It’s the Catalina Wine Mixer!

📍 Sacramento & Newport Beach, California | ✈️ 4 Days, 3 Nights | 🗓️ October 2 - 5 | 💃 Annual Blink 182 Trip

DAY ONE

If you know Nick and me, you know that back in the day we were total little skater punk wannabes. Now that we have “adult money,” we can finally live out our teenage dreams—like going to see Blink-182 every year. Last year we saw them at Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL), and now it’s basically a tradition because we’re addicted.

This year, when we saw they were playing in California at the Aftershock Festival, we knew we had to go. So away we go! 🎸

We arrived in Sacramento for the Thursday night concert (it’s a three-day festival, but we only got tickets for Thursday). It’s a pretty big event, so we stayed as close to the festival grounds as possible—and thank goodness we did, because traffic was awful. Being able to walk was a lifesaver!

We absolutely LOVED the Aftershock Festival—highly, highly recommend! We got to see Alkaline Trio, Holywood Undead, Taking Back Sunday, All American Rejects, All Time Low, Good Charlotte, and Blink-182 🤘

Music Festival: Home - Aftershock Festival | Oct 2-5, 2025 | Discovery Park | Sacramento, CA

Hotel: Hotel in Sacramento, CA | Comfort Suites Downtown Sacramento

DAY TWO

Since we went all the way to California just to see Blink-182, we obviously had to hit the beach afterward! 🌊 We moseyed on over to Newport Beach for a relaxing weekend and stayed at the coolest little hotel. It was right by the pier and fish market and used to be an old fisherman’s quarters. The rooms were vintage and adorable—ours had an incredible ocean view and even a cozy fireplace for the chilly nights.

Every morning, they served a lovely continental breakfast with fresh muffins, bagels, fruit, coffee, and juice, which we enjoyed on the rooftop terrace overlooking the ocean. Absolutely incredible way to start the day! 🌅

The Pacific Air Show happened to be the same weekend, so we headed over to Huntington Beach to walk around and watch the fighter jets soar overhead! ✈️ We didn’t buy tickets because, after doing a little research, we learned you can watch perfectly fine for free outside the gates—so that’s exactly what we did!

Since it was October, we obviously had to go to an Oktoberfest! 🍻 Apparently, Huntington Beach hosts one of the best Oktoberfests in California—and turns out, they were right! We had SO much fun at the Old World Oktoberfest. We drank beer and wine, danced the chicken dance, and laughed the night away! 🐔🎶

Hotel: Doryman's Oceanfront Inn | Book Your Coastal Retreat

Airshow: Pacific Airshow

Oktoberfest: Oktoberfest Orange County Old World Biergarten

DAY THREE

If you’ve ever seen the movie Step Brothers, then you know we HAD to go to Catalina Island for the Catalina Wine Mixer—wapow! 🍷🤣

We took the Catalina Flyer Ferry from Newport Beach to Avalon. ⛴️ The ferry leaves at 9 a.m., but make sure to get there about 30 minutes early. It was $84 round-trip per person. If you’re staying at Doryman’s Inn, definitely ask them first—they offer a half-off discount on ferry tickets! The ferry ride takes about 1.5 hours to get to Catalina Island, but don’t fret—they serve cocktails on board! 🍹😉

When you arrive at Catalina Island, the downtown area by the port is so cute! There are restaurants and shops everywhere, all overlooking the water. We stopped for a quick bite before our hike to carb-load! 🍴 We popped into Luau Larry’s for their famous lobster roll, plus a Maui Mai Tai and Piña Colada—highly recommend!

Once we were sufficiently carbed up, we started our journey to the trailhead. The hike we chose was the Garden to Sky Trail, which starts at the Wrigley Botanical Gardens. I recommend just walking the 1.5 miles (about 40 minutes) from Avalon to the Gardens since there are no Ubers. You might be able to catch a ride from someone in a golf cart, but honestly, it’s such a pretty walk that you might as well enjoy it! 🌿

When you reach the Gardens, there’s a small entry fee, but it’s worth it—they have bathrooms, water, and plenty to explore, plus you HAVE to pay to get to the hiking trail. Make sure to spend a little time wandering through before or after your hike; there are tons of cool trees, plants, and cacti! 🌵

The Garden to Sky Trail is 2.9 miles round trip and takes about 1.5–2 hours. I’d rate it as moderate—the trail is well-maintained, but there’s steady elevation gain the whole way up. Once you reach the top, it’s so worth it—you get sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean on both sides of the island. Absolutely breathtaking! 🌊✨

One thing I do wish we’d had time for was the Submarine Tour! 🚤 It looked like such a fun way to see the underwater world around Catalina—definitely on the list for next time! 🌊: Catalina Island 45-Minute Semi-Submarine Tour From Avalon 2025 - BOOK NOW

Ferry: The Catalina Flyer - Round Trip Ferry Service to Catalina Island Reservations
Luau Larry’s: Luau Larry's – Home of the Famous Wiki Wacker!

Hike: Garden to Sky Trail, California - 593 Reviews, Map | AllTrails

Hiking Permit (THIS IS FREE FYI): Catalina Island Hiking - Catalina Island Conservancy

Gardens: Wrigley Memorial & Botanic Garden - Catalina Island Conservancy

DAY FOUR

Once again, save the last day for surfing—just in case you get hurt! 😅 After plenty of research, we decided on Endless Sun Surf School, which meets right under the pier—literally steps from our hotel. We had Chloe as our instructor, and she was incredible! We caught quite a few waves and left feeling confident that next time we surf… we won’t even need lessons! 🏄‍♀️ To be continued…

Surfing: Endless Sun Surf School - Endless Sun Surf School