Venice Beach and Santa Monica: Where Models and the Beatles Play

Viceroy View, Santa Monica

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We drove up to the Viceroy in a rented Ford Fusion and immediately scrambled to clean up the inside of our vehicle when we saw the notice: Valet parking only. The backseat was littered with garbage bags, recycling, a gigantic cardboard box with our camping equipment spilling out and bikinis drying in the hot sun. Outfitted in bohemian maxi dresses and floppy hats, my friend Gemma and I gave the valets our names and they placed our luggage on a wheelie carrier; even carefully placing my reusable Vegas tote holding hijacked toiletries from previous hotels delicately on the hook at the top of the cart’s brass curve. A gloved man opened the main hotel doors for us and as we entered the hotel, we smacked into a wave of real-life models exiting.  

Desert Hot Springs: Soaking in the Views

The Spring, Desert Hot Springs, CA.

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Set in the midst of a residential area in Desert Hot Springs, California, is The Spring, "A natural hot mineral spring resort and spa." An oasis with swaying palm trees, impressive views of the San Jacinto and San Gorgonio mountains, The Spring boasts "some of the richest mineral water in the world." Part of "Miracle Hill," a hotbed for powerful, healing mineral waters, its aguas have been compared to the miracle waters of Lourdes, France. People flocked to The Spring in the 50s to take advantage of its waters' restorative properties. The property includes an indoor pool, outdoor jacuzzi, sauna, massage rooms, outdoor fire pit and a large swimming pool, around which are most of the boutique spa's rooms.

Napa Shmapa: Go to Sonoma!

Ledson winery

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On a tip from a co-worker, while I was visiting my brother and his fiancée in San Francisco, I was to instruct them to take my friend and I wine tasting in Sonoma County. Less crowded and less pretentious than Napa, the same co-worker suggested we head to Healdsburg and tour the Alexander Valley and Strykker wineries. My brother had other plans. After living in San Francisco for nearly three years and taking many house guests wine tasting, he had committed a personal wine tasting tour map to memory. We were driven to the city of Sonoma and sampled sips at Jacuzzi, Schug, Ledson and Chateau St. Jean. The one thing I was not prepared for was the mass quantities of wine I would be imbibing.