.travel.
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) offers non-stop flights to more than 40 international cities on 34 international carriers. The Bay Area’s largest airport connects non-stop with 77 cities in the U.S. on 13 domestic airlines. SFO offers free upgraded Wi-Fi with no advertising.
FOLLOW @OnlyinSF on Instagram.
To sign up for e-newsletters on San Francisco travel, culinary or LGBT news, click here.
The OC Bucket List Challenge: Visit Buena Park!
I think everyone knows how much I love the OC! (Orange County, California, of course). When I received word about the OC Bucket List Challenge for Buena Park, I had to copy it down and share it with you right away!!!! These Challenge activities have something for everyone, so pack along the kids and grandparents if you’d like, or just run off by yourself, or with someone for a romantic getaway. Any which way, this trip is a winner!
Buena Park, CA – Immerse yourself in the ultimate Orange County vacation by exploring hot spots that the locals don’t want you to know about. Our bucket list has something for everyone from cruising scenic harbors, hiking to breath-taking vistas and getting sworn in as a pirate to discovering hidden restaurants and splashing around one of the longest water park lazy rivers. Go to VisitBuenaPark.com/Challenge to take the challenge this summer and see how many you can check off your list!
1.) Get Launched 83 Miles-Per-Hour in 2.3 Seconds on Xcelerator
Enjoy over 30 exhilarating rides including the famous Timber Mountain Log Ride, visit the loveable Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang at Camp Snoopy and pan for gold at the only authentic 1880’s Ghost Town at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park. Save $33 on adult and $7 on kid’s admission at VisitBuenaPark.com/deals.
2.) Be a VIP at the West Coast’s Largest Shopping Center
South Coast Plaza is Southern California’s premier shopping destination and home to over 250 boutiques, personal shopping services and upscale amenities. Stop by the California Welcome Center in Buena Park to pick up a free carousel ride and VIP Passport, full of exclusive offers.
3.) Hike Past Ancient Oak Groves
Irvine Open Space Preserve invites visitors to hike past ancient oak and sycamore groves and rough rock outcrops in Bommer Canyon; conquer the three-mile Orchard Hills loop for a breath-taking vista from Loma Ridge that consumes the coastal ridge; and explore Irvine’s southern wilderness via the Quail Hill Trail, the only trail that allows dogs.
4.) Cheer on Your Favorite Knight
At Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament in Buena Park, visitors are transported back in time to an era of jousting, sword fighting, brave knights and a meal fit for a king. You might recognize the dinner show from several television shows and feature films including the 1996 movie, Cable Guy with Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. Get a free Royal Upgrade: VIP seating, cheering banner and more at VisitBuenaPark.com/deals.
5.) Check Out the World’s Largest Surfboard
Huntington Beach offers 10 miles of uninterrupted coastline and an International Surfing Museum. The free museum is home to a 42-foot surfboard that holds the Guinness World Record as the ‘World’s Largest Surfboard’ and an artifact exhibit honoring Hawaiian surfer, Eddie Aikau.
6.) Explore a Presidential Helicopter
At the Richard Nixon Library and Museum, history buffs can step aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter that traveled the world with Nixon as well as Kennedy, Johnson and Ford. Visitors to the museum will also find an exact replica of the White House East Room, Nixon’s childhood home and the memorial sites of the President and First Lady.
7.) Graduate from Skipper School
Secret tip: After riding the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland®, ask the skipper for a map as you disembark. The maps are given to sailors who complete skipper school by making animal noises from some of the creatures that are seen along the ride.
8.) Salute the Martini Flag and Enjoy the Sunset
Every evening since the 1930’s the bugle is sounded and the “martini flag” is raised at 5pm to signal the end of a work day and time to relax at The Beachcomber Café. Located on Crystal Cove Beach, the restaurant offers outdoor patio seating for watching spectacular sunsets and dolphins playing in the waves.
9.) Brave 63-foot Waterslides on Old Man Falls
Knott’s Soak City, a 13-acre California beach themed waterpark in Buena Park, features one of the world’s longest lazy rivers, a rolling wave pool, dozens of waterslides and kid’s splash area. Save $12 at VisitBuenaPark.com/deals.
10.) Get Sworn in as a Pirate
At Pirate’s Dinner Adventure in Buena Park, Captain Sebastian the Black is seeking new recruits for his crew. Young landlubbers to the “World’s Most Interactive Dinner Show” may be called aboard to take the pirate’s oath and join the crew on their adventure. Save some treasure with a buy one-get one free offer at visitbuenapark.com/deals.
11.) Dine Aboard A Floating Restaurant
Well-known for their delicious brunch and dinner cruises, Hornblower also offers a two-hour Sunset Cocktail Cruise during the summer. The scenic boat ride in Newport Beach includes complimentary appetizers, music and cash bar. Save a boatload with a buy one get-one free deal at Visitbuenapark.com/deals.
12.) Uncover the Hidden Door to a 1920’s Speakeasy
The Anaheim Packing House is a foodie’s paradise, with a collection of unique restaurants, outdoor activities and live music. Hungry patrons will find fresh seafood, made-to-order popsicles, gourmet grilled cheeses and authentic southern food. Want a refreshing cocktail? Well, you’ll have to find it first. Behind a non-discreet wall of sake barrels with a small black rabbit on it lies a speakeasy appropriately named, the Blind Rabbit.
13.) Bonus Challenge – Pig Out on Award-Winning Ice Cream
Take a step back in time to a wildly fun, turn of the century ice cream parlour and restaurant awarded “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” by the Food Network. For over fifty years, Farrell’s has been serving up splendidly oversized ice cream treats like the Pig’s Trough, Hot Fudge Volcano and the mother of all desserts – The Zoo! See if you can devour the oversized sundae, which includes 30 scoops of ice cream topped with chocolate sauce, strawberries, marshmallow, whipped cream, cherries and bananas.
VISIT BUENA PARK
Located just 5 miles from Disneyland®, 10 miles from beaches and 20 miles from Los Angeles is the charming town of Buena Park. A vacation hot spot, the city is home to world-famous entertainment, interactive dinner shows and one-of-kind shopping. For more information contact Visit Buena Park at 800-541-3953 or www.visitbuenapark.com.
Don’t miss out on the Challenge, hurry and book today! They have special offers and deals on just about everything at http://www.visitbuenapark.com/visitors/special-offers/!!!