By Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — There are times when you want a vacation that challenges you. But there are other times when you crave a familiar scene, a traveler’s version of comfort food.
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What is it that brings people back to the same destination again and again?
Charlotte Russell, a Manchester-based clinical psychologist and founder/editor of the Travel Psychologist blog, didn’t see value in visiting the same place twice when she was in her 20s, but as she got older, her opinion changed.
Now one of her most frequent destinations is Seville, a short, direct flight from her home airport. However, her travel cadence is strategic. “I don’t want to spoil the connection I have to the place by visiting too frequently,” she says. “For me, once every few years seems to be about ‘right.’” Once there, she savors “the beautiful buildings, the orange trees, the smells and flavors of the food,” enjoying the chance to get to know the culture more deeply than a one-time visitor might.
Then again, Russell acknowledges, maybe we can never truly visit the same place twice.
So says psychology professor Andrew Stevenson in his 2023 book “The Psychology of Travel.” In his view, “places change all the time, and so do we. Yes, we can visit the same location again, but are likely to experience it in a completely different way when visiting again, as the place becomes more meaningful, more full of memories, more vital, each new time we arrive.”
We asked Southern California readers to tell us about their most prized repeat destinations. The answers took us all over — Hawaii, Utah, Arizona, England and Hermosa Beach, for instance — for all sorts of reasons they share with us below.
London keeps calling
Tommy Bui of Pacoima studied in the United Kingdom as an undergrad — “a very impressionable and long influential time of my life,” he wrote.
“It was my first time away from home with veritably just a meagre bindle on my back. I was way out of my comfort zone and flung into the deep end on the other side of the pond. I floundered but eventually found my water legs and learned to love dear ol’ Blighty.” [That’s a slang phrase for Great Britain often used by British expats.]
So, Bui continued, “every year I manage to lumber my way back to London.” Aiming to “recapture that initial wonderment and whimsy,” he’s been going back for more than 10 years, always looking for “some kind of new and out-of-my-comfort-zone mischief.”
These adventures have included “running the 2024 London Marathon (whilst guiding a sight-impaired runner), riding a penny-farthing [Victorian-era bicycle] to Buckingham Palace, and cycling 100 miles from London to Essex to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society,” Bui wrote.
“What makes London special is that the magic of that first visit is undiminished with each subsequent visit somehow.”
Between California mountains and Mexican beaches
Brandon Luna of Long Beach wrote to say his family has been making repeat visits to two very different spots over the last eight years. One is Yosemite.
The waterfall is reflected in water in the meadow in the Yosemite Valley as the snowpact melts on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, in Yosemite National Park, California. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
“I grew up in Merced, the ‘Gateway to Yosemite,’ but had never visited the national park until I lived in Southern California,” Luna wrote. “It’s great to take my kids and pitstop in Merced to visit my family. We love staying at the Yosemite Valley Lodge. Its convenient location makes it easy for us to explore without driving. We were fortunate enough to get snowed in one year!”
His family’s other top spot: “La Costalegre in Jalisco is an area south of Puerto Vallarta,” Luna wrote. “It’s more of a locals’ (Mexican) tourist destination, with some visitors and expats from Canada and the U.S. We rent a car and drive from the outskirts of Guadalajara to the towns of Melaque/San Patricio. We love to hang out at the beach all day, hit the pool, and explore the local towns. The picturesque sunrises and sunsets create a calm, relaxing vibe. My kids enjoy buying fruit and ordering from the local restaurants while hanging out on the beach. They always ask why we don’t have those same types of offerings here in the U.S.”
Anniversaries on the Big Island
Joel Drew of San Clemente’s repeat destination is the Westin Hapuna Beach Resort on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.
“It’s a beautifully understated resort along arguably the very best beach in Hawaii,” Drew wrote. “The grounds are beautiful and the ocean views are incredible. My wife and I have been returning to this location for over six years. We love sharing our anniversary dinner at sunset from here.”
Snowballs and wild turkeys in Utah
SPRINGDALE, UT – MAY 15: Hikers take pictures at the entrance of the famous Narrows hike, currently closed, along the North Fork of the Virgin River in Zion National Park on May 15, 2020 in Springdale, Utah. Zion National Park had a limited reopening Wednesday as part of its reopening plan after it was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
“Since I was 11, I’ve gone almost every year with my dad to Zion National Park in Utah,” wrote Joshua G. Baum of West Hollywood. “I’m 32 now, and the park has given us a lifetime of memories, from hiking the Narrows and Angel’s Landing to stargazing at Big Bend and spotting wild turkeys along the trails. We still go after my dad’s heart transplant, though he can’t hike like he once did, and I know we’ll keep returning. My favorite memory is a winter hike to Scout’s Lookout when I spent the entire climb up Walter’s Wiggles throwing snowballs at [my dad], and we still laugh about it today.”
Culture and cocktails on Maui
“Hands down, Napili Kai Beach Resort in Maui is our family & friends all time best vacation spot, year after year,” wrote Greg Vanni of Arcadia. “The resort honors the culture of the many Hawaiians who are a part of the staff by supporting the Napili Kai Foundation which, in part, provides higher education scholarships.”
The resort, Vanni wrote, “sits on one of the most beautiful spots in Maui: Napili Bay. It is all about family (ohana) at Napili Kai. Our family is not unique in having three generations of family staying there. It is a tranquil, old Hawaiian experience — each building is limited to two stories. The resort features an 18-hole putting green, which hosts a putting party for all guests every Monday” with 50-cent cocktails.”
Another attraction: the lush grounds, “lovingly overseen by Uncle Joe, who conducts a weekly walking tour. I can’t keep track of the dozens of milestone events we have celebrated at Napili Kai.”
Scribbling by a creek in Arizona
“We live in San Diego and every summer we head to Arizona,” wrote David Williams of San Diego.
“Yes. Arizona. In Summer. Our not-so-secret secret spot is deep in Oak Creek Canyon. Our base camp for our adventures is a five-bedroom house overlooking Oak Creek along AZ 89-A in between Sedona and Flagstaff.”
Every summer for roughly the last 20 years, Williams wrote, “we load the family, the dog, and a week’s worth of provisions (with re-supplies available in Sedona and Flagstaff) and head across the blazing desert to the forest sanctuary of Oak Creek Canyon.”
Each year, Williams continued, there are family excursions to local landmarks like Slide Rock State Park. And each year, adults and children alike are expected to write something in a volume known as the Creek House Book.
“We have now filled THREE complete books,” Williams wrote.
Food, drink and jazz in Monterey
“My wife and I go to the Monterey Jazz Festival every year,” wrote Richard Haro of Fort Collins, Co.
Saxophonist Charles Lloyd and The Marvels perform at the Monterey Jazz Festival in Monterey, California, on September 23, 2018. (Photo by EVA HAMBACH / AFP) (Photo credit should read EVA HAMBACH/AFP via Getty Images)
“With friends we usually rent a house in Carmel for the week before and do some things that have become a tradition. We go shopping in Carmel one day, we go have lunch at Nepenthe in Big Sur one day. We start our lunch with Champagne and French fries. … We go for a sunset on Carmel Beach. … We spend time with longtime friends that we love and basically eat and drink too much. And it all ends with a weekend of world-class jazz at the festival. We have been doing this since 1983. We plan on going for as long as we can.”
The sands of Hermosa Beach
“We have gone to Hermosa Beach, California, for my entire life. That is 66 years,” wrote Albro Lundy of Palos Verdes Estates. “Wherever we lived in the United States, we traveled to Hermosa Beach. My father was in the Air Force and we lived in many states, but when summer came, we got in the car and drove through [to] Hermosa Beach. The sand is the finest sand in the world and the beach goes on and on. … It is our home away from home.”
Winter at Mt. Baldy
“We head to the Mt. Baldy Lodge almost every December 23rd,” wrote Jennifer Nutting of Los Angeles.
“After getting married in 2015 at the Beverly Hills courthouse, we went to the Mt. Baldy Lodge just to mark the occasion, and it became a tradition.”
Each room has a fireplace, Nutting wrote, “and they decorate the rooms for the holidays. The restaurant has 2 crackling fireplaces, a few pool tables, and some good diner food. Sometimes it snows, and you wake up on December 24th to the church bells across the street playing Christmas Carols.”
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