Continuing along Day 1 of our 3-Day San Francisco, Hearst Castle, Yosemite Tour!After the Travelers4Fun team wrapped up lunch in Solvang, CA, we were off to our next stop: Hearst Castle. Nestled atop a hill North of San Luis Obispo – about a two hour drive from Solvang – we arrived mid-afternoon. The Hearst Castle Tour is optional, and at $25 I would highly recommend it for anyone who loves art, history, architecture, or old Hollywood glamour. Many of the tapestries, paintings, sculptures, and mosaics are one-of-a-kind, and some pieces date all the way back to the 3rd century! A little history: Hearst Castle took just under three decades (28 years, to be exact) to complete. William Randolph Hearst worked closely with architect Julia Morgan to design a Spanish Revival-inspired estate. As a child, Hearst traveled through Europe with his mother, and inspiration from his tra   » Read More

Who knew that Washington D.C. had so many monuments and memorials! By the end of our trip I was nicknaming D.C. the memorial amusement park.  The Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial are just some of the amazing sites you can check out while in DC.  I was amazed to see just how much we fit into this day tour of D.C.  Not only did we see the memorials but we went into the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, one of the most renowned museums in the U.S! I’ve been obsessed with National Geographic since I was younger, and the Smithsonian is right up there in the ranks.  There are about a bazillion (19 to be exact) different Smithsonian museums in DC, each with their own area of expertise.  Some of these include the National  Portrait Gallery, Postal Museum, and an Air and Space Museum.   » Read More

Twenty-eight oak trees line the awe-inspiring driveway of the decadent Oak Alley Plantation in New Orleans, Louisiana. These were the reason why Jacques Joseph Roman chose this plantation to woo his wife into moving from the hustle and bustle of the French Quarter and into the countryside. Marie used the plantation as a social gathering point for all of her city friends and entertained guests on their own country retreats. The plantation was even the site of many popular films like Interview With a Vampire and Primary Colors.   The plantation cultivated sugar cane and its owners became one of the richest families in the South.  Since then Oak Alley Plantation has become an icon of New Orleans and its rich history has attracted people all over the world to visit, get married, and have special events.   Our tour began with a pickup point along the Mississippi Rive   » Read More

Day 1 of our 3-Day San Francisco, Hearst Castle, Yosemite Tour!<br/>The bus picked us up from LA, and then the Travelers4Fun Team was off! First stop: Solvang, a Danish village nestled about an hour north of Santa Barbara. A sunny spring day was a perfect backdrop for the colorful red, green, and yellow buildings and charming, wood-thatched wind mills. Once off the bus our tour group quickly dispersed, each of us following our noses toward a medley of delicious scents coming from all directions. From freshly-baked, authentic Danish pastries, to chocolates made on the premises, to home-made ice cream shops on every corner, Solvang was a sugar-lover’s dream. <br/><br/>I personally couldn’t resist Ingeborg’s Handmade Danish Chocolates, their display of giant chocolate Easter bunnies was too enticing to pass up. Two friendly chocolate-makers were kind enou   » Read More

Yosemite was one of our favorite family vacation destinations, so I was excited to revisit the beautiful park after a decade had passed. Our tour group got an early (very, very early) start to our day, and made it to Yosemite by 9 am. March turned out to be the perfect time of year to visit the Yosemite, because the waterfalls were flowing at maximum force as the snow started melting heading into the warmer months. Our first stop gave us perfect views of El Capitan. At 3,000 feet from base to summit, El Capitan is one of the largest granite monoliths (mountain consisting of a single massive rock) in the world and a favorite challenge for rock climbers from around the globe. The next stop was Yosemite Falls, the highest waterfall in North America. Our group made the short easy hike to the base of the falls where we got up-close views of the water freely flowing over a tall cliff through m   » Read More