Orange County Goodwill Ambassadors Travel

12/01/2024

From sea to shining sea, these hidden travel gems in the U.S. top our bucket list for 2024.

29/12/2023

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-12-27/orcas-are-flocking-to-southern-california-waters-one-bloody-awe-inspiring-spectacle-shows-why?fbclid=IwAR2DkfSXJgMjtBoIEHFc2ZCJWGqhmTxYY6ItgIkWM8DG03JFRs-lFRYdAf4

Whales native to Mexico and Central America are spotted dozens of times from Long Beach to the Palos Verdes Peninsula to Laguna Beach over the last three weeks.

24/12/2023

These 7 caves will show you a completely different side of SoCal you've never seen before.

20/12/2023

Looking for what to do for New Year’s? Ring in 2024 with our list of the best New Year’s Eve events and activities in Los Angeles.

13/12/2023

We are TWO DAYS away from the !

Have an idea on where you're going to watch the Parade? Here is the Parade Route and Schedule 🗺️ to see where the boats will pass by 🚤 and at what time ⏰ Everything in 🟥 is accessible for public viewing 👀

Check out our website for the full schedule and all ways to view the parade - www.christmasboatparade.com/viewing

13/12/2023

Santa is in the building - or should we say Newport Harbor! 🎅

We are ONE DAY AWAY from the Boat Parade where beautifully decorated boats will cover the Harbor in bright lights and holiday cheer for five magical nights! 🌟 You'll find Santa at the end of the Parade line on Newport Yachts Wicked Cool - our new Santa Boat! 🌊⛴

The is from December 13-17, 6:30pm-9:00pm every night! ❤️💚

13/12/2023

Unlock the best winter experiences in Anaheim and Orange County with our top things to do guide. From Holidays at Disneyland® Resort, Winter & Holiday Festivals, Santa Meet & Greets, plan for an ultimate vacation.

15/02/2023

Explore an abandoned mine, the ruins of a mountain resort or a bridge to nowhere.

15/02/2023

From botanical gardens in the SGV to a hidden Hollywood Hills oasis.

15/02/2023

15/02/2023

12/02/2023

Get away from the crowds and sneak away to any of these secret parks in Southern California for a peaceful stroll.

12/02/2023

See all the best places to celebrate Valentine's Day in Anaheim and Orange Coun

12/02/2023

Can’t get over this view 🙌

📷

18/01/2023

One of our Best from The OC.

Happy Birthday to Susanna Hoffs (B. 1959)
Susanna Hoffs is best-known as the lead singer and guitarist with the well-known pop group the Bangles.

Writer Mark Deming of www.allmusic.com looks at the career Susanna Hoffs.

Hoffs has also enjoyed an impressive career as a solo artist and a collaborator with a wide range of artists. Hoffs was born in Newport Beach, California on January 17, 1959; her father, Joshua Hoffs, was a physician, while her mother, Tamar Simon Hoffs, was a screenwriter and film director. Susanna was the second of three children, and she and her siblings learned to play guitar from their uncle, a folk musician who also built dulcimers. Hoffs grew up on classic AM radio pop and literate, folk-influenced artists such as Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt; she enjoyed singing with family and friends, but was more interested in pursuing acting or dance as a career (she played a small role in the 1978 film Stony Island, an acclaimed independent feature co-written by her mother) until she enrolled as a ballet student at UC Berkeley.

After her big brother passed along albums by the Ramones, Blondie, and Talking Heads, and Susanna saw Patti Smith perform in San Francisco, she became a quick convert to the new wave, and formed an informal band with her brother and David Roback, a friend from the neighborhood who played guitar. While the trio proved short-lived, Hoffs and Roback, who were a couple for a while, recorded some living-room demos that emboldened her to form a band. (Echoes of these unreleased recordings can be heard on the 1984 album Rainy Day, coordinated by Roback after he became leader of the acclaimed Paisley Underground band Rain Parade; Hoffs contributes striking lead vocals to versions of the Velvet Underground's "I'll Be Your Mirror" and Bob Dylan's "I'll Keep It with Mine.")

Looking for like-minded musicians, Hoffs answered an ad in an L.A. weekly newspaper, The Recycler, in late 1980 and met guitarist Vicki Peterson and her sister Debbi Peterson, who played drums; the three shared a fondness for '60s-influened pop/rock and the Petersons were impressed with Hoffs' vocal abilities. The three formed a band called the Colours that would quickly evolve into the Bangs, and became the Bangles after a threat of legal action from another group called the Bangs. The Bangles would become bone fide superstars in the '80s, scoring two multi-platinum albums (1986's Different Light and 1988's Everything) and a handful of hit singles (including "Manic Monday," "Walk Like an Egyptian," and "Eternal Flame"), but as their fame rose, so did tensions within the group, compounded by the media's focus on Hoffs as the "star" of the act. Though all four members wrote and sang, Hoffs received the lion's share of the press as the principle lead vocalist, and when she was cast in The Allnighter, a comedy written and directed by Tamar Simon Hoffs, Susanna was made the focus of the film's advertising and publicity campaign, which unwittingly helped upset the balance of the band. By the end of 1989, the Bangles broke up.

In 1991, Hoffs released her debut solo album, When You're a Boy (the title comes from the David Bowie tune "Boys Keep Swinging," which Hoffs covered), but while the song "My Side o the Bed" fared well as a single and received steady MTV play, the album was a commercial and critical disappointment, and Hoffs subsequently took several years off to focus on her personal life. In 1993, Hoffs married film director Jay Roach, and they welcomed their first child two years later. In 1996, Hoffs' self-titled sophomore album was released to enthusiastic reviews, though once again it failed to sell as well as expected. In 1997, she teamed up with Matthew Sweet, Christopher Ward, and Mike Meyers to form Ming Tea, a fictive British rock band who appeared in Jay Roach's comedy Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery, and they recorded a tune for the film's soundtrack, "BBC." Ming Tea gained something of a cult following after Austin Powers became a hit, and they also appeared in the film's two sequels.

In addition to covering "The Look of Love" and "What's It All About, Alfie" for the Powers' films, Hoffs reunited the Bangles to record the song "Get the Girl" for 1999's Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me; the group subsequently set out on tour, and returned to the studio to record a new album, 2003's Doll Revolution. (The title came from Elvis Costello's song "Tear Off Your Own Head [It's a Doll Revolution]," and Costello apparently approved of Hoffs' vocal on their cover, inviting her to sing it at a concert released on his 2011 live album Return of the Spectacular Spinning Songbook!!)

In 2006, Hoffs and her Ming Tea cohort Matthew Sweet teamed up to record a duet album, Under the Covers, Vol. 1, in which they interpreted 15 ‘60s pop classics. The album earned rave reviews, and in 2009 the pair returned with Under the Covers, Vol. 2, which focused on songs of the '70s. Sweet and Hoffs also toured together as Sid ‘n' Susie, the name being a play on Sweet's Ming Tea character name, Sid Belvedere. (Hoffs' Ming Tea name was the far more British Gillian Shagwell.) Sweet and Hoffs crossed paths in the studio again when he was tapped to produce a new Bangles album in 2011, Sweetheart of the Sun. In 2012, Hoffs released her third solo album, Someday, a collection dominated by songs she wrote in collaboration with guitarist and tunesmith Andrew Brassell. The following year, Hoffs re-teamed with Sweet for another collection of covers; for Under the Covers, Vol. 3, the duo tackled pop songs from the '80s.

01/01/2023

Get ready for a dose of local and international culture when you visit these nine Southern California museums where admission is free.

06/12/2022

Lions, Sharks, and Bears, oh my!

27/10/2022

Confirmation Process for Events: After much work creating events and the cost to keep the sites running it is important and required that ALL attending events CONFIRM they are GOING or Change/Cancel their RSVP/Reservation. The high percentage of NO-SHOWS is unacceptable to HOST/GUIDE, those on a Wait-List and to those actually GOING. As a HOST/GUIDE and others sometime drive up to 200+miles to HOST/GUIDE and Attend Events. Going Forward ALL Events will CLOSE for RSVP’s/Reservations 3>1Day Prior to Event. A Notice to CONFIRM up to 24>12hrs. prior to Event Start Time will be Posted in Events Comment Section and we will send a Group Email to those RSVP/Reserved for Event. After Confirmation of GOING is Received I as Host/Guide will provide my phone number. Additionally those on Meetup may Confirm GOING via a Meetup Message to me with CODE Provided in Confirmation of GOING Notice. The CODE is needed to distinguish which GROUP and EVENT you are Messaging about. If EVENTS do not have a min. of 6 CONFIRMED GOING I as Host/Guide may at my discretion decide to Cancel Event at 12hrs. Prior to Event Start Time. Confirming GOING 24hrs. Prior to Event allows for release of spots to those on a Wait-List. 12hr.s Prior I as Host/Guide will post Anticipated Total GOING across ALL sites. Most Events I host/Guide will max out around 12 with slightly higher number being OK. ***RSVP/Reservation for EVENTS may be left OPEN beyond 3days down to 12hrs. prior to event if Total Number GOING is below 12 across all sites. Those not updating/canceling their RSVP/Reservation and Not-Showing will be Flagged as No-Shows. Those reserving spots on Eventbrite not canceling reservation and not showing will be flagged for future events.

3 No-Shows will result in those being removed from Group and or blocked from reserving spots on future Eventbrite Events where we also post the events. I have spoken with many Host/Guides of Events and No-Shows are a Major Problem and why many give up creating events. This is also why many have their events on multiple sites as to ensure their number actually GOING is high enough. For attendees and myself I prefer to give all of us the most accurate anticipated number GOING. Thanks for your support in the above and supporting these Meetup Groups which are ALL of yours to Create FUN along with me since I do not Live in Florida year around. I live in Florida 2 x a year @ 2-4 mos. each and in the West Utah, California w Travel Trips and other Projects the balance of the year. Just message me if you want to Create Events. I’ve enjoyed meeting all at events.

All Best, Steven Caliridion.

22/10/2022

09/10/2022

Caffeinate well with properly made lattes, cappuccinos, and coffee

09/10/2022

Whether you prefer them thick and saucy, thin and crispy, loaded with toppings, or simply covered in cheese, the definition of the perfect slice of pizza comes in all shapes and sizes. To celebrate…

04/10/2022

Handheld, portable, and flat out delicious, we don't know anyone that doesn't appreciate these small bundles of joy. Southern California is blessed ..

04/10/2022

Seeking out the most beautiful destinations for fall in Southern California? These small and cozy towns offer the very best of SoCal.

04/08/2022

12 Reasons You Should Book a Laguna Beach Staycation ASAP, Laguna Beach Staycation, Best Spots in Laguna Beach, Laguna Beach Itinerary

28/07/2022

14 Best Things to Do in Laguna Beach, California

See our upcoming Laguna Beach Events. In our opinion, "The Most Beautiful Coastline and Town from Santa Monica to the Mexican Border"!!! https://travel.usnews.com/Laguna_Beach_CA/Things_To_Do/

20/07/2022

Events will be Open soon Reserve your spot. CONFIRMATION of GOING Required:
We will send a CONFIRMATION of GOING email 24hrs. prior to Event. A REPLY of GOING is required up to 12hrs. prior to event to Secure your spot. Event Maxes out at a total of 12 attendees across multiple sites We will Confirm your email reply of GOING with our phone number and any other additional info.

Member Owned Meetup Groups: https://www.meetup.com/CaliforniaExperiences , https://www.meetup.com/CaliforniaOutdoorAdventures & https://www.meetup.com/GoodwillAmbassadorsTravel . PicCredit https://www.montagemagazine.com/travel/destination-orange-county/

15/07/2022

For those that are interested in learning more about all the unique spots to hit up while in this area check out our list of the Top Hidden Gems in Orange County!

17/06/2022

Looking for a hidden gem in Southern California? Check out Mount San Jacinto State Park for a new outdoor adventure!

02/06/2022

Discover the arts in Laguna Beach. Get all the details on the famous Laguna art festivals.