We just got back from a weekend away in Miami. It was MY first trip to Florida, and Mike’s millionth… approximately. (He used to work on a show called Burn Notice that filmed in Miami.) But the difference for Mike this time was that he had his dog in tow! Actually it wasn’t just OUR pooch, our friend and The Gifted castmate Skyler Samuels brought her dog Matey along too! If you’re looking for a pet-friendly trip to Miami, you’re going to have to stay at The Standard Miami Beach. This place just set the tone for the perfect getaway with your pooch…
Hitch a ride on a Vancouver seaplane for a magical vehicular tourist activity
We not only used our time in Vancouver seek out all the best restaurants, but we also accomplish one of my lifetime goals: TO RIDE ON A FREAKING SEAPLANE! I have long believed — since growing up watching Baloo von Bruinwald XIII pilot the Sea Duck in Talespin — that seaplanes are the most kick-ass of vehicles. They are magical. They are amazing. They are boats that become planes and then planes that become boats, and sometimes they can even ski!? My mind boggles. Mike discovered my love of seaplanes when I forced us to stop, mid-bike ride around Stanley Park, to endlessly watch the Vancouver seaplanes become boats and…
From hotels to campsites: Where to stay in Anderson Valley
So you’ve read our post about how amazing Anderson Valley is, and you’ve decided that a weekend getaway to Anderson Valley sounds like the perfect trip. Congrats, you make good choices. But where should you stay? From the fanciest hotel in Philo, to the budget option in Cloverdale, and even camping and the best places to stay for groups… we’ve rounded up where to stay in Anderson Valley for your perfect wine tasting trip! Boonville hotels: The Boonville Hotel The Boonville Hotel is smack dab in the middle of charming Boonville. Conveniently, it’s walking distance to many awesome wineries and eateries. And it also houses one of the best restaurants…
Secretly amazing wine, famous local beers, and hugging giant trees: Things to do in Anderson Valley
Northern California’s Anderson Valley is a very special place for us — it’s where Mike’s ancestral home is, it’s where we got married, and it’s where we go when we have time for a weekend getaway. As we’re prepping for an upcoming visit, we thought we’d share our best Anderson Valley travel tips. Because who doesn’t love awesome wines that’ll give you some major sommelier cred, popular local beers, and staggeringly giant trees!? You may not have thought you’d ever visit this part of Northern California — it’s kept a bit of a secret for a reason — but you’re about to learn that there’s lots of stuff to do…
Snow, swan boats and sulfur: Our quick trip to Hakone
Mike: Megan gets a little overwhelmed in New York, so I thought she might get triggered in Tokyo, being surrounded by endless skyscrapers. When we booked our trip to Japan, I scheduled a night in the mountain town of Hakone as a brief respite from the city. Turned out that Megan was just fine in Tokyo, but we’re still glad we hit this charming resort spot. Megan: After our six days in Tokyo, we jumped on the RomanceCar (the not-really-appropriate name for the very-ordinary train to Hakone) and left the city behind…
Go to these restaurants in Charleston for a glutinous and amazing foodie trip
We’re lucky enough to be close friends with one of the best chefs to come to LA from South Carolina. (Avid readers may remember him as Ari, my chef friend at Red Medicine.) So when Mike and I decided to head to South Carolina for a weekend, we immediately emailed Ari to ask about the restaurants in Charleston that we HAD to try. Here are the places he recommended, plus some others we discovered during our glutinous and amazing foodie weekend trip to Charleston. Great restaurants in Charleston for foodies:
A quick list of the (lobbyist approved!) best restaurants in Sacramento
We found ourselves in Sacramento for a weekend, but with only ONE night to properly dine out. So, before we left, I texted my lobbyist friend: “If you only had one night in Sacramento, where would you eat?” She got back to me with a quick list of what she thinks are the best restaurants in Sacramento, and SHOCKINGLY they weren’t on any of the other top Google hits for best Sacramento restaurants! So ignore those other sites, and check out these places. Because if anyone knows where the best restaurants in Sacramento are to be found, it’s the people who have to schmooze over dinners and drinks for a…
“Happy Hallowsemite!” Our last-minute weekend trip to Yosemite in October
It had been a couple of months since our last weekend trip, and Mike and I had been itching to get out-of-town again. Based on a genius hunch, Mike checked to see if there might be some last-minute availability in Yosemite in October — specifically over Halloween weekend. Lo and behold, he was right! He snapped up the (seemingly) last-remaining room at the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, and the last-remaining dinner reservation at the Ahwahnee (now “The Majestic Yosemite Hotel”) and we were off on a weekend trip to Yosemite! Here’s the thing, I grew up in Los Angeles, only four and a half hours away from Yosemite, and…
The perfect recipe for a weekend trip to the Santa Ynez Valley
For my mother-in-law’s 70th birthday we rented an awesome house and had a perfect, fun and sun-filled family weekend trip to Santa Ynez Valley. It was easy and successful because we had a team of producers (the Horowitz siblings) mostly running the show. If you’re thinking of taking your own weekend trip to the Santa Ynez Valley, here’s a peak at our itinerary, complete with grocery shopping list! (Don’t get used to that though.) Day one Arrive at your (hopefully awesome) rental home We highly recommend the house we stayed in — it has incredible views, a pool, spa, four bedrooms, and an adorable GIANT dog to frolic with… Dinner:…
10 tips for getting the most out of your The Taste LA Times weekend pass
For the past three years, Mike and I have attended The Taste LA Times Event — a weekend long food festival. This year we attended all four of the weekend events to collect the best bites of The Taste LA 2017. But patterns started to really emerge this year (that we suspected of being true last year) and we realized, we’ve got a bit of insight into how to get the most out of your weekend pass to The Taste LA…
