The final chapter of my fall travels began once I returned to California. I spent Thanksgiving week with my “grandkids” and their parents, and we decided to turn the holiday into an adventure.

We piled into a rented minivan, drove to Long Beach, and caught the ferry to Catalina Island. Our two days on the island were delightfully full: solving an escape room, playing miniature golf (I proudly won my age category!), touring around in a golf cart, exploring the Botanical Gardens and Wrigley Memorial, and spotting fish from the Yellow Submarine.

After ferrying back to Long Beach, we spent a leisurely afternoon at the aquarium before driving up the coast to Oxnard, where we stayed at a gorgeous resort and soaked in the hot tub under the evening sky.

On our final day, we walked along the beach—highlighted by the four-year-old gleefully splashing in the waves in nothing but his underwear—and then wrapped up the week with a visit to the Santa Barbara Zoo.

It was the perfect way to close out a season of travel: full of laughter, exploration, and so many happy moments.