Results tagged “vacation”

Remember how Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa took two vacations over the summer? First there was one to Iceland and then another to Africa. That bugged KTLA's Eric Spillman enough to go digging for costs, if any, to taxpayers.

Some people are a bit suspicious of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's last two vacations. The first, a trip to Africa, was right after his inauguration. The second was to Iceland, ending earlier this month. No matter who you are, you deserve a vacation, right? "Since the mayor is mayor 24-7, he does not accrue vacation or sick time," said spokesman Matt Szabo in an e-mail to LAist. "He has the discretion to take time away from the city as necessary."

Last year "staycation" was a buzzword for many, as people's budgets tightened and plans to travel were curtailed by gas prices and soaring airfares. As summer looms, many travel industry professionals believe this year it will be another year of folks opting to spend their vacations at home. Today's Daily News takes a look at the phenomenon, and finds that for the time being, "staycations" are here to stay.

Disney Cruise Line and the Port of Los Angeles announced today that in 2011, Disney's "Wonder" will be setting sail from our shore. The vessel is one of a trio of ships currently offering family-friendly cruises from Port Canaveral, Florida; no itinerary has been announced, but the Mexican Riviera is the rumored destination. Bringing another cruise ship to LA is a revenue booster for the city: "It will bring about 250,000 passengers through the Port of Los Angeles, create about 2,600 new jobs, and yield for L.A. and the state of California $7 million in state and local taxes," boasts L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Disney's "Wonder" has 875 staterooms and a crew size of 945, per their official site. It's smaller than Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, who made the move from Florida last month and is now sailing from San Pedro.

                                 

"If you build it, they will come," right? Or, in the case of Royal Caribbean's fifth of five in its Voyager Class of cruise ships, Mariner of the Seas, if you make the port accommodate it, they will come. And come they did.

The LAPD is calling this an 'Accidental Discharge," which could be taken to a whole new level when out of context. Well, anyway...

                   

Though it may not have the scenic majesty of Morro Bay or the woodsy seclusion of Big Sur, San Simeon State Park is one of the quiet wonders of the California seaside. Located just a few miles south of fabled Hearst Castle, San Simeon offers two campground sites (San Simeon or Washburn) where you can set up home base for a long weekend. It's a short walk to cool, lightly populated beaches where you might stumble across an entire pack of elephant seals stretching out in the sun. You can also hike several miles of trails, some of which descend into seasonal wetlands, and others that plateau on top of vast seaside vistas.

Thanks to soaring gas prices and relentless airline woes, the hip thing to do this summer is to go on a "staycation."