Kristin Luna

Berry Creek Falls

Leon Furnball

Who doesn't love waterfalls?  There are a bunch of places within driving distance where you can get your feet wet. Here are our favorites.

Berry Creek Falls, Big Basin State Park

courtesy of Flickr user pochacco20

Now that it's officially February, it's well within reason for you to freak out over Valentine's Day--or rather, lack thereof--plans. Forgot to set something up for that special someone? You're in luck: The following hotels are offering swoon-worthy packages that will no doubt propel you into the Romantics' Hall of Fame in her mind.

"Spin, Whip & Sprinkle," all Personality Hotels, San Francisco

Scott van Velsor

Looking for a way to spend your weekend now that the sun has hopefully peeked its head back out to stay? Well, look no further than California's own safari park.

Yes, you read that correctly: Safari park. In California. You no longer have to travel 30 hours on a plane to Africa to experience its wildlife firsthand. Because located in the outskirts of Santa Rosa is the 400-acre Safari West, one of Northern California's best kept secrets.

courtesy of Creation Entertainment

This weekend, the Westin St. Francis will be full of Klingons and Vulcans with the return of the Creation Entertainment's Star Trek Convention.

Beginning Saturday morning and going through Sunday evening, there will be a host of all things Star Trek-related: videos, panels, photo discussions, auctions, autograph sessions and tributes.

Scott van Velsor

Need to jump start those New Year's yoga resolutions? Then head to rejuvenation station - Lake Tahoe - for their Wellness Weekend, running Jan. 29 through 31 at the plush, lakeside Hyatt Regency. The weekend's ideal for both yoga enthusiasts and those who want to get more down with their downward dog.

When San Francisco etiquette coach Lisa Grotts travels, she abides by the John Steinbeck quote "A journey is like a marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you can control it." While on a radio media tour a few years back, Grotts spent so much time in major airports, she began to notice a plethora of travel faux pas, "luggage carts crashing into the shins of others; angry, unhappy passengers; passengers in coach placing their luggage in first, etc. I wrote my first chapter [of the guide] that week!" she says.

MC Hammer is too legit for social media

Harriot Manley

Sixty or so tech enthusiasts traveled from all over the country--and as far away as London--to convene in Stateline this weekend to discuss the evolution of social media at the second annual Tahoe Snowcial summit. Bay Area native and music mogul MC Hammer, an innovator himself in the online realm, came out to speak as the keynote on social media's promising future.

courtesy of Flickr user Dominic

Next time you're stuck at San Francisco airport trying to kill time before your flight, consider hitting the slots. No, the airport has not morphed into a full-fledged casino, but it has introduced an exhibit, For Amusement Only: Slot Machines and Other Gambling Devices of the Mechanical Age, that illustrates the technological and artistic innovations of mechanical gambling machines.