Gaumer's Jewelry & Museum Red Bluff - If you are ever in Red Bluff, CA be sure to visit Gaumer's a wonderful gem/mineral store and museum. This is a family owned "rock shop"; the Gaumer's have been interested in rocks and minerals for 4 generations. Photos hang on the wall in the museum of their family during various rock hounding trips. Their passion for rocks is clearly evident once you walk in the store. Their shop is conveniently located … [Read more...]
Xcalak, Mexico – Tierra Maya Lodge
Mentioned as one of the top ten places to stay in Mexico by the Lonely Planet Travel Guide. Hotel Tierra Maya opened in December of 1998; the name of the property was later renamed to Tierra Maya Lodge (contact information here). This is a beautiful self-contained fishing resort not yet discovered by the droves of people that frequent more popular regions of northern Yucatan. As their brochure states, "a vacation here is a union of luxury and … [Read more...]
Catalina, CA – Transportation
There are several ways to reach Catalina from the mainland including ferry, helicopter and private boat or plane. While Catalina has one airport (Airport in the Sky), this airport is not setup for commercial service. There are currently four mainland ports serviced by ferry to Avalon: San Pedro, Long Beach, Newport Beach and Dana Point Catalina Express is the primary shuttle ferry operating out of three locations: Long Beach (the … [Read more...]
Catalina, CA – Avalon
Avalon is the urban center of Catalina. It is a mix of day trippers, at times - cruise ship passengers and locals. The town is centered around the beautiful waterfront and for good reason - most passengers arrive here and it is a visually stunning part of town that at times almost looks European. The town spreads out into the surrounding hills - featuring older and often colorful wooden buildings. Brightly colored flowering flowing … [Read more...]
Catalina, CA – The Casino, Avalon
The casino is one of Avalon's most recognizable and famous landmarks. It sits on a point at the edge of the harbor on on the way to the Descanso Beach Club. It is not a casino as in gambling but rather refers to an Italian term as a 'place of gathering'. Two tiny rock hills, called Sugarloaf originally stood on this site - the larger one was removed to make way for the original casino and later the second one was also removed as it hindered … [Read more...]
Catalina, CA – Scuba Diving
Catalina has some incredible diving opportunities ranging from beginning to advanced. The Catalina Dive Park is an excellent area to dive or to learn diving. This park is located out on the small point almost at the base of the Casino. You can access the water via a walkway with slippery steps (very slippery!) that lead down to the water. This dive park is enclosed with floating buoys connected to each other by rope. Be careful not to leave the … [Read more...]
Catalina, CA – Lodging
Lodging on Catalina varies in price depending on the time of year you visit the island. High season typically runs April through October. November through March sees less visitors although the weather can still be quite nice during these 'winter' months. You can often find greatly reduced prices during January and February - especially mid week. Most visitor's to the island stay in Avalon - the town boats a variety of boutique lodging … [Read more...]
Catalina, CA – Restaurants
Avalon has a diversity of restaurants - most overlooking the bay or within several blocks of the water. The following are select restaurants in Avalon. As with hotels, the prices for food can be significantly lower during the off/winter season. Prices subject to change without notice. Unless otherwise noted all phone numbers are in the 310 area code Avalon Grille is located in the central part of Avalon overlooking the … [Read more...]
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania – What to Pack
Here Dave details what he packed for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. One may bring other items not listed here, or feel it unnecessary to pack some of the items mentioned below. This list and related information is provided as a reference only. For a climb like this one, you will need waterproof gear, and warm gear. If you already do not have any of the below items you will want to purchasing these items. Waterproof gear is a must. This … [Read more...]
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania – The Climb
Mountain Madness guides its clients up Kilimanjaro on the Shira Plateau or the Fisher route. The route Dave chose had about 80 climbers from various companies. To put this into perspective the other side of the mountain (which included the other routes) had 2000 people attempting the summit. Usually the client/guide-porter-cooks ratio is about 4 to 1. This means that for 2000 clients there were 8000 guides, cooks and porters. In summary, there … [Read more...]
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