Weekend Getaways

North Carolinians William Finlay and his mom Tanya Finlay observe another world inside the Kelp Tank of the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif.  (Glenn Koenig / LAT)

Kim Kekuna and Carmen Andrade are happy to be fake food for the Birch Aquarium’s replica shark at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla.  (Glenn Koenig / LAT)

Between a rock and the ocean at Sunny Jim Cave in La Jolla.  (Glenn Koenig / LAT)

People and harbor seals at Children’s Pool Beach in La Jolla, Calif. Humans are not allowed on the sand during the seal pupping season.  (Glenn Koenig / LAT)

A fisherman tries his luck off the coast of La Jolla, Calif.  (Glenn Koenig / LAT)

Ellen Browning Scripps Park, La Jolla, Calif.  (Glenn Koenig / LAT)

Downtown La Jolla, Calif.  (Glenn Koenig / LAT)

Besides spectacular views of the California coastline, La Jolla Cove offers swimming and tide-pooling opportunities.  (Glenn Koenig / LAT)

The historic Carlton Hotel in Atascadero, Calif., has been rejuvenated after extensive restoration.  (Don Kelsen / LAT)

Adelaida Road winds through the northern end of San Luis Obispo County where the land is thick with walnut trees and vineyards.  (Don Kelsen / LAT)

Vinny and Gerry DiPompei prepare to sample Adelaida 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon at Adelaida Cellars vineyard.  (Don Kelsen / LAT)

Lake Atascadero attracts people and their pets in search of exercise or solitude.  (Don Kelsen / LAT)

The lobby of the Carlton Hotel is compact but plush, with upholstered furniture and marble floors and counters. The ground floor’s coffee shop and spacious restaurant overlook the main intersection.  (Don Kelsen / LAT)

The Carlton Hotel, estab. 1929.  (Don Kelsen / LAT)

Wildflowers are beginning to bloom in the Owens Valley. Soon, areas like this one in the Alabama Hills will be covered with the colors of spring.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

Reeds and cattails thrive along part of Owens Lake near Keeler. Much of the lake is still mined, but there is life left in the salty marshes. Some of the lake is being flooded with water to keep dust to a minimum.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

Kramer Antiques and Pottery, just off Highway 395 in Boron near the intersection of Highway 58, extends into a large yard with road signs, old gas pumps and relics from the highway and bygone days of motoring.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

Just off Highway 395 in Bishop, Calif., the classic neon Thunderbird Motel sign invokes a bygone era of traveling.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

Rivulets such as this one near Keeler are found in Owens Dry Lake, attracting millions of flies to the brackish water.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

Snow-capped mountains are filtered through the misty, late-afternoon light in a timeless tableau near Bishop.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

The Laws Railroad Museum captures a time when the railroad from Nevada to Keeler stopped here. Near Bishop, 11 acres are dedicated to preserving old buildings, locomotives and and other artifacts from the Old West. Admission is free.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

The White Mountains and their attendant clouds are rendered pink by the setting sun.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

Wildflowers announce spring in the Owens Valley.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

The Kava Coffeehouse on Main Street in Bishop is popular among laptoppers on wi-fi, readers and the social set.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

The fast water of the Bishop Creek Recreation Area signifies the melting winter snowpack. Later months bring fishing here and in nearby lakes and streams.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

Horses and ranches dot the landscape throughout the Owens Valley. This inquisitive equine lives on Moffat Ranch Road between Lone Pine and Manzanar.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

The Mount Whitney Fish Hatchery in Independence opened in 1917 and today provides brood stock for golden, brown and rainbow trout.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

In a year of bountiful snow, Mammoth Mountain offers winter recreation through July.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

The route along U.S. Highway 395 south of Lee Vining, Calif., rewards travelers with mountain vistas.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

“Cowboy” Bob Keiser, 82, a chain-smoking, two-time bronze-star winning World War II and Korea veteran, has been on the rodeo circuit and run cattle most of his life. He and his wife Pam run Cowboy Bob’s Curio Corral in Randsburg, a semi-ghost town of 200 souls.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

Mono Lake’s tufa towers are composed of minerals created by fresh water springs bubbling through the alkaline lake. The saltwater ecosystem is home to brine shrimp, alkali flies and migratory birds. The lake damage wrought by years of quenching the thirst of Southern California is being addressed today by balancing the preservation of a national treasure with the need for water.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

The neon tubes are gone, the paint is eroding, but the message is still clear for an abandoned cafe on Sterling Road in Pearsonville on Hwy 395. It recalls attempts to foster civilization in the high desert.  (Mark Boster / LAT)

HYDROTHERAPY: Candles flicker around a copper tub at Le Petite Retreat, where soothing music accompanies the scented soak.  (Annie Wells / LAT)

PRIVACY: A treatment cabana at Le Petite Retreat day spa in urban L.A.  (Annie Wells / LAT)

IF YOU DARE: Spa goers at Arizona’s Miraval resort may brave the Quantum Leap. You strap on a harness, climb a 25-foot pole and jump.  (Beverly Beyette / LAT)

INTERIORS AND EXTERIORS: Guests are urged to explore their inner selves, but Miraval’s outer trappings are worth a look, too.  (Beverly Beyette / LAT)

LOOK UP: Ambience counts at the Polynesian-inspired Le Petite spa in L.A. Customers can gaze at paper parasols during a facial.  (Annie Wells / LAT)

TIME OUT: A guest relaxes at Carlsbad’s La Costa Resort & Spa. Spas and their choices of treatments have multiplied in recent years.  (Rick Loomis / LAT)

San Francisco is an easy weekend trip.  (Myung J. Chun / LAT)

The parlor of a one-bedroom suite at the Hotel Rex is a mix of vibrant colors. The San Francisco hotel underwent a $1 million renovation in 2003  (Myung J. Chun / LAT)

The lobby bar at the Hotel Rex is said to have been inspired by the literary salons of the 1930s.  (Myung J. Chun / LAT)

Cuisine at Hotel Rex’s Café Andrée is a French-Latin fusion.  (Myung J. Chun / LAT)

Close to Union Square and across from the Curran Theater, Hotel Diva’s 116 rooms are ready for their close-up.  (Myung J. Chun / LAT)

San Francisco’s Hotel Diva: sleek and cool.  (Myung J. Chun / LAT)

Vinyl records, painted by the artist Klutch, enliven a room at the Hotel des Arts, off Union Square in San Francisco.  (Myung J. Chun / LAT)

With hotel parking fees as high as $57 per day, consider forgoing a car for San Francisco’s excellent public transportation system.  (Myung J. Chun / LAT)

In a former life, Hotel Majestic was an Edwardian mansion .  (Myung J. Chun / LAT)

The Golden Gate Bridge illuminates the San Francsico fog.  (Myung J. Chun / LAT)

Avalon, Catalina Island’s main town, hugs the coast.  (Bob Chamberlin / LAT)

We all scream for ice cream at Dessert Island on Crescent Avenue in Avalon.  (Bob Chamberlin / LAT)

A kayaker noses into the Casino Boat Dock Cafe in Avalon.  (Bob Chamberlin / LAT)

Their (model) ship has come into the House of Wood, a curio shop on Crescent Avenue in Avalon.  (Bob Chamberlin / LAT)

The Inn on Mt. Ada hass an eagle’s eye view of the harbor at Avalon on Catalina Island. The Georgian colonial mansion that once belonged to the Wrigleys is a six-room luxury hotel.  (Bob Chamberlin / LAT)

An epidemic of island fever sweeps Luau Larry’s on Crescent Avenue in Avalon.  (Bob Chamberlin / LAT)

Catalina’s own stairway to heaven at the Inn at Mount Ada.  (Bob Chamberlin / LAT)

Pedestrian friendly Crescent Avenue is Avalon’s main thoroughfare.  (Bob Chamberlin / LAT)

The tall ship Exy Johnson sets sail from Avalon Harbor, Catalina Island.  (Bob Chamberlin / LAT)

Although it has no gambling, Avalon’s Casino is a Catalina landmark, housing a movie theater and ballroom. The name in Italian means “gathering place.”  (Bob Chamberlin / LAT)

Flip’s Saltwater Bar and Grill, on Catalina Avenue in Avalon, promises to have “the only sushi bar between Los Angeles and Hawaii.”  (Bob Chamberlin / LAT)

Harbor lights at the break of dawn in Avalon.  (Bob Chamberlin / LAT)

Crew member Ben Cuatt, in period garb, leads the younger folks in cranking the sail-raising capstan aboard the Star of India at San Diego’s Maritime Museum.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

An overnight aboard the ship pretends to re-create a sailor’s life, complete with deck-swabbing, night watch and meals of “rat stew.”  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

One of the oldest active sailing ships in the world, the Star of India anchors in San Diego Harbor. The iron-hulled cargo ship, built 1863, invites visitors to sleep aboard at certain times of the year.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

The Californian fires a cannon salute as the Star of India passes the B-39 Soviet Submarine, another vessel in the fleet of the San Diego Maritime Museum.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)

First Mate Kyle Dalton, right, surveys sailors before boarding the Star of India.  (Allen J. Schaben / LAT)