Betsy's California Travel Blog

Situated in Simi Valley northwest of Los Angeles, the Ronald Reagan Library chronicles the life and accomplishments of the colorful American leader. Besides the series of exhibits you'd expect to find chronicling the President's childhood, acting career and political achievements, other exhibits include a land-based Cruise Missile, one of the few remaining after the 1987 INF Treaty and full-scale replicas of both Reagan's Oval Office and the Geneva Boathouse where the first Reagan-Gorbachev summit took place. However, the most spectacular thing on display is the Boeing 707 airplane that served as Air Force One during his administration.

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For a Frank Lloyd Wright aficionado like me, there's nothing better than a day out seeing his creations. Wright's Hollyhock House, a cross between Prairie style and his later textile block designs. a home that once had an artificial stream running through its living room, recently re-opened after five years of renovation.

Wright's Ennis-Brown house, one of his most unusual California designs and the setting for films such as Blade Runner and The House on Haunted Hill suffered major damage a winter storms and is now closed pending renovations.

Our guide to Frank Lloyd Wright in Los Angeles will clue you in to a few more of his creations.

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Tar has been oozing to the surface in this Los Angeles location for thousands of years, trapping all kinds of creature is its sticky grasp.

Inside the George Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits, you'll find exhibits selected from over 1 million fossils recovered from the La Brea Tar Pits. They include a wood fragment about 40,000 years old, skeletons of dire wolves, saber-toothed cats, mammoths, short-faced bears, giant slots, ancient buffalo as well as many birds and other creatures.

More: Day Trips in and Around Los Angeles

Here's a great way to end the summer in style, or store this idea away for next year's summer California vacation. Wind down on a houseboat at Lake Shasta. The weather is best in September. For smooth water and less people, travel in December or January.

Are you still hankering for a day of sun and sand? Travel out to our favorite California beaches: La Jolla Shores, Pfeiffer Beach or Rodeo Beach before fall sets in.

You've heard from me, now I want to hear from you. Whether you live nearby or went there on vacation, you can now vote for your favorite California beaches in Orange County, Santa Cruz, San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

There's a gem of a small aquarium found tucked away in La Jolla, just north of San Diego. Smaller and more intimate than some of its larger and better-known cousins, the Birch Aquarium is a place where you can get close to the animals, and take your time to enjoy them.

Because of its intimacy, children and adults alike are energized by the Birch Aquarium. Watch an octopus flow up and down the glass and try to catch a glimpse of his face, or see jellyfish moving slowly through the water.

So many San Diego views include the water that you might not think things would look that much different from the water, but in fact, they do. A harbor cruise tour takes you away from the city's hustle and bustle, and shows you San Diego with no distractions.

The typical San Diego harbor cruise sails past aircraft carriers, submarines, the Navy Seals Training Base and ships of the Pacific Fleet, past Point Loma and under the Coronado Bay Bridge.

Laguna Beach is perhaps Orange County's least-overdeveloped beach towns, and one of its prettiest. Created as an artist's getaway, Laguna Beach still feels artsy, with nice galleries and some fun summer arts festivals. You can be there in no time using our Laguna Beach planner.

Last week they were out, now we've got a new one. A fire, that is. This time it was caused by someone out target-shooting.

The Telegraph Fire as it's being called is raging near the town of Midpines just outside Yosemite. Highway 140, one of the major routes into Yosemite is closed as of Monday evening, July 28 and the smoke is obscuring views in the area. Power is also off in parts of the park, including at Yosemite Lodge.

As usual, the best place to find the most up-to-date information can be found at the Cal Fire website.

We like LA a lot better as tourists than we did when we lived there. Now it's your turn to tell us what you think:

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