California - Mike's Road Trip

First time ‘Kamping’ at the San Diego KOA

Mike Shubic April 14th, 2012 16 Comments

I've done all kinds of camping in my day, but I'd never been "kamping" in San Diego before. The San Diego KOA (Kampgrounds of America) is located in the southern part of the county in Chula Vista. The property is quite large, with over 300 sites for RVers and tent...

Lavish Luxury at 1906 Lodge

Mike Shubic April 11th, 2012 6 Comments

Every so often I stay at a property that sets the bar just a bit higher. I recently enjoyed such a place on Coronado Island in San Diego, California…the 1906 Lodge. As the name might imply, the structure (that is now a first-class B&B) was initially built in the year...

Step inside the Hadsten House

Mike Shubic February 26th, 2012 Comments Off

The Hadsten House Inn is located in the Danish themed community of Solvang, California, which is about 35 miles northeast of Santa Barbra. As you approach the Hadsten House for the first time, you could easily misjudge it by its cover (exterior); but we all know how that can turn...

Chalet View Lodge is a Venerated and Indelible Experience

Mike Shubic November 11th, 2011 Comments Off

I love it when I find one of those cliché “hidden gems” located off a beaten path, because that’s what typifies Mike’s Road Trip. I get ardent when I find an “undiscovered” place that other travel writers have yet to notice…it makes me feel as though I’m doing justice to...

A Look at the Urban Chic, Pacific Blue Inn B&B

Mike Shubic January 4th, 2011 Comments Off

While in Santa Cruz, California, I stayed at an eco-friendly, urban chic bed and breakfast called the Pacific Blue Inn. The Pacific Blue Inn is located within walking distance of many of the area’s famed attractions, such as the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, the Waterfront Wharf Pier and downtown…which is full...

Mendocino Luxury at the Brewery Gulch Inn

Mike Shubic December 28th, 2010 Comments Off

Just outside Mendocino, California, intimately tucked atop a bluff overlooking Smuggler’s Cove is the luxuriously unassuming, Brewery Gulch Inn bed and breakfast. The Inn was constructed using beautiful old-growth, eco-salvaged redwood trees that had been reclaimed from the Big River during a construction project of a new bridge. The “sinker”...