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Featured stories from Southern California Life Magazine

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in Destinations & Landmarks, Featured

Savoring San Juan CapistranoFeatured

San Juan Capistrano is blessed with ideal Southern California weather year-round. Originally tribal land occupied by the peace-loving Acjachemen Indians, the Capistrano Valley in Orange County has long been home to communities that love to celebrate the land, its culture and heritage. Hardly a month passes without one event or another marking the calendars of its residents and visitors near and far. As a historic destination and a charming community, a visit to San Juan Capistrano is a day of enrichment on many levels.

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Featured
in Featured, Food & Drinks, Things To Do

2ND & PCHFeatured

2ND & PCH, Long Beach’s premier coastal retail, dining, and lifestyle center welcomes the community back safely to stay, shop, dine, and relax. The open-air center offers a diverse selection of retailers, dining, boutique fitness, lifestyle services and outdoor promenade experiences. “We are thrilled to invite the community back for outdoor dining and to enjoy our common area amenities responsibly,” said Samantha Lopez, General Manager of 2ND & PCH. “Our priority continues to be providing a safe and welcoming environment for the community, our businesses and all visitors to enjoy.”  Restaurants currently open for outdoor dining include: Hungry Angelina, Noble Bird Rotisserie, Ola Mexican Kitchen, Otosan Sushi, Shake Shack, The Italian Homemade Company, and Urban Plates. Ample Hills Creamery, Boba Guys, Caffe Luxxe, Tuesday’s Sweet Shoppe, and Whole Foods Market are also open and serving the community. Boutique fitness studios BeFit Modern Pilates and BoxHaus continue to host outdoor classes providing the community with safe open-air options to meet their active wellness goals. For a high-intensity workout at home, Barry’s Bootcamp is providing 45-minute virtual workout classes, Hawt Yoga is offering Zoom streaming classes and Peloton offers online classes for members.  Seaport Way remains closed to vehicular traffic to offer…

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in Featured, Sports & Adventures

Greater Palm Springs CVB Launches Trailicious Pass For Hiking & DiningFeatured

The Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), the official destination marketing organization for the Coachella Valley, has launched the new Trailicious Pass, a free program that all visitors and locals can sign up for.  With the Trailicious Pass, locals and visitors can enjoy hikes and bites and win prizes throughout Greater Palm Springs. Users can choose from 30 trails via the Trailicious pass, filtered by experience level or location, as well as receive suggestions for nearby things to do like outdoor art. Additionally, the pass features discounts and specials from a variety of Greater Palm Springs restaurants for take-out and alfresco dining. Users can check in while on their hike or redeem one of the special restaurant deals featured on the pass for a chance to win a $50 gift card from a Greater Palm Springs eatery. With hundreds of miles of hiking, biking and horseback riding paths, Greater Palm Springs is a haven for hungry thrill-seekers who can pick up a snack, pack a takeout picnic or refuel after hiking by dining alfresco on one of our perfect patios.  “We are thrilled to be launching the Trailicious Pass to encourage visitors to experience our wide open spaces…

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in Featured, Pets & Wildlife, Sports & Adventures, Things To Do

Take To The Great Outdoors With Winter Whale Watching and Excursions To Channel Islands National ParkFeatured

Island Packers, the official boat concessionaire to Channel Islands National Park, with daily departures to the Channel Islands from Ventura Harbor Village, has now re-opened!  www.islandpackers.com.  A winter Whale Watch is a perfect way to gather with family and friends to view Pacific Gray whales migrating through the Santa Barbara Channel from their feeding grounds in Alaska to their breeding grounds in Baja. Pacific Gray Whales are normally sighted in the National Marine Sanctuary near Anacapa and Santa Cruz Island beginning in late December and extending through middle of April 14, 2021. This mammoth migration of over 20,000 whales and 6,000 miles twice a year remains a major attraction in Southern California.  Sightings of the southern migration began in December for Pacific Gray Whales. Island Packers has also witnessed humpback whales, fin whales, and occasionally orcas. Common dolphin that frolic with the boat and ride the bow can be enjoyed by passengers year-round. For our most recent sightings visit www.islandpackers.com or find us on Twitter. The half-day Winter Whale Watch Cruise provides stunning views of the Ventura coastline or the Channel Islands; depending on where the whales may be sighted.  Winter Whale Watch excursions are available now thru mid-April from Ventura and/ or Channel Islands Harbor departing at 9:30 a.m. and/or 1:30 p.m.  Rates for half-day trips are $40 for adults, $36 for…

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in Featured, Sports & Adventures

It’s a New Day for Downtown L.A.Featured

Most tourists head to cities to enjoy their fine hotels, restaurants, shopping, and activities. Not so with Downtown Los Angeles … until recently. It was a place where people worked and left it pretty much shuttered at 5 pm.  Happy Hours, movie nights and home were in the valleys, Inland Empire, Westside and coastal cities. And then the renaissance began. Los Angeles was founded in September 1781 when 44 settlers established El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles—The Town of the Queen of Angels, which a century later, had grown into the largest town in California. With the arrival of the railroads and land boom of the 1880s, the population of 11,000 exploded to 97,000.  Los Angeles was here to stay. Growth of Downtown continued until 1957 when the building boom moved to outlying areas creating masses of shopping malls, business centers, entertainment complexes, and residential neighborhoods.  The city went into decline, and it wasn’t until the 1990s that the renaissance began. A vibrant new energy in economic and social environments created by millennials and other professionals began building a new social and economic dynamic in the heart of the city. With the resurgence came an influx of new…

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in Featured, Sports & Adventures, Things To Do

Best Places to Do Water SportsFeatured

Flowers are blooming, trees are filled with new leaves, and the days are longer and warm which means summer is almost here. It’s time to find stop binge-watching the latest series and make more space for outdoor activities. Southern California is known for its blue skies and golden sands, but there’s nothing more exciting than doing water sports on its emerald waters. Water sports are the perfect way to be active and stay cool. If you love being in the water but are tired of your backyard swimming pool, SoCal has limitless options. These water activities are for beginners, experts and those just looking to have a fun, memorable time. So put on your swimsuits and grab your friends and families. Huntington Beach Surf Lessons 19881 Brookurst St., Suite C156 Huntington Beach 92646 949.558.2075 huntingtonbeachsurfinglessons.com If you’ve always wanted to surf but never learned how, Huntington Beach offers a wide range of lessons. Not only do they encourage children to get involved; they have something for all ages. Huntington Beach Surfing Lessons include private, semi-private, mini groups of three,  groups of four people, and larger groups for birthday parties. Expert surf instructors make it their mission to have everyone stand…

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