Traveling Huntleys

Inspiring travel stories, tips, and guides from a couple exploring the world one destination at a time.

Wildlife

San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Birch Aquarium, Queen Califia’s Magical Circle, and More

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When Patrick and Sheila Corey flew in from Portland, Maine for a week-long visit, we finally had a good excuse to revisit some of our favorite San Diego spots — and a few we had been meaning to get to. Over several days we made it out to the Safari Park in Escondido, Birch Aquarium in La Jolla, the USS Midway downtown, Queen Califia’s Magical Circle, the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park, and a handful of our favorite local places for food and drinks in between. Showing visitors around a place you love has a way of reminding you why you love it.

Patrick and Sheila Corey, Balboa Park, San Diego, California
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Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

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We had driven past the turnoff for Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve more times than we could count during our California coast travels, always telling ourselves we would stop on the next trip. Finally, on a warm July morning, Sandy and I turned off the 101 and hiked it properly — and it immediately reminded us of why it ranked among our favorite spots in all of San Diego County.

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve with views of sandstone cliffs and the Pacific Ocean
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Sonoran Desert Life in Three Quarter Time: Tucson, Tubac & the Desert Museum

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Last Updated: July 31, 2026

So much of travel moves at a pace set by logistics — the next destination, the checkout time, the reservation that can’t be changed. The Sonoran Desert has a way of overruling all of that. You slow to three-quarter time whether you intend to or not, because the things worth seeing here don’t reveal themselves to anyone moving too fast. The cactus wren sitting three feet away on a saguaro arm. The bobcat stretched out in a patch of morning sun. The Costa’s hummingbird hovering in front of a blooming aloe, iridescent purple gorget catching the light. You have to be moving at the desert’s pace to see any of it. Continuing our spring stay at Western Way RV Resort near Tucson Mountain Park, we had two more weeks to let the desert set the tempo — with a day trip south to the artist colony at Tubac and daily visits to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum thrown in. Jake set the pace each morning, and it was always exactly right.

Saguaro cactus and spring desert landscape in the Sonoran Desert near Tucson, Arizona
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Spring in the Sonoran Desert: Gila Bend to Tucson, Arizona

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Last Updated: July 31, 2026

Spring is the Sonoran Desert at its absolute best — wildflowers carpeting the desert floor, saguaros preparing to bloom, hummingbirds working every flowering shrub, and evenings that turn the western sky a deep molten orange behind the Tucson Mountains. We drove in from the west in April 2021, stopping overnight in Gila Bend before continuing to our favorite base camp on the west side of Tucson near Saguaro National Park West and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. We needed some minor repairs done on the RV — this was our third stay at Western Way RV Resort — and once the work was sorted, we spent two weeks photographing wildflowers, raptors, woodpeckers, numerous species of hummingbirds, and the kind of sunsets that make you understand why people choose to live in Tucson. Jake was entirely in his element.

Brilliant spring sunset over saguaro cactus and the Sonoran Desert near Tucson, Arizona
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Winter Migrations in our Motorhome

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Last Updated: July 31, 2026

Winter can be a beautiful transition from fall colors with warm days and cool nights to snow and a winter wonderland. Seems like our yearly migrations take us up to Canada in the summer, experience fall foliage as we make our way back south, spend the winters as far south as we can go, then make our way back north every spring. This is our fifth migration in the motorhome. We enjoy experiencing the USA and have put on an incredible number of miles.

Winter sunset reflected over a tranquil pond at The Crosby Estates, Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego, California
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Holidays, COVID and Life on the Road

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Last Updated: July 31, 2026

Holidays for us have always been about visiting and celebrating with family and friends. Life on the road made that complicated — most of our immediate family live in cold winter climates that aren’t practical for a motorhome visit — and during COVID, seeing anyone wasn’t a good idea regardless. We have a property in San Diego that had been rented for years and was in serious need of some TLC, so we settled into social isolation there through December 2020, working through a long list of repairs and medical appointments while trying to make something warm and festive out of a very strange holiday season.

Sandy Huntley placing the angel topper on the Christmas tree while Jake the dog watches, San Diego, California
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