Undiscovered Southern California

This trip will highlight brand-new museums and arts institutions, such as the Cheech Marin Center, the Orange County Museum of Art, and the Jack & Shanaz Langson Institute & Museum of California Art at UC Irvine. We will also highlight more established favorites such as the San Diego Museum of Art, the Riverside Art Museum, and many more.

You’ll unwind during a luxurious stay at the Pasea Hotel & Spa in Huntington Beach, which offers breathtaking views and stunning accommodations just steps from the sand and sea.

This autumn getaway will please your palette, engage your artistic curiosity, and inspire the explorer within you.

Check out the culinary highlights of the trip HERE.

OUR SCHEDULE:

Day One, October 13, Arrival: Fly into San Diego, Ca

We’ll start our trip in San Diego, visiting the recently renovated Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego in La Jolla, including its new building and special exhibit Alexis Smith: The American Way, the first showcase of this artist’s work in 30 years. We will be treated to a director-led overview of San Diego’s premiere contemporary Art Gallery Quint before lunch at Puesto, a top-10 San Diego taquerria.

We will then visit Bread and Salt, an experimental arts center housed in a former Wonder Bread factory, make a brief stop at the Chicano Park National Historic Landmark, before spending the rest of the afternoon at the majestic and historic Balboa Park and its many museums, including the newly renovated Mingei International Museum, the Museum of Photographic Arts, and the Timken Museum, home to a collection of masterworks by Vermeer, Rembrandt and many more.

We will dine at Chef Travis Swikord’s Callie restaurant in the trendy East Village area before enjoying the sunset views from the road on our way to our stunning beachfront resort, Pasea Hotel.

Day Two, October 14, Los Angeles County:

Enjoy an exclusive tour of the collection of Stewart and Lynda Resnick, the CEOs of The Wonderful Company, who are among LA’s top art collectors. After lunch at Pine and Crane, we will spend sme tme in the downtown Los Angeles art district and visit multiple independent LA galleries including Vielmetter, Gavlak, and Patricia Sweetow‘s new LA outpost. We then will head east to visit Claremont to visit the American Museum of Ceramic Art, exhibiting a major survey Breaking Ground: American Women in Ceramic Art through 1990 and explore the Ruth Chandler Gallery at Scripps College and the Benton Museum of Art Pomona College. We will head to We will dine at a top local restaurant before returning to enjoy cocktails and the beach at our hotel.

Day Three, October 15, Orange County:

We will start our day at UC Irvine Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art, and see the extraordinary Irvine Collection of early California impressionists and The Buck Collection fo California art. We will be treated to a special tour of the Dissolve exhibition by curator and UCI Professor Bridget R. Cooks, Ph.D. (who many will remember from The Black Index exhibition). This show features commissions by local artist Linda Gass and Black Index and Creative Attention exhibition artist Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle).

We continue working our way up the coast, exploring the California Biennial exhibition, revived after a long hiatus, at the newly reopened Orange County Museum of Art. After an amazing day of art, we will return to the beach for happy hour and a group dinner at Tanner’s, an oceanfront restaurant featuring California Coastal cuisine.

Day Four, October 16, Riverside & Departure:

We will be among the first to visit an impressive and important new museum and collection, “The Cheech” in Riverside. Cheech Marin, of Cheech and Chong fame, has amassed one of the most important collections of Chicano Art and dedicated a museum to sharing it.

While in Riverside, we will also visit the Riverside Art Museum to see the work of the De La Torre Brothers from the northern Baja region of Mexico and dine at the famous and historic Mission Inn Hotel and Spa, once home to a bohemian art colony. Finally, our luxury coach bus will take us to the airport to catch our flight home.

LODGING:

Pasea Hotel & Spa, Meritage Collection, Huntington Beach, California – October 13– October 16 (3 nights)

FLIGHTS:

Flights are not included in the cost of this trip. We recommend flying into San Diego International Airport on Thursday morning, Oct 13. We will be flying from Ontario Airport to San Jose on Sunday, Oct. 16th. We recommend booking your return flight after 4:30 p.m. on October 16. Please contact the Foundation if you would like advice on recommended flights at karen.kwan@paacf.org.

Please note the itinerary is subject to change due to unexpected circumstances.

This excursion costs $3,400 per person and $6,500 per couple, with accommodation, ground transportation, meals (3 dinners and 3 lunches), tour guides and museum admissions included. The deadline to book your place on the tour is September 26.

If you are interested to purchase travel insurance and would like recommendations, please reach out to karenkwan@paacf.org.