Geo: 37.8127, -120.064As a child my dad was a Thousand Trails RV resort member, although we always camped in our tent trailer. We stayed at Yosemite Lakes once a year, sometimes twice. Later in my childhood, they had built a yurt village. So, if we happened to visit in the winter, we'd end up staying in those. I guess it's come full circle now. I'm now staying in a yurt with my new family on a snow trip to Yosemite. =) There's something beautiful in that.The snow line was at a low enough elevation that there actually was snow at the campground. We got there early but since we were the only ones staying in the yurt village, and possibly the entire campground, they checked us in ahead of time. Our yurt was warm and waiting ... read more

Geo: 37.7792, -122.42I guess I need to preface with, in our group of friends, I'm the hardcore planner. I end up planning most of our trips, not even because I have to. But because I LOVE to. I love planning group events and trips. I love having everyone together. We have fun whether it's a high class meal or super basic camping weekend.But THIS time, they planned everything. Most of their plans went awry due to restaurants bailing on the commitments but I was incredibly touched that they went through the hell and effort to organize a huge group overnight outing. They even planned a burlesque show by convincing the venue to do a show on a night they're normally closed!I must say my first Burlesque experience was fantastic. (Unfortunately, I was too drunk to remember ... read more

Geo: 36.5976, -121.897After Wine Trolley, we headed over to our Beach House to check in. I had rented one off VRBO for a fairly affordable price (I had everyone chip in for costs). It was gorgeous, right on the beach. The owner gave us a keypad code to get in so we didn't even need to check in with anyone actually. We hid the bride in a bedroom while we decorated as fast as we could. I brought all kinds of stuff. I'm an overplanner- I can't help myself. I put way too much effort into the weekend. I forgot in general that drunk girls just like to drink, cuddle and take selfies. I didn't need to go the extra mile with decorations and food the way I did. Still- it was a fun Pinterest experience! ... read more

Our last day we packed up camp, and then planned to head to Pfeiffer Beach. And so did every other tourist at 10am. =( We didn't make it. It's a one lane road, and the parking lot at the end was so full that people couldn't even finish the drive to get close. We had to turn around like the majority of the cars. So my advice to you, is if you're planning the drive to that iconic Big Sur Coast locale, leave early if it's a weekend. We went to a better beach anyway- Carmel Beach. It's got pretty white sand, and it was warm. The Pacific Ocean is cold as hell, and I don't usually go in the water when I'm in Santa Cruz. But it was actually very nice in Carmel that day! ... read more

Geo: 36.2703, -121.806 The first day we spent a couple hours driving south to Big Sur. It's a big area and all the state park campgrounds were booked. So, I ended up paying a little more for Ventana Campground, and I wasn't disappointed. It ended up being one of the nicest campgrounds I've ever been in. It's very well maintained, and highly recommend it. ;) We set up camp (Yasmin and Paul decided they were going glamping), cooked dinner, and hung out around the campfire roasting marshmallows for s'mores, eating cookies and drinking wine. Just talking. =) Then we played a board game in the tent until we crashed for bed.... read more