Tucked away in a valley filled with orange groves fewer than 90 miles from central Los Angeles is the village of Ojai-an oasis from stress, home to artists, health devotees and other urban escapees. Surrounded by burnished peaks, its grasses green in spring and gold in summer and fall, the Ojai Valley was the setting for Shangri-La in the 1937 Hollywood movie The Lost Horizon. It is still a place where you can retreat from a fast-paced lifestyle to find serenity on oak-shaded paths.

Redondo Beach, a lively little seaside town in Southern California embodies the fantasy of what California living and visiting should be. Offering clear blue oceans for miles, casual restaurants, shops on the pier and several fun-in-the-sun outdoor activities it could be the perfect family vacation location.

Start your picture perfect day at the upscale Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club. This recently renovated, contemporary nautical-themed hideaway is located on a private peninsula between the marina and the ocean.

One of five islands that make up the Channel Islands off the coast of Central California, Anacapa, is a small volcanic island about 14 miles off the shores of Oxnard. Named by the Chumash Native American Indians, the Channel Islands are five miles long and made up of 3 islets (East, Middle and West) that are not inaccessible to each other except by boat.

Southern California ranks as one of the few places in the world where weather forecasters deliver both surf and snow reports during the same newscast. While surfers can choose from miles of beaches, there is only one resort destination for snow seekers in the know: Big Bear Lake. Surrounded by the San Bernardino Mountain National Forest at an elevation up to 9,000 feet, Big Bear Lake is a mountain resort community within a 100-mile drive from Los Angeles and Palm Springs.

Laguna Niguel is a quiet yet upbeat city located between Mission Viejo and Dana Point. The scenery is beautiful, people are beyond friendly, areas are safe, and it is only a few minutes drive to the pacific ocean. Offering just about everything you could ever want from a city, even if you have a dog. The research has been done and there are many places to take your dog in this great city.

"Los Feliz" literally means "the happy" in Spanish. In Los Angeles, it translates as an artsy enclave just to the east of Hollywood. One of the few neighborhoods in the city that functions as a walking village, you could spend an entire day hanging out in this hip, small corner of the city.