Staycations California

Here is another adventure for a staycation weekend. It’s called Jet Lev or jet packing. We found it on Groupon of course and decided to try the one in Newport Beach.

Three of us set out, one guy and two woman to try this exciting ride that looked so fun on paper. As we were driving up to Newport Harbor from Oceanside, we were imagining what it would be like to be suspended 30 feet in the air as if we were flying.

It seemed like bliss.

30 feet is as high as the jet pack would go, although we soon discovered that there is a huge learning curve and only the guy in our group actually made it over 2″ from the water surface. I thought that they had control of it and I was thinking how happy I would be as they floated me above the water with a birds eye view of the magnificent Newport harbor.

We soon discovered that we actually handled the controls and that they were very touchy. One small jerk and down you go. The guy in our group went first and after many tries was able to do a bunch of flights with his best run maybe 7′ out of the water.

Continue reading “Jet Pack Adventure”

Part of staycationscalifornia is not only to give you ideas of places to see but also activities to do. See our list of things we have experienced by clicking on the ‘About’ button above. We scout Groupons, and deals on the web to find unique and fun things to do.etc.

Recently we came across the ‘Nascar Adventure” .

You get to ride in an actual NASCAR auto and drive with an experienced driver around the track at high speeds.

The Auto Club Speedway is a two mile low-banked, Oval shaped super speedway in Fontana California and hosts NASCAR annually.

There are other cars on the track although they only add to the excitement and realism of the adventure. You can get another package that lets you drive the cars yourself,  however, I felt with an experienced driver that we would go faster and that we did.

Part of the experience is getting dressed up in a racing suit and helmet, although only the helmet is mandatory.

Continue reading “Nascar Ridealong”

Catalina Island
The adventure to Catalina Island begins with the boat trip that ranges in length of time depending where you depart.

Boat trips are available from most of the harbors in Southern California so we decided to leave from Dana Point Harbor for the hour and a half trip across the Pacific.

The newer and larger boats get you there a lot faster these days and most of the time it is smooth sailing which helps to keep the sea sickness at a minimum.  However, just to be sure we loaded up on the Dramamine.

About 30 minutes out of port, we were treated to a visit from a pod of dolphins about 100 strong. A few were jumping the wakes of the boat so the Captain slowed us down to watch them frolic for a few minutes.

On a typical cloudy morning in California we couldn’t see Catalina from the shore so it was a thrill when we first spotted land as the sun starting peek out of the haze.  On a clear day you can see Catalina from most coastal cities  in Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties.

Continue reading “Catalina Island”

Dana Point is a city located in southern Orange County  with a population of about 33,000 as of the 2010 census.    Besides being one of few harbors along the Orange County coast, it is also a popular surfing destination with Doheny State Park at the south side of the harbor jetties.

Now a thriving harbor with a vast array of boats, it also contains a replica of the tall ship the Pilgrim.

Continue reading “Dana Point Harbor”

Oceanside Pier
One of the longest piers in California, Oceanside Pier spams 1,954 feet.  It is located at the end of Pier Way Street in Oceanside, California.  This wooden pier was built in 1888 but suffered damage from a storm in 1890.

Rebuilt in 1893 it still stands strong in the Pacific and is host to hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.  I think 100,000 of them were on the pier on January 1st, 2014 when the pier treated us to a great sunset.

It was decorated nicely for the holidays 2013. Two first stars for the night. Continue reading “Piers Part 2. Oceanside Pier 2014”