Families can take memorable trips this summer without a hefty price tag.
Summer vacation costs could be the most expensive in years, thanks to rising fuel prices. If you weren’t planning a family staycation this year, maybe it’s time to consider your options.
There are plenty of nearby locations that a family can pile into a car — or a boat — and turn into a day or weekend trip that ranges between memorable to profound and life-changing. Exploring the natural world and history have that power.
If you’re thinking about a trip farther afield, hopping on a train is a great way to travel that people often forget about as they fly over states. Getting bang for your buck while embarking on family-sized adventures requires just a little creativity to go a long way, eh, or not quite so long.
The Queen Mary
As the grand ship turns 90, the RMS Queen Mary remains a hidden gem just down the 405 Freeway. Bigger than the Titanic and chock-full of history and style, the family can take a cruise without ever leaving shore or catching a virus.
The former British luxury liner was saved from salvage by the city of Long Beach in the 1960s, but during her heyday, Hollywood stars like Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and Bob Hope traveled the Atlantic aboard her, and giants of 20th century music Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and George Gershwin performed in the ship’s small theater. A young Queen Elizabeth had her own suite and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill planned the Normandy invasion of World War II in his suite’s bathtub. Now a floating hotel, artists as diverse as The Beach Boys, Merle Haggard, Lou Reed and Ice Cube have performed alongside her.
Every day of the week, visitors can have breakfast buffets, afternoon teas, steak and seafood dinners, and brunch on Sundays. Discover some history with a tour or enjoy multiple paranormal tours of the ship’s allegedly haunted areas.
Catalina Island
“Twenty-six miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is a-waiting for me” The Four Preps sang way back in 1958 about “the island of romance,” but many people in Southern California have never been to the sleepy seaside village of Avalon or explored the rugged hills above.
The only inhabited island of the Channel Islands is always a welcome escape or weekend adventure, or a bit of both for Orange County families looking to do something different. Once you step off the ferry, several quality hotels and restaurants are within walking distance of the dock. Bikes and golf carts are available for rent, but bus and horseback tours of the wild areas are affordable and worthwhile. For the more adventurous, snorkeling, scuba, stand-up paddle, parasailing and zip-lining trips are available most days. Visitors can travel from Dana Point or Long Beach daily.
National Parks and State Reserves
It’s an easy day trip to Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, the only place the rarest pine in North America grows. The unique trees cling to the sandstone bluffs that overlook the Pacific Ocean, and there, bobcats, foxes, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, rabbits and snakes share the shoreline with hang gliders and paragliders, hikers of all ages, birders and animal watchers. From the cliffs, you also can watch humpback and gray whales migrate just a few hundred yards off shore.
Joshua Tree National Park is the only place in the world the Joshua Tree grows, and that might not last much longer.
Climate change is threatening the spiky trees evolved to thrive in the hot desert environment near Palm Springs with even hotter, drier conditions, and many of the trees have died off in recent years. Rocky formations through the park are also a famously fun destination for casual climbers or serious spelunkers. If you go to Joshua Tree, go early in the day and before July, when temperatures can hit well above 100 degrees.
Just a few hours drive from LA, Sequoia National Park is the only place in the world where giant sequoia trees grow — not to be confused with the taller, thinner redwoods in Northern California. Thicker sequoias represent the largest trees overall. The famous General Sherman Tree can be found in the Giant Forest, where five of the 10 largest trees in the world reside. The sense of wonder and peace generated in the shadows of these giants can be profound.
Day Trips
Thousands of years before Los Angeles existed, the La Brea Tar Pits captured animals of the age in the natural asphalt that had seeped up to the surface. From small plant life to the bones of rodents, saber-toothed cats, giant ground sloths and even mammoths, the muck perfectly preserved them all. The George C. Page Museum sits beside the pits in what is now Hancock Park in LA, where families can enjoy an afternoon of discovery about the ancient world right in our backyard.
The San Diego Zoo Safari Park provides a full day’s adventure far better than any zoo. It’s where the animals live in large, protected open spaces replicating their natural environments, and visitors can encounter tigers, giraffes, rhinos, gorillas, birds, butterflies, elephants and kangaroos. Premium safari caravan trips and overnight “glamping” are also available.
Riding the Rails
The American West was once the frontier domain for railroads, a luxurious and distinct form of travel commonly overlooked by modern tourists. Amtrak provides alternative travel to most US cities — including Seattle and San Francisco, but also Yosemite and Grand Canyon national parks — featuring sleeping and dining cars, lots of legroom and comfortable seating, great views and no long airport waits.
If a much shorter ride by rail is of interest, take a trip to the Sunburst Railbike Experience and Ventura County’s citrus groves, where visitors can pedal railbikes on former railroad tracks through the rustic farm area of Santa Paula, pick fresh fruit and wander the petting zoo of the 40-acre Prancer’s Farm. Lunch is included. Picnic upgrades are also available.
By Shawn Price
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