First, Whitewater Rafting. This adventure will provide an exciting and thrilling outdoor time for your family and friends. All skill levels and abilities will enjoy a fun river trip. The rivers are magical. They provide a spiritual, environmental and economic boon to the communities they run through. The magic is shared daily and the results are magnificent - lives enriched and spirits lifted. Here are some of our unique whitewater rafting trips:

South Fork Whitewater Rafting - Two Day Trip (Coloma)
Red Wine Whitewater Rafting - Two Day Trip (Coloma)
South Fork & Middle Fork Whitewater Rafting - Two Day Trip (Coloma)

Second, we added motorcycle rentals. We now carry Harley-Davidson, BMW, and Honda motorcycles in multiple locations such as Glendale, Fresno, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Ontario. Take a look at some of the motorcycles we have recently added:

Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Motorcycle Rental
Harley-Davidson Road King Motorcycle Rental
Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Classic Motorcycle Rental
Harley-Davidson Low Rider Motorcycle Rental
Harley-Davidson Fat Boy Motorcycle Rental
Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 Motorcycle Rental

Honda

Honda Goldwing 1800 Motorcycle Rental

BMW

BMW K1200 LT Motorcycle Rental
BMW R1200 GS Motorcycle Rental

We hope you enjoy the new activities. If there is a specific category or activity you would to see, please let us know.

We decided that on Saturday (the day after July 4th) we were going Canyoneering in Mt Baldy, CA. We met up with our guides near the canyon at 9:00am sharp, at which time we geared up our backpacks with rope, harnesses, helmets, jackets, camera, lunch, and lots of water. The guides (Chase, Gavin, and James) gave us a quick run-down of what we were to expect and how to use all of our gear.

To start, we did a 30 minute hike up the canyon taking a couple of quick breaks. The open, endless views were breathtaking. It was amazing to think that an hour earlier we were in the middle of the city.

At the end of our hike up the canyon we came to a dead-end. One with a beautiful river leading to a waterfall and more incredible views. The guides started to set up the ropes and showed us what we were going to be doing: hanging sideways at a 90 degree angle with the wall of the canyon. That’s right, we were going to use the rope and our harness to walk backwards on the waterfall.

I was actually able to stop half way down and take a photo looking up. Take a look:

We did this through three different drops until we reached one that needed some extra guidance. We were going to go through a waterfall this time. Until now we were stepping on water, but never really got too wet. Our videographer, Dain, decided he wanted to go first so he could film us on the way down, I went second, and my wife came after me. Dain was pretty much finished after this one, I was ok, and my wife… well, she had a harder time getting down this one. The water kept hitting her so hard, she lost her balance and had to make it down the hard way, being lowered and bouncing around the walls. She made it safely, but it was a scary moment (see photo below). Everyone else made it just fine.

After the big waterfall, we had two more drops and made it to the bottom and hiked back to our cars and checked in our gear. We invited our guides out to dinner and enjoyed some fine Italian cuisine.

Bottom line, if you like to be active, Canyoneering is most definitely an activity you can’t miss. Check out CalActive.com to book your Canyoneering adventure; it’s well worth it.

Here are some of the activities we hope to do this summer:

Canyoneering in Los Angeles, California: This just sounds like such a blast. We haven’t gotten around to it yet, but we will soon. In the meantime, some of you should try it out and definitely let us know how much you loved it. “…hiking up a mountain trail that parallels a deep canyon, where down below you hear water flowing over the rocky canyon bottom,” need I say more?

Jet Ski Rentals in Lake Perris: We are definitely getting out there this summer. Jet Skiing - nothing else.

Surfing Lessons in Laguna Beach: I have to admit, I still have never tried to surf, but this summer I plan to change that. Our good friend Jason does the surfing lessons, so it should be a great time. I’m pretty sure he can make me a pro!

Scuba Diving in Catalina Island: As a child I grew up in the island of St. Maarten and have always had a passion for under water life. I have done much snorkeling in my life, but not much scuba diving. I’ll be sure to start getting on that!

Do you have any good activity ideas for the summer? What are you going to be doing? Leave a comment.

Boat Rentals - 65 Ft Yacht Charter
Southern California has some of the best weather in the country, and we expect this Sunday to be a beautiful day. How great would it be to round up the entire family and cruise along the beautiful SoCal coast? You can charter a 65 foot yacht from Newport Beach, CA.

Flying Lessons - Biplanes or Helicopters
This is for those that are a bit more daring. You can take dad on an experience of a lifetime. You can take lessons for flying either a biplane (like the ones used in the military dogfights) or a helicopter. The biplane flying lessons are out of Carlsbad and the helicopter flying lessons are out of Long Beach.

Fishing
You can never go wrong with a good fishing trip and California is well-known for it’s fishing along the coast. We have Newport Beach fishing and Dana Point fishing, and both offer trips that depart throughout the day. There are half-day, full-day, and all-night fishing trips as well. If you want to do something that is REALLY unique, you may want to go out with dad on a Kayak Fishing trip in Newport Beach, which is a unique and memorable experience.

Stock Car Racing
If you and dad have a need for speed, Stock car racing is the way to go. You would be driving a NASCAR stock car in one of the finest facilities in Southern California (minutes away from downtown Los Angeles). You have three options: 10 Lap Stock Car Race, 20 Lap Stock Car Race, 40 Lap Stock Car Race.

You can also get other ideas by visiting our website, www.calactive.com.

Feel free to post other cool ideas for things to do with dad this father’s day!

Congratulations to the entire CalActive team for their dedication and enthusiasm with the project. Thank you to all our visitors for the great interest in Southern California activities. We strive to offer only the best and we couldn’t do it without you.

There are some who’ve been anticipating a write up about my backpacking trip to Havasupai Falls, and I’m sorry to report that I couldn’t make the trip this year. The others did make the trip and had a blast, as expected. Here are some pics to share with you (I can’t believe I missed this), and I hope to share my version of this adventure with you sooner than later.  Enjoy!

So we just added Canyoneering to our activity list and I’m dying to go. I love adventure so this will be the perfect outing for me. Canyoneering involves everything from climbing to hiking, jumping, scrambling, rapeling down waterfalls… you name it, you do it. Sounds fun, right?! I found a great story about a Canyoneering adventure. Hopefully I’ll get to view the video too (sounds like it was a great trip). What is Canyoneering? Come discover for yourself what this crazy activity is all about.

While some moms are physically active and enjoy getting out there and doing something fun and outdoorsy, others just want to relax and be pampered on their special day. Both sound absolutely fun and fabulous! One thing I would suggest is maybe not taking her out to dinner. That’s one of the most common and expected things you can do, which is why it’s one of the busiest, money-making days of the year for restaurants. There are so many other fun and unique ways to say I Love You to your momma. In fact, I found an interesting blog with several cute and affordable ideas for Mother’s Day gifts.

Aside from giving gifts, take your mom out for the day and do something fun. We live in Southern California, for crying out loud, so why not take her out on a duffy boat or maybe a sailboat. It’s so relaxing, but at the same time, it’s exciting and a great idea for the whole family to enjoy. I know my mom would absolutely love going out on a boat because she’s never really been on one before.

Another idea is a brunch or dinner cruise, which we offer in Newport Beach, Marina del Rey and San Diego. Although a less intimate setting than a duffy boat or sailboat charter, brunch and dinner cruises are fun and come with an amazing, gourmet meal and beverages.

If your mom has a serious case of seasickness, take her up on a hot air balloon ride over Southern California’s wine country, Temecula Valley. How fun would it be to go ballooning and then wine tasting afterwards?!? Sounds like a fabulous day to me!

For the more adventurous mothers, get out and ride some jet skis around the harbor or out in the ocean. Although it’s still springtime, the weather is heating up and it’s the perfect time to start getting out in and on the water. Let your mom shine and show off her skills by ripping it up on a jet ski or waverunner. What a blast!

Whatever you decide to do, make it a special day that your mom will never forget. Give her something unique and surprise her by taking her out to do something she’s never done and would never expect. Taking her out to dinner and giving her flowers is special, but very common. Moms, expect the unexpected this year. You deserve to have a unique and memorable experience with your loved ones. You are all so wonderful and we love and appreciate you unconditionally. Thank you for being you.

The representative that paid us a visit was nice enough to leave us a couple of Go San Diego Cards to try out. At some point in the next couple of weeks two of us will be going to San Diego to enjoy the benefits of the card. Looking at the guide, there are so many different things to do, it will be tough.

Here are my initial thoughts:

Breakfast at the Cheese Shop Restaurant and Delicatessen. I LOVE CHEESE AND BREAKFAST. We get 20% off our breakfast and a Free Frisby! We need one of those down in Laguna Beach - Orange County!

Tour PETCO Park. I am a big baseball fan, and going to take a tour of the San Diego Padres home park sounds like a perfect thing to do. How could I miss this?!

Wine Tasting! Why would we not go drink some free wine?

You will have to wait to find out what we actually end up doing

When you first walk in to the location, there is a mural with a totally cool jet scene and three jet fighter seats. Take a look:

The mural:

The Jet Fighter Seats:

Heather sitting on the Jet Fighter Seat:

Our activity started at around 12:15pm. We walked to the back room and got into our flight suite. It was totally TOP GUN!

Heather and I in our suites:

After we were suited up, we were brought into a class room to learn everything we needed to know about flying a jet fighter plane. All I remember the teacher telling us is that we had a throttle, a button to load our missiles, a button to launch the missile, a button to shoot bullets (that are basically harmless unless you are 2 feet away, and ready to crash into, the other jet fighter), and a button to speak to our assistant back in the control center.

Learning how to fly:

Great, now that we know exactly how to fly a jet fighter (yeah, sure we do!), we are ready to jump into the cockpit of our Jet Fighters! It was so cool to jump in and really feel what it’s like to sit inside such a small area with complete control of this huge piece of machinery that can fly faster that the speed of sound. After I sit down, I hold on to the throttle on my left (which also has a button that works just like the Nextel/Sprint Push-to-Talk feature whenever you have something to say) and what looks exactly like an Atari joystick on the right. There is someone there to walk you through every step of the way as many times as needed to make sure you have a great time. While you are flying, back in the control deck, someone is on the headphones talking you through any problems or questions (they also give you more missiles when you run out, so don’t be shy, and ask for more!).

The Jet Fighters:

The Throttle:

The Joystick:

Getting more help:

Control Deck:

Check out the Missiles:

If there are guests that are not going to be flying, there is a great area right outside with 8 screens for the visitors to see all the action while it takes place (see below). There are also some simple rules, which are listed on the photo below, but no big deal.

Waiting Room:

The Rules:

This is really an amazingly fun activity that does not cost very much. You will not regret doing it! Oh yeah, and before I forget… Guess who won the dogfight?

Most Kills: