California
September 2018
The year before, my mom and I gifted my dad tickets (along with tickets for ourselves) to Nurtured By Nature in California. This organization allows you to interact with various animals, with otters being the most popular. You not only get to play with otters on land but also have the opportunity to swim with them. My dad, an otter enthusiast, was super excited (and, I admit, so was I). For several months, we planned an action-packed 10-day trip in September, visiting several beautiful cities and parks in California, all centered around the otter excursion.
I have so much to share with you! But first, you can check out the video below for a quick (well, 16-minute long) summary of our trip.
First, we land in
San Francisco
As soon as we landed, we took a Lyft to our hotel, the Hilton San Francisco Financial District, to unpack. The room (like most of our accommodations during this trip) was small, but we didn’t mind since we weren’t planning to spend much time there, so the size didn’t matter to us.
The first item on our to-do list was to head over to the Ferry Building for lunch at Hog Island Oyster Co. We ordered Clam Chowder, Grilled Chipotle Bourbon Oysters, and Halibut—it was all so delicious. It was a light meal for the three of us. Afterwards, we strolled through the Ferry Building and explored some other stops with tasty treats.
After lunch, we took another Lyft to a bike shop and rented some bicycles. We rode across the Golden Gate Bridge, where we were greeted by Karl The Fog. As we continued on, soaking in the stunning views, we made our way to Sausalito, where we boarded a ferry that took us back to San Francisco.
Day two in San Francisco was packed with adventure. We returned to the Ferry Building and stumbled upon a huge farmers market where we grabbed lunch. After that, we took a trolley to check out Lombard Street, then picked up some sandwiches and headed to Alamo Square Park. I had to take a moment to admire the 'Painted Ladies' while singing, 🎶"Everywhere you look, everywhere you go. There's a heart (There's a heart), a hand to hold onto..." 🎶
On day three, we woke up at 6 AM and quickly got ourselves out the door. We took a taxi to the airport, picked up a rental car, and started our approximately five-hour drive to Yosemite National Park.
Yosemite
Pronounced 'yoh-sem-i-tee,' the park was absolutely breathtaking. I believe this was my first time experiencing a magnificent national park like this one. The views, the towering mountains, and the fresh, earthy scents were transformative.
We chose to stay at what is now called the Wawona Hotel, formerly known as the Big Tree Lodge. After checking in, we headed to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias and let me tell you, it was incredible.
On day four, it was time to explore Yosemite Valley! From the Wawona Hotel, we drove into the valley and checked in at the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center for our first activity: the Glacier Point Tour. Everywhere I looked, there was a breathtaking view.
After hiking several trails, we ended our day at The Ahwahnee. The hotel's interior is famous for inspiring the interior design of the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, which happens to be my favorite horror film. Walking through the hotel sent shivers down my spine.
On day five we made our way to
Los Angeles
We arrived in Los Angeles in the late afternoon and headed to the Griffith Observatory to catch the beautiful sunset and get a glimpse of the moon.
We could hardly sleep that night because the next day was the highly anticipated main event.
Nurtured by Nature
Nurtured By Nature is a nonprofit organization located in Valley Center, California, about a two-hour drive from Los Angeles. The organization partners with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and offers paid Otter Swim Encounters to the public. Open slots become available a year in advance and fill up quickly. If you're an animal lover looking to support a great organization, this experience is definitely worth the investment.
The Otter Swim Encounter is a three-hour group experience with a maximum of eight participants, which is fantastic. You'll have the chance to meet, feed, and learn about seven different animal species. The highlight, of course, is playing with the otters both on land and in the pool.
Pro tip:
1: Make sure to eat before you arrive. They offer small snacks and water, but if you don’t have a meal beforehand, you might find yourself feeling hangry by the end of the session. And remember, this place isn’t exactly next door to an In-N-Out Burger.
2: Dress in a sweatshirt or a zip-up hoodie. Otters love to go in and out of large clothing and particularly enjoy playing with hoodie strings. For the pool, wear a large t-shirt over your swimsuit.
After our fantastic playtime with so many amazing animals and enjoying a quick lunch, we drove back to our hotel in Los Angeles. Since our hotel was located right next to Universal Studios, we walked over to grab some dinner. Afterwards, we packed our bags in preparation for our final destination.
Catalina Island
From our hotel in Los Angeles, we drove to LAX to return our rental car and then took a taxi to San Pedro, where we boarded the Catalina Express. The ferry ride wasn't too long. Whenever I get on ferries or any kind of boat, I worry about motion sickness, but this ride wasn't too wild, and we were lucky enough to see a large family of dolphins swimming alongside us.
Upon arriving in Avalon, we checked into our hotel, Vista Del Mar. I absolutely loved the hallway, which was filled with beautiful plants—exactly how I envision my apartment looking. They offered free breakfast and freshly baked cookies in the evenings. The hotel is conveniently located right across from the beach, so we grabbed some beach chairs from our room, settled down on the sand, and soaked up some vitamin D. Just a reminder: this was in September. The weather was lovely but a bit too chilly for a dip in the ocean, so I was perfectly content lounging on the beach with my Michelada.
Getting around the island is quite easy. When we first arrived, we rented a golf cart, but we found that renting bikes was more fun and made it easier to navigate the streets.
Somehow, we perfectly timed our arrival in Catalina to coincide with the Catalina Wine Mixer weekend. On our second night, we managed to get tickets to the opening night event, which featured food, drinks, a screening of Step Brothers, and a beach party with a DJ. It was an amazing experience!
On our last day, we enjoyed breakfast, took the ferry back to Los Angeles, then caught a taxi to LAX for our flight home.
Our days were filled with activities, making our weeklong vacation feel much longer. It was such a fun trip, and I can't wait to go back—maybe next time, I'll spend more time in Yosemite.
