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🌳 Yosemite Warning, New Cruises & Abu Dhabi’s Guggenheim
Published 12 days ago • 7 min read
The Places Where We Go - Travel Planning Briefing August 10, 2026
Happy National Lazy Day from the USA, a day that gives us permission to relax and kick back. And that suits us especially well today after logging in a 35-mile walk this weekend from Santa Barbara to Ventura, California.
We completed the Mission to Mission Pilgrimage Walk for a 5th consecutive year. It is hard. Perhaps when registration opens up around April each year, the memory of the struggle has worn off, and we sign up again. In any event, we met a number of pilgrims on this year's trip who told us they learned about the walk from our prior Serra Pilgrimage videos.
A number of pilgrims whom we met also told us about their experiences on the Camino de Santiago. While this has been on our bucket list for many years, we've never walked the route, as we had the full route in mind, which starts from France and requires just over 30 days. Well, the people we met inspired us to consider one of the shorter options, which are still official Camino de Santiago experiences. As we know, we have a limited window (age is creeping up on us) to do something like this, so we'll be exploring the possibility of walking the Camino Portugués route next June.
This year, the California Mission Trail is officially recognized by the Camino de Santiago. We'll have more information about this in upcoming videos and on our website. We finished our walk yesterday and received stamps in our California Camino Passport Book plus an official certificate of distance walked. We're told that when we take this to Spain next year, we'll get Camino de Santiago credentials that include credit for the miles walked this past weekend, and our route will show the starting point as Mission Santa Barbara and the ending point as the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
Life Update
Our five grandkids have both parents as teachers, so during school season, we have our hands full watching the littles, including school drop-offs and pickups, transport to dance class, etc., from 7 am to 5 pm during the week. High school for our daughter (a biology teacher) begins this week, while the older littles start school next Wednesday. Before we get into full school mode, we're hoping to take the kids to the MOXI (The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation) in Santa Barbara tomorrow.
As we enter the school season, our travel opportunities mainly become weekend adventures, as well as times when school is out for breaks (e.g., Christmas and Easter). We're looking to make the most of upcoming weekends with planned trips to museums new to us in Southern California as well as brand new museums to everyone (e.g., Lucas Museum of Narrative Art - scheduled to open soon).
Our recent outing to see The Phantom of the Opera inspired us to get a theater package at the Pantages Theater, so there are some more local experiences we'll be putting on the calendar. And we're hopeful to add an assortment of Southern California experiences that we can share with our readers and viewers on YouTube in the coming months. We have a long list of local adventures we're hoping to lock in on the calendar, so we're logging this under the category of "stay tuned."
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Your Adventure Agenda - Travel Tips
Don't Book Winter Holiday Travel Yet
Early planners like us may be thinking about booking winter holiday travel, but you may want to wait.
Google Flights data and travel experts recommend booking Thanksgiving flights around 45 days before the holiday (which lands in early October), but no later than mid-October.
It is a good time to think about what you will want to do in November and December; just wait a bit before booking your flight if you want a chance of saving some money.
Oceania Cruises is expanding its onboard enrichment with Curated Conversations, a new series featuring notable guests from technology, film, culture and the arts.
Debuting on select 2027 voyages, the program will favor interview-style discussions and audience Q&A over traditional lectures, giving travelers a chance to hear personal stories and interact with featured speakers.
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is scheduled to sail aboard Oceania Allura on a round-trip Miami voyage from January 27 to February 5, 2027, while actress and director Karen Allen will join Oceania Vista on a Los Angeles-to-Papeete sailing from November 11 to 28, 2027.
Oceania plans to expand the program across its fleet, adding another layer of enrichment for travelers who enjoy learning and conversation alongside destination exploration.
Viking has opened bookings for its 2028-29 ocean season, featuring 700 new departure dates across 80 voyages that visit 301 ports in 84 countries on six continents.
The expanded lineup includes more departures of the Japan Discovery itinerary, plus two new routes: Alaskan Fjords & the Inside Passage and Mediterranean, Malta & North Africa.
Travelers will also find cruises throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the Caribbean, South America, Alaska, and the Panama Canal. Viking is also expanding its fleet with the 988-passenger Viking Vega arriving in 2028 and Viking Leda in 2029. Travelers booking sooner may also benefit from Viking’s Anniversary Sale, available through August 31, 2026, with discounted fares and complimentary airfare on select cruises.
Yosemite National Park is warning summer visitors about “Summer Branch Drop,” a seasonal phenomenon in which seemingly healthy tree limbs can suddenly break and fall without warning.
The risk is especially associated with black oak trees on hot, calm afternoons. To stay safer, travelers should avoid sitting or pitching tents beneath black oaks during extreme heat, steer clear of damaged trees, and move quickly if they hear cracking overhead. It’s an important reminder that even on windless days, staying aware of your surroundings can make a difference when exploring the park.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will open on December 11, 2026, adding a major modern and contemporary art museum to Saadiyat Cultural District. Designed by Frank Gehry, the waterfront museum will feature 30 galleries, expansive outdoor exhibition areas, and a collection connecting artists and ideas from the UAE, the wider region, and around the world. For travelers, the opening strengthens Saadiyat Island’s appeal as a cultural destination, placing the Guggenheim alongside Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, and teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi.
Why Visit? Yellowstone National Park is a treasure trove of unique attractions, cultural experiences, and natural beauty. It's perhaps the most amazing landscape we've ever visited. If you've never been, this is a destination to put on your travel calendar.
Top Things To Do:
Old Faithful: Witness the iconic geyser erupt every 90 minutes, shooting up to 180 feet high.
Grand Prismatic Spring: Take a hike around this colorful hot spring, known as the largest in the United States.
Lamar Valley: Go on a safari-like adventure to spot bison, wolves, grizzly bears, and other wildlife in their natural habitat.
Travel Tip: Yellowstone is extremely popular. We recommend making your reservations now for summer 2027.
Plan Your Visit: Check out our blog post on Yellowstone for more ideas and tips on how to plan your trip.
We’re big on planning travel, typically six months in advance. With an eye on February 2027, here are some top things you can consider for your travel itinerary:
Tucson Rodeo and Parade — Tucson, Arizona - Professional rodeo competitions are paired with a historic non-motorized parade celebrating southern Arizona’s ranching and Old West heritage. (February 20-28, 2027)
Daytona 500 — Daytona Beach, Florida - NASCAR’s premier race opens the Cup Series season with 500 miles of high-speed competition at Daytona International Speedway. (February 21, 2027)
Rio Carnival — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Rio’s famous pre-Lenten celebration combines samba-school parades in the Sambadrome with neighborhood street parties known as blocos. (February 5-13, 2027)
Menton Lemon Festival — Menton, France - Monumental sculptures and parade floats made with lemons and oranges celebrate the citrus-growing heritage of this Mediterranean town. (February 13-28, 2027)
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The Places Where We Go - Travel Planning Briefing August 17, 2026 Happy National I Love My Feet Day from the USA. It's the perfect excuse to pamper your feet and prioritize your foot health. Did you know the average person will walk nearly 250,000 miles in a lifetime? And they're just the thing for hiking and long days of exploration during travel. Thank you, feet! This week, we took a day trip with the littles to Santa Barbara, California, where we visited MOXI, The Wolf Museum of...
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