“In the 1920s and 30s, Palisades Beach Road in Santa Monica was one of America’s most exclusive and fabled streets.
The first part of my itinerary involved wine surfing but crashing waves were nowhere to be seen
Curated Highlights and Headlines
Islands Along the Pacific Coast
San Miguel Island – Channel Islands National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
“In addition to the variety of natural resources, San Miguel hosts an array of cultural resources as well. The Chumash and their ancestors lived on San Miguel almost continuously for nearly 12,000 years. Today there are over 600 fragile, relatively undisturbed archeological sites. The oldest one dates back to 11,600 years before the present-some of the oldest evidence of human presence in North America. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo and his men laid eyes on San Miguel Island in 1542. Upon claiming the island for the Spanish crown, Cabrillo named it “La Posesion.” Some stories say that Cabrillo wintered and died on San Miguel Island. No one knows where Cabrillo is buried, but there is a memorial commemorating the explorer on a bluff overlooking Cuyler Harbor.” NPS.gov
New National Geographic-affiliated cruise to take tourists down California coastline
“A new, one-time cruise route, called the “National Geographic Venture,” taking off from San Francisco destined for Long Beach has one objective: Give tourists a close-up coastal view of the California coastline. The journey, the result of a partnership between Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic, will take its maiden voyage this December 2 from the Bay Area to Southern California, hitting coastal landmarks like Angel Island and Sausalito, Monterey, Avila Beach, and Catalina Island before docking in Long Beach.” SF Gate · By Alyssa Pereira, SFGATE Photo: Matthew Micah Wright/Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images
Hollywood’s First Hidden Getaway
“In the 1920s and 30s, Palisades Beach Road in Santa Monica was one of America’s most exclusive and fabled streets. Dubbed by various wags “the American Riviera,” “Rolls Royce Row,” and the “Gold Coast,” this low stretch of oceanfront below the craggy Palisades featured 30 or so eclectically-styled summer homes. Stars like Cary Grant, Mae West, Peter Lawford, Orson Welles, Harold Lloyd, David Niven, Errol Flynn, Greta Garbo, and Anita Loos frolicked in the surf after long days at the studio. Most famous of all was Marion Davies’ gargantuan “Beach House,” where epic, star-studded parties lasted all day and night.” atlasobscura.com Boston Public Library (CC by 2.0)
What to Do in Malibu
“Since the iconic Alice’s Restaurant on the Malibu Pier reopened under new management as Malibu Farm Restaurant in 2015, with Helene Henderson’s breezy elevated surfer menu, it seems that everything along the cove between the pier and Carbon Canyon has upped its game. The chic coastal outpost of Soho House opened, and then something miraculous happened: The epitome of laid-back, beachfront luxury Malibu Beach Inn , once a ho-hum motel-style property with nothing but views, was transformed by visionary veteran hotelier Gregory Day, whom the Mani Brothers smartly lured from Shutters on the Beach, into just the kind of quietly luxurious ocean hideaway every Angeleno dreams about.” www.cntraveler.com/ by PILAR GUZMÁN Photo by Laure Joliet
Great white shark between 11-12 feet bites California woman’s canoe
“A woman’s outrigger canoe was attacked by a shark while paddling about two miles off Oceanside Harbor on Monday, according to news reports. An expert believes the shark was a great white between 11 and 12 feet long. The woman, identified as Julie Wolfe, said she felt something hit the bottom of her canoe as though it had been struck by a car.” By LAYLAN CONNELLY | Southern California News Group mecurynews.com Photo: National Geographic Television
Massive great white shark eating dead whale off Southern California coast
“Passengers aboard a 23-foot fishing boat watched in awe, Thursday morning, July 19, as an adult great white shark, estimated at 17 feet long, chomped on its buffet: a dead whale carcass floating offshore less than a mile from the San Clemente pier. The whale carcass was first reported near the Dana Point Harbor jetty on Tuesday by a captain of Dana Wharf Whale Watching, who contacted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to Carla Mitroff, photographer for the charter company. On Wednesday, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center attempted a necropsy on the female whale, but was unable to determine a cause of death, before the carcass was hauled out to sea by county Harbor Patrol.” Laylan Connelly The Mercury News Instagram allwater_charters
The Ultimate Coastal California Road Trip
“The small, charming town of Crescent City on the northern tip of California boasts a rich cultural history. Be sure to check out the postcard-perfect St. George Reef Lighthouse, which was built in 1892 and provides guidance to sailors on a reef six miles offshore.” POPSUGAR · Ashley Paige. Image Source: Flickr user Anita Ritenour
Visit Sonoma County for a taste of the California wine scene
“The first part of my itinerary involved wine surfing but crashing waves were nowhere to be seen — it’s just a cute rebranding of a wine flight, dreamt up by the folks at Gourmet au Bay, a beachside bar in the town of Bodega Bay. A tasting selection of three local, small-production wines are served on a dinky wooden surfboard. The sun burned low over the Pacific, placid but glittering, and the salty breeze was matched by the mineral tang of the white wine.” standard.co.uk/ HOLLY WILLIAMS Sonoma Valley vineyard in full bloom
Steps:
20) Maybe the lists of best places don’t appeal to you. Where can you go to make a fresh, new start? Don’t limit your imagination. Think anywhere — across the globe. Where do you really, really want to live, work and play? Why not live where it’s a vacation all year round?
21) Spend the time to find the best place to live and invest. It will be worth your while. The great thing about living where others spend their vacation is the year round quality-of-life.
30) Review headlines and relevant news as far back as you can find online to surface each community’s unique pulse and identify information necessary to make your decision. Is there a “ticking time bomb” issue you may uncover that eliminates the resort from your bucket list? Search on topix.com.
32) Plan extended seasonal vacations during summer and winter months. Group destination locations together in regional trips to explore what several bucket list towns have to offer in the general vicinity – with only a week or two vacation time to spend, we recommend organizing your itinerary by travel regions.
“The property, touted as a “classic” beach community spot, is near Lido Marina Village and Lido House, a new, upscale hotel. Click through the slideshow for a tour.” 
“Originally built as a restaurant and service station, construction began on The Arches in 1925, the same year Coast Highway opened up from Huntington Beach to Newport Beach. Founded by John Vilelle and James Sturgeon, it was named by 10 year old Victor Chatten in a contest advertised by them in the Balboa Times. The distinct Mediterranean style of the original buildings, with arches and red tile roofs, quickly made it a recognizable staple of Newport Beach as it helped to shape and inspire the town in its early stages.” 
“Editor Louis Paul Hart in suit and hat on right about 1915. Having begun with a paper edition in 1904 in Huntington Beach and in the years since, we continue to bring you the news of the people and events that other media’s bypass.” 
“Intermediate to advanced: For the most consistent waves with the most power I would have to recommend the area closer to the Huntington Beach Pier. This is sort of the heart of one of the most aggressive surfing communities on the planet and where “the good guys” hang out. Also good in winter, although not as consistent due to Catalina, are the two spots in the Trestles area just south of San Clemente called Uppers and Church. The direction of the swells hits these two breaks perfectly in winter months.” 
“Ole would advertise land tracts in newspapers in San Diego and Los Angeles, and people would come down and get a chicken dinner and the sales pitch. They could mark off lots if they wanted and put down their deposit,” Culbertson said. “When Ole Hanson drove through here in the 1900s, nothing existed between San Juan Capistrano and Oceanside. He cooked up this dream that he wanted to have a ‘Spanish Village by the Sea,’ and unlike so many other developers, he wanted to have a clean slate.” 
“Cliff swallows are one of more than 350 bird species that migrate along the Pacific Flyway. They stay in the Northern Hemisphere from March to October. But swallows aren’t returning to Mission San Juan Capistrano in the numbers they used to. A remodel of the mission in the 1990s removed nests from overhangs, and with that loss of habitat, swallows did not return to the mission.” 
“On the surfing front, anybody who rides waves around here should have a brief appreciation for just how San Onofre came to be one of the birthplaces of surf culture on the West Coast. It was first surfed in the early 1920s, although it’s still debated who the first person to surf at San Onofre was. Some say it was Laguna Beach’s George “Peanuts” Larson. Others contend it was Matt Brown and Lorrin “Whitey” Harrison. Given that was nearly 100 years ago, the mystery will probably never be solved conclusively, but it’s fun to banter about.”
“Popular activities include swimming, skin and scuba diving, and body surfing. Hazardous and rip conditions are evident in all directions. This beach is steep and has a shore break under all conditions. The crack around the north point is always a potential hazard and should never be entered or approached too closely.” 
New offshore oil drilling proposed off California coast by Trump administration. The Trump administration on Thursday proposed allowing new offshore oil drilling in most of America’s coastal areas, including northern, southern and central California areas like Big Sur. By PAUL ROGERS | progers@bayareanewsgroup.com
Huntington Beach. ExxonMobil Alleges It Is Victim of Vast California Climate Change ‘Conspiracy’. Surfers ride waves in front of an oil rig off Huntington Beach on July 31, 2015. (Credit: Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images)
Laguna Beach. Uncertainty Clouds Hotel Laguna. The last guests of the historic Hotel Laguna turned in their room keys and its longtime operator turned over the property last week to the landlord, but much else about the iconic downtown property remains uncertain. Photo by Mitch Ridder.
Newport Beach. Newport’s iconic Crab Cooker to close and rebuild because of 3-year-old foundation damage. “The Crab Cooker, which has been at 2200 Newport Blvd. in Newport Beach since 1951, will be closed for about a year starting in 2018 while it is rebuilt on the same site. (File Photo)”
San Diego. 10 San Diego Trails to Get You Outside in 2018. To a degree, you haven’t witnessed our city until you’ve seen all its nature’s beauty. From the highest point in county to the La Jolla Tide Pools and peeks at the Pacific from above your handlebars, there’s no shortage of ways to get outside in the New Year. Go on, now—take a hike! San Diego Magazine
Long Beach. Long Beach Airport to start daily service to Hawaii in June. The historic terminal at Long Beach Airport. Hawaiian Airlines will begin operating nonstop daily flights between Long Beach and Honolulu. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
South Bay. Redondo Beach. Seaside Lagoon. “This isn’t your typical swimming pool. Seaside Lagoon is a saltwater lagoon steps away from the Pacific Ocean. Visitors can swim under lifeguard supervision, and there’s also water slides, a playground, beach volleyball and picnic areas.” 
Ventura County. California Fire Map Update: Thomas Fire Is Second Largest in State History. As the blaze grows, it is on track to surpass the record-holding 2003 Cedar Fire, which killed 15 people and destroyed 273,246 acres in southern San Diego. The Thomas Fire earned the second-largest wildfire designation on Tuesday by surpassing the 2012 Rush Fire, which burned 271,911 acres. This California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo CA. The 10 Happiest Cities in the U.S., According to New Research. “Perhaps unsurprisingly, almost 30 percent of the places are in California. There’s really something to be said for near-constant sunshine. Seasonal Affect Disorder (SAD) is real, and has a dramatic impact on happiness levels for an entire season of the year. And when you’re sad almost every day, it’s hard to rate your life well, or feel natural joy.” Inc Magazine
Half Moon Bay. Weather changes push back Mavericks surf contest. Throughout the past week, there was excitement over a west-northwest swell that would bring the largest Mavericks surf of the season. That is now a matter of conjecture, and the once-promising weather forecasts have changed. 
San Francisco. Turning blue to ring in the new with frigid Jan. 1 Ocean Beach plunge. Three hundred people showed up at the foot of Taraval Street for the annual Plunge at Ocean Beach on Monday, Jan. 1, 2018. Photo: Steve Rubenstein/ The Chronicle
Marin County. Historic fire truck finds new home with Marin History Museum. “This 1935 fire engine is being donated to the Marin History Museum, which is temporarily donating the truck to the Marin County Fire Department, after being transported from Sonoma, Calif. on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)”
Sonoma County. Devastated by wildfire, a California city weighs rebuilding amid a housing crunch. “Jeff Okrepkie stands by the lot where his house stood in the Coffey Park area of Santa Rosa, Calif. After losing his home in the wildfires last fall, Okrepkie has organized a neighborhood group to help those like him who want to rebuild. (Preston Gannaway/For The Washington Post)”
Mendocino County. Luxury Mendocino Hotel | Heritage House Resort | CA. The Heritage House Resort is a destination you simply must experience for yourself. While our property has undergone a dramatic change over the past five years, transforming from a romantic seaside inn to a contemporary and luxurious boutique hotel, our commitment to the perfect guest experience remains.
Humboldt County. Trinidad. Majestic. Part of the auto wreck scene in The Majestic was shot at College Cove Beach on 19 March 2001. Wikipedia.
“Every day, the isolated stretch of Big Sur loses $300,000 in revenues, according to Kirk Gafill, manager of the world-famous restaurant Nepenthe. San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties could face a $554 million loss in revenue due to closures, according to a recent study by Visit California, which promotes tourism. The economic impact could ripple out further, if visitors cancel summer plans to the Golden State. “Santa Cruz Sentinel
