San Diego for Gay Families – A 3 Day Itinerary

San Diego for Gay Families - 3 Day Itinerary

San Diego is worth both a leisurely vacation and a quick trip. Any amount of time will be fun, but never quite enough. This plan for 3 days in San Diego for gay families is absolutely ideal if you’re visiting with kids or on your own. With a blend of outdoors, culture and history you’ll love this three day itinerary for the best of SD!

3 Day Itinerary – San Diego for Gay Families

So, what do you include in a three day visit to San Diego? How can you possibly choose what to leave out? We’ve got you covered, and even though it’s not everything this amazing city has to offer, it’s the perfect mix.

Day 1: the San Diego Coastline

Let’s start by exploring the coastline of San Diego. Did you know that there are more than beaches to enjoy when you visit SD? It’s true! You’ll find 70 miles of golden coastline, cliffs and tidepools, and even a National Park Service gem!

Full Story at 2TravelDads

San Diego Gay Travel Resources

Triangle Inn – Palm Springs Gay Resort

Triangle Inn - Palm Springs Gay Resort

Palm Springs Gay Resort:
Romantic, Relaxing, Fun

Ready to have a little fun in the desert sun?

Come stay with us at the Triangle Inn – an award-winning clothing optional Palm Springs gay Resort for men in sunny Palm Springs, California.

You’ll love our place!

“We provide a serene, secluded environment designed especially for the enjoyment of our guests,” says Michael C. Green, one of the owners of the Inn, “from our sunny tropical gardens to our sparkling pool and relaxing spa. It’s all inside our unique walled compound, where fun is a way of life, whether you’re looking for a romantic getaway with your partner or husband, or a fun and frisky weekend.”

Michael and his husband, Stephen, live on property in the signature Triangle House, and are always around to hang out with their guests. “We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Green continues. “Living onsite is part of what makes The Trinagle Inn Palm Springs special. It’s like we’re having friends over for a backyard party – a magical atmosphere.”

See the Triangle Inn Expanded Listing on Purple Roofs Here

Palm Springs Gay Friendly Bed and Breakfasts, Hotels, and Vacation Rentals

Santa Maria Wine Country for Gay Families – 2TravelDads

Santa Maria Wine Country for Gay Families - 2TravelDads

Over the years we’ve had several trips and shared lots about the Santa Maria Valley in California. This is one of our favorite places on the Central Coast, and not just as a road trip stop, but we love visiting for the outdoor experiences and agriculture, the California agritourism, in the area. The Santa Maria Wine Country also is its own AVA, meaning that it’s a special wine producing region. This podcast and article is all about how YOU can enjoy the Santa Maria Valley vineyard culture, both in person and from wherever you are.

I interviewed two seasoned SMV winemakers, Norman Beko (Cottonwood Canyon Winery) and Wes Hagen (J. Wilkes Wines), and we discussed everything from what makes the SMV a special region for growing grapes, to how visitors can tour Santa Barbara County Wine Country during the Coronavirus pandemic. These winemakers and their teams are working hard to keep the wine culture alive and available.

What Makes the Santa Maria Wine Country Unique?

Being located near the coast and between both east/west and north/south mountains, the climate stays remarkably cool for being a central/southern California area. When it’s blazing hot in Los Angeles, it’s nice and cool in the SMV. When it’s cold and foggy up in San Francisco, it’s warm and pleasant down here. This is the ideal climate for growing chardonnay and pinot noir grapes. Nearly 80% of the wine grown in Santa Barbara County is chardonnay or pinot.

Full Story at 2TravelDads

Hiking Palm Springs, California – 2TravelDads

Hiking Palm Springs - 2TravelDads

We love to find places that everybody talks about but nobody knows the cool stuff you can do there.  One such place is Palm Springs, California.  I mean, everybody goes there for a nice weekend or a relaxing vacation, but besides golf, gay bars and swimming pools, what is there?  The ACTUAL Palm Springs!! Agua Caliente Indian Canyons is the reason for the name, and hiking here is awesome!

Have you been to Palm Springs and done the oasis hikes at Indian Canyons or out at the Coachella Preserve and know what we’re talking about?  Been thinking about a visit maybe but didn’t know what to do beyond golf and shopping?  Well, let us give you some motivation to make a weekend trip out of it or at least get you away from the pool for a few hours – try hiking Palm Springs!

Visiting Palm Springs and the Indian Canyons

A two hour drive from Los Angeles, Orange County or San Diego, PS lies to the east of the coastal cities.  You’ll have to pass through Riverside or Ontario, so plan for city traffic on your drive… or you can just take a short flight from any of the Southern California airports.  Actually, most West Coast airports have direct flights into town.

Once you’re in town, drive right through to the end and follow the signs for Agua Caliente Indian Canyons. After about ten minutes you’ll be at the park entrance. Pay your fee and pick where you’d like to begin, then enjoy hiking Palm Springs and all its glory.

Full Story at 2TravelDads

Palm Springs Gay Travel Resources

Cabrillo National Monument – 2 Travel Dads

Cabrillo National Monument - 2 Travel Dads

San Diego, California is such a popular west coast destination. We all love to head to SoCal for the nearly guaranteed sunshine and beaches where you can actually swim. And the coastal vibe is so different, with bare feet everywhere and flowers blooming on the bluffs year round. Cabrillo National Monument is a great place to experience that great SoCal feeling.

Cabrillo National Monument is part of the National Parks system (#FindYourPark) and it’s perfectly located for an awesome afternoon during a San Diego visit. Planning a day out at Cabrillo includes everything from lighthouses to tide pools, picnics to National Park Passport stamps. Yep, our family has favorite activities and Southern California is the perfect spot to do all of them!

Finding the Cabrillo National Monument

A lot of people visiting San Diego are going to be playing tourist in the Gaslamp District or being fancy and lounging on Coronado Island, but there’s so much more to San Diego. The beach neighborhoods are awesome! Starting at the north is La Jolla (it’s own city) with its cove full of seals, then working the way down is Hermosa and the bluffs, and then it’s the beaches!

Full Story at 2Travel Dads

San Diego Gay Travel Resources

The Santa Monica Pier on a Perfect Afternoon – 2TravelDads

The Santa Monica Pier on a Perfect Afternoon - 2TravelDads

Can you think of anything that is more Southern California than visiting the Santa Monica Pier? I don’t think we could name a single thing. Well, maybe a day in San Diego on the Beach surfing… But no, the Pier. Even though a day at the Santa Monica Pier seems like the most touristy and convoluted Los Angeles travel plan you can ever think of it’s actually well worth your time and a visit to LA isn’t complete without some beach time.

Yes, there are so many wonderful free things to do in the Los Angeles area and if you’re going to venture to the beach for the purpose of swimming and pretending to be from SoCal you might pick a different beach, like Manhattan Beach, but the Santa Monica Pier end beach are an ideal, easy to access destination and are just downright iconic.

Finding the Santa Monica Pier

When you ponder life in the West and the history of North America there are few things that pop out: the California Gold Rush, old west towns and cowboys, and then Route 66 and all of the struggles and stories in vintage history that are a part of it. The Santa Monica Pier is the very end of Route 66 (check out the Planet D for their Route 66 trip). As you walk out onto the pier you see the sign that calls it out.

The Santa Monica Pier is also directly next to the Pacific Coast Highway, also known as the PCH. The Pacific Coast Highway is a fantastic California road trip route.

By Chris and Rob – Full Story at the 2TravelDads

Greater L.A. Gay Travel Resources

Joshua Tree Day Trip – 2TravelDads

Joshua Tree Day Trip - 2TravelDads

Visiting Joshua Tree National Park is a great addition to a vacation to Palm Springs or Southern California in general. It’s a very unique National Park and visiting is a very different experience compared with Yellowstone or Yosemite. I’d sooner relate it to visiting the Everglades than any other Park. There are tons of things to do on a Joshua Tree day trip, but you need to know what to do before you just show up.

Before arriving at Joshua Tree we’d done some research around hiking and unique features of the park. We didn’t fully understand the layout though and had to adjust our plans to be able to experience the best of a Joshua Tree day trip. The following guide should help you plan, prep and have an awesome time exploring this fascinating place.

WHAT IS A JOSHUA TREE?

So glad you asked. A Joshua Tree is a member of the yucca or lily tree family. It’s like a giant succulent that grows only in hot, arid climates. They are very rare outside of the deserts of the American Southwest (there’s a small grove in Mexico), but their yucca cousins can be found in deserts all around the world.

The Joshua tree is a rough, pokey plant. It doesn’t get very big, unlike the Sequoias or Redwoods, and it’s rarely grows straight up. Joshua Trees are shaped like Dr. Seuss trees and look a lot like the silhouette of a person jumping out to scare you. They really cool. They don’t bloom every year, but when they do it is amazing and since it’s so rare, if you get the chance to visit when they’re blooming, you’ll be one of the few people on Earth that experience it.

By Rob Taylor – Full Story at 2TravelDads

California’s Southerm Deserts Gay Travel Resources

 

The Amazing Mojave Preserve – Free Wheel Drive

Mojave Reserve

We had only planned on spending one night in the Mojave Preserve on our way to Death Valley, but we were blown away at how cool this place is so we decided to stay for three days and skip Death Valley. We hadn’t done any research on this place, so we didn’t have a clue. Luckily Camrin just happened to see a photo on Instagram from the preserve and we realized there might be something to this place.

We camped in an amazing spot surrounded by the highest concentration of Joshua Trees in the world and those cool boulder formations. We practically had the place to ourselves. The sunsets were amazing, we hiked through a slot canyon, and took time to enjoy our surroundings.

We felt so lucky to stop here. We almost passed it up so its a lesson to us to do more research on those off the radar places.

By Laura Dierbeck – Full Story at Free Wheel Drive

California Southern Deserts Gay Travel Resources

Palm Springs Private Home – Palm Springs, California

Palm Springs Private Home

Periodically we’ll feature one of our properties here to let our readers know about some great gay friendly places to stay:

Palm Springs Private Home is located on a quiet cul de sac.

It has two bedrooms, master has a king with ensuite, and the second has a queen bed. There is a study with pull out queen sofa complete with fax and copy machine and house wide wifi and free calling long distance Canada and USA.

The living room has a smart tv with satellite service. The dining room seats 8. The kitchen is completely set up for home dining.

The patio set seats 4 and has a gas bbq. The salt water pool also has a spa. There is an adjoining casita with two bedrooms and two bathrooms but we would like to rent the house on its own.

If you’re looking for a great place to stay in Palm Springs, visit us at the Palm Springs Private Home.

See the PROPERTY Expanded Listing on Purple Roofs Here

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