Synonymous with great surf for decades, Newport Beach, on California’s sunny coastline, is no one trick pony. Newport Beach’s unique culture and climate can probably be chalked up to the juxtaposition of the luxury homes, storefronts and restaurants that are occupied and frequented by sun-kissed beach bums. I like to think of it as sand between your toes chic.
Located in the heart of Orange County’s beachfront between Huntington Beach (to the North) and Laguna Beach (to the South), Newport Beach is home to a handfull of the most beautiful beaches in the state, and arguably, the world.Of Endless Summer fame, The Wedge is one of the best surf breaks, thanks in part to the improvements (done in the 1930′s) to the rock jetty on the North end of Newport’s harbor. South swells reflect off the jetty creating a second wave, which meets up with the following wave of the set and forms a peak. This series of events is the perfect recipe for creating waves that are often several feet larger than waves at other south facing beaches in Newport on any given day.
Newport Beach Rental Beach Houses
Newport Beach offers mostly outdoor shopping in little boutique stores but is also home to the shopping Mecca known as Fashion Island. Fashion Island is an outdoor shopping mall in the heart of Newport Beach where shop-a-holics go to see and be seen. With department stores such as Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, and Macys, many appreciate the fact that Fashion Island is also welcoming of your furry friends.
Back on the mainland other attractions include Pelican Hill Golf Club, a luxurious 36-hole championship golf course, that is said to rival Pebble Beach, and, The Orange County Museum of Art, a premier visual arts museum.
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Shore offers an exceptional dining experience that caters to every taste. You can choose from a wide variety of options including a simple Hawaiian lunch, fresh, indigenous shrimp, casual sandwich shops, and exquisite, upscale restaurants of every cuisine. In addition, shopping is superb in the island as you can purchase quintessential and exclusive Hawaiian items such as home furnishings, gems, pearls, wonderful souvenirs, and clothing. At Oahu’s North Shore, you are bound to have an outstanding vacation experience! You are warmly welcome to stay at a beach house in one of the communities, such as Waialua, and enjoy the activities and beauty of this paradisiacal island. 
I need to travel. I would rather sacrifice in other areas so that I can travel. I am constantly looking for somewhere or someway that I can travel, that doesn’t require me getting a third credit card. If I hear of someone who just went on a great vacation, I pick their brain and then research the area, the beaches, whatever I can find. If there is a shred of doubt in my mind weather or not I can afford the trip, I usually start researching flights immediately. I have friends who just got back from their honeymoon in Croatia, so of course I researched Europe and now I want to go!
The 2004 hit movie Sideways did wonders for California’s wine industry, showing that the long fêted Napa Valley is not the only California wine region worthy of acclaim. With almost 200 wineries between San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles there is a tasting atmosphere and tasty vintage to appease every palate. 
The Cuesta Grade, separates San Luis Obispo into “north county” and “south county”, making it a little less daunting to tasters wanting to make a dent in the vast array of tasting rooms in the county, allowing them to conquer one area at a time. North of the grade, in Paso Robles, are several wineries and tasting rooms, all located in “West Paso” as the local’s refer to it – meaning west of HWY 101. Some of the most popular include Tablas Creek Vineyard, Justin Winery, Eberle Winery, and Opolo Vineyards. West Paso is known for its rolling hills, meandering roads and sun-filtering oak trees. A whole other crop of wineries can be found in East Paso. East of the 101 tends to have more level parcels with the majority of the wineries dotted along or just off of HWY 46. This includes Vina Robles, Martin & Weyrich Winery, and the notorious Tobin James Cellars.
San Luis Obispo proper is located at the base of the Cuesta Grade. Cooler temperatures (sometimes by as much as 10 degrees on a summer day) alter the chemistry of the product and make for a different tasting experience. Many of the wineries and vineyards of San Luis Obispo boarder Edna Valley, which runs east to west and is paralleled by the Santa Lucia Mountains. The location of Lake Lopez to the south and Islay Hill to the north helps to keep the valley cool with breezes also rolling in off of the Pacific Ocean. Edna Valley Vineyards, with its picturesque panoramic views of rolling vineyards from its tasting room, along with Meredian Vineyards, Baileyana Winery, Claiborne & Churchill Vintners, and a host of others, can be found nestled among the vibrant fields of San Luis Obispo’s grapevines.
The second largest island in the Galapagos archipelago is the island of Santa Cruz, which might be called the focal point of Galapagos’ Tourism. 
There is no shortage of entertainment in Santa Cruz – visitors can go mountain biking, kayaking, scuba diving, horseback riding, surfing, or take a jeep tour on land or a glass bottom boat tour on the ocean. If you need a break, have a drink at an outdoor bar in Puerto Ayora.
“I met up with a blue-footed booby standing smack in the middle of the footpath. It made no offer to step aside and let me pass. Looking into its birdy eye, I saw . . . nothing at all. No fear, but also no aggression. No anxiety, affection, hope, recognition. Its indifference was profound, as if I were invisible, although I’d been told that if I did step too close it might jab at me with its beak. This strange fearlessness can’t be explained by any local history of kindness on the part of man. Even Darwin killed birds and ate tortoises. The blue-footed booby wasn’t afraid of me, but the name for this is not tameness. It’s genetic innocence. Since the animals evolved in the absence of man, their innocence exists at a molecular level. I saw it again in the eye of an albatross just before it turned to begin its mating dance; I saw it in the stare of a sea lion nursing her pup on the beach. The animals felt nothing for people one way or the other, yet all around them were people, including me, in love with the animals.”
Sidenote – because of the flourishing animal life on the Islands, it is the general assumption that the plant life is just as abundant. The Galapagos is not a lush Gilligan’s Island type place. The Islands tend to me more barren and rocky and, in some areas, are devoid of vegetation entirely, mostly due to the recent volcanic activity.
Morro de Sao Paulo (St. Paul’s Hill) is just about as good as it gets when it comes to a laid back vacation destination. And while the island is not far from easy-to-get-to locations like Salvador, the small town has no cars and a much slower-paced lifestyle despite its popular nightlife.
The Northeast coast of Brazil is famous for its 
However, Second Beach is more than a party – one of Brazil’s most famous cultural arts, Capoeira, is preformed here every evening. With the setting sun as the backdrop for this acrobatic martial art, you will not want to miss this! Ask around for performance locations or simply follow the crowd!
Africa: African Potato Stew & Ugali – native to Kenya
Ugali Ingredients:
Asia: Tom Ka Gai Soup – native to Thailand
Founded in 2004 by a trio of MRL Ventures guys based out of San Francisco, Yelp has grown into one of the leading search and user review sites in the world. 
Roatan is a scuba diviers paradise. Located off of the North Coast of Honduras, 
If you’ve never been to Roatan, you can plan on using your US dollars rather than the local lempiras as US currency is accapted, even welcomed, nearly everywhere. Do keep an eye out for favorable conversion rates and cash in if and when it makes sense. Also, expect to see a heavy military presence. There is almost guaranteed to be an AK-47 wielding guard at the enterence to most establsihments – they keep a low profile and it is the general consensus that Honduras is safer for locals and tourists alike since the new government has implemented this military presence.
If you’ve never been wreck diving, “El Aguila” is an amazing sight – a 210′ cargo boat perfectly sunk in 100 feet of water on a sandy bottom full of Deep Garden Eels. Divers can descend onto open large compartments where you can surprise a number of fish in their homes! The wreck runs alongside a wall where many choose to finish off their dive among the shallow water tropical fish.
