Last week I flew into Los Angeles and drove down the coast to San Diego. Along the way I stopped at a few different places, including Santa Monica Pier, Huntington Beach, and Rancho Santa Fe.
I stayed at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe for a few nights before flying out. It's a beautiful spot, the food is great, and it's perfect for a relaxing long weekend! They have a gorgeous little pool with cabanas, a croquet lawn, cottages, and outside fire pits perfect for sipping cocktails next to.
Here's a quick wrap up of my road-trip highlights.
It was so much fun that I think I'll start up at San Francisco next time! So if you have any suggestions for things to see and do along the way, let me know!
I get a lot of questions about how I create all of my time lapse videos. It's really very easy and I do it all on my phone! So today I posted a guest tutorial on the LifeProof blog. Go check it out, or read some of the post here:
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Last weekend I went along to a local Instameet down at Imperial Beach in San Diego and thought I’d test out my new iPhone 5s fre case and get some time lapse video in the wet, sandy conditions.
Here are a few highlights from the video I captured:
If you’d like to create a time lapse of your own, here’s what you’ll need:
LifeProof Case
Your LifeProof case will protect your device from drops, bumps, splinters, bruises, or skinned knees if it is knocked over while you are filming. It will also keep out any dirt, sand, mud, water, ice-cream or other mucky stuff, which means you can get creative with your location!
Time lapse Apps
What’s time lapse? It is a series of photos, taken at regular intervals, and then strung together to give you a video that speeds up a period of time when played back. Using time lapse you could fit an entire day into just a few minutes!
There are lots of great time lapse apps available for both iOS and Android. My personal favorites are TimeLapse for iOS and Lapse It, which is available for iOS and Android. Each of them lets you play around with the settings to get the effect you want. You can choose the number of photos, the intervals they are taken at, make the video faster or slower, and add your favorite tunes!
Tripod
A good steady surface is essential or the time lapse effect won’t be as effective. I really like the iStabilizer mini tripod which has a mount specifically designed to hold a smartphone. The mount can even be unscrewed and used with a full-size camera tripod. The legs on the iStabilizer tripod are also flexible and grippy, so you can use it just about anywhere!
Location, location, location!
The final thing you need is a location for your time lapse. For the best result try to find a place with some stationary items, such as buildings, trees, mountains etc. and with some movement over time (think clouds, cars, crowds of people, the sun or moon etc).
If you have any questions about making your own LifeProof time lapse leave a comment below!
And I'd love to see your time lapse adventures on social media! Tag them #LifeProofTimeLapse on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, or Google+!Learn more »
I'm in Southern California at the moment and the annual San Diego County Fair is on. How could I possibly resist all those rides, games, and deliciously heart-stopping fried foods!
My advice is to go on all the rides BEFORE you have lunch, because after all those funnel cakes, battered potatoes, and BBQ ribs you will not want to be flipping upside down or being catapulted into the air! Well, not unless you have a much stronger stomach than I do.
I recommend arriving about half an hour before the gates open. You'll find parking a lot easier, a short ticket line, and you'll get in before the crowds become too ridiculous.
Check out the video to see more food, rides, games and fun. And a word of warning, don't go on the Wild River unless you plan to get completely drenched (as you'll see in the video), seriously you don't just get splashed, you'll look like you jumped in a swimming pool with your clothes on.
If you're in the area, definitely check out the Fair, it runs until July 4, 2013 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, and is loads of fun!
On the weekend I went on my very first Instameet. Basically it's a group of like-minded Instagram enthusiasts who get together and go on a photo walk or outing together.
I was a little nervous at first, because I didn't know anyone else in the group, but they were all really friendly and took turns posing for other people's photos. Some even went to extremes to make sure others got the perfect shot (including almost getting washed out to sea)!
Some of the more experienced instameeters brought along props to spark the imagination of the other members of the group.
The best way I've found to get notification of when there is an instameet near you is to search for your local 'Igers' (or Instagramers) group on Instagram. The closest for me at the moment is IgersSanDiego and they post updates whenever one is organized.
The outing ended up being quite the adventure. In addition to seeing a part of San Diego I hadn't seen before, I did my part to sacrifice sanity (and dry clothes) for the sake of capturing the photo...
Here's the shot I captured.
All I can say is thank goodness for my LifeProof iPhone case!
Instameets are definitely worth checking out, especially if you're into iPhoneography and Instagram as much as I am! You can see more pics on Instagram at www.Instagram.com/SweetDivergence
If you've been on an instameet before, leave me a comment and tell me where you went! And here's a quick video wrap up of some of the fun we had.
Riding the Gondola up to Heavenly Mountain Resort, Tahoe. Photo by Haley Munro.
Sadly the snow season in North America has come to an end, but be sure to put Tahoe on your travel list for next winter!
In the past I had only skied Colorado, and to be honest I wasn't even aware that you could ski or snowboard in California or Nevada, but I'm certainly glad I got the opportunity to visit Tahoe.
For starters, it is incredibly beautiful and was significantly less crowded than your major resorts in Colorado.
View of the mountains from Reno, Nevada
If you like to ski or snowboard then head over to Heavenly Mountain Resort. You'll have to take the Gondola to the top, which will set each adult back $38, but the ride is a lot of fun, and has spectacular views!
Even if snow sports aren't your thing, the crisp, clear air, wide open spaces and beautiful mountain views are worth the visit!
I highly recommend staying at the Squaw Creek Resort. The rooms and service are lovely and they have stunning views, an outdoor heated pool and jacuzzi, shops and restaurants, and their own ice-skating rink!
If you have a larger group you might want to rent your own luxury cabin like some of us did on our trip: five bedrooms, two living areas, a fireplace, state-of-the-art kitchen, private jacuzzi, and lots of entertainment and outdoor equipment provided!
So where exactly is it? Lake Tahoe is on the border between California and Nevada and is the largest alpine lake in the USA.
I hear that Lake Tahoe is just as amazing in the summer time and there is a long list of outdoor activities and water sports available to keep you occupied. Looks like I'll be planning another trip!
If you are flying in, make sure you fight for a window seat, the view of the lake and mountains is pretty spectacular.
Be sure to check out the Sweet Divergence Instagram account for more photos, and enjoy this quick video wrap-up.
If you have any Tahoe experiences to add to this post, please leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you!
What should you take along on a sailing adventure? A windbreaker, because no matter how sunny it is the wind can be fresh out on the water, sunscreen, a hat, water, and I would recommend a LifeProof case and a LifeJacket to keep your phone dry and floating!
Check out this little video of my time on the water:
Every year the streets of Little Italy in San Diego, California are closed off for the San Diego Art Walk. 350+ visual artists set up stalls and sell their work. You can also watch artists at work, get your hands dirty and make your own creations, sample from a variety of interesting street food vendors, and enjoy the live music on every corner.
The artwork I saw definitely had a San Diego flavor, with a lot of it clearly displaying a Mexican influence.
This was my first Art Walk and it was well worth the trip. Give yourself at least three hours to see everything, grab a bite to eat and enjoy the festivities!
Here's a short time-lapse video walking you through some of the stalls.
A year ago my boyfriend and I made the decision to move from Canberra (the capital city of Australia) to San Diego, California. He got a job offer, I have dual citizenship (US and Australia), and quite frankly it was time for a change. Both of us had been in Canberra for over 20 years and although it is a lovely place to live we were in need of some adventure.
It has been quite a culture shock. Canberra is a planned city, and considering it only has a population of 360,000+ it has incredible infrastructure and amenities. There are world-class museums and art galleries (most of which have free entry), wonderful restaurants, theatre and live music, a really active arts scene, fantastic shopping, and a huge variety of outdoor activities. And what's more, you can drive anywhere in town in under 20 minutes.
Enter San Diego. Southern California is probably as close as you can get to Australia. What do I mean by that? Well, the climate, the beaches, and the culture are fairly similar, and there are even loads of native Australian plants that have been introduced here.
But there are some pretty major differences, the most noticeable is that California is all about cars. You have to drive long distances to get almost everywhere, and while in Canberra you'd never see more than three lanes on a road, in California it's nothing to have a freeway that has 10 lanes on each side, traveling at speeds well over anything allowable in Australia.
Also the food is very different. While there are some great, independent, restaurants and cafes they are few and far between compared with most places in Australia. I'd say overall Australian restaurants cook with fresher, local ingredients, and have a more modern and cosmopolitan take on dishes. I can also count the major fast food chains in Australia on one hand, to get an idea of just how many exist in the US check out this Wikipedia entry (hint: there are over 220).
I don't want to sound like I'm complaining too much though, we moved here for a reason. The US, purely due to its size, has significantly more business opportunities than Australia. In the past year I've met inspiring entrepreneurs, been to conferences and events bigger than I could have imagined, and have ended up working in a job that two years ago didn't exist, but which is perfect for me!
As I travel around, and explore this new place I wanted to share my experiences in the hopes of inspiring others to get out there and have an adventure! Feel free to leave me a comment, say hi, and let me know about any great destinations, experiences, or food that you've found.Learn more »
