We'll never get tired of these California vacation ideas

Spring Break is just around the corner, which means thoughts of vacation are filling our heads — and social media feeds.

This week on LAist’s daily radio show, AirTalk with Larry Mantle, we asked listeners to share the vacation travel spots they never get sick of returning. Larry kicked it off with a story about his go-to getaway, a regular road trip through the Southwest.

“In fact, I'm going to do it later this year, go to the Grand Canyon, go to Sedona, drive through Northern Arizona into New Mexico, make a loop and come back ... For me, the Southwest is the most restorative place that I can go. I love being able to drive it at my own pace. I love the quiet. I love being outdoors in the Southwest. The whole thing for me is incredibly restorative. I could do it every year. If I was retired, I would absolutely do it every year.”

Uh, sorry, Larry, but we are not letting you retire anytime soon!

Here’s what some of the AirTalk listeners had to say when they called in to share their favorite recurring vacations. Consider it a tip sheet for your next get away:

Desert Hot Springs and Pioneertown

Shauna in Torrance heads to Desert Hot Springs on the regular, to “just sit in the mineral waters and ... and go up to Pioneertown ... It's like a real vacation and it's only two hours away. I highly recommend it.”

For the uninitiated, Pioneertown was founded as an Old West film set that would also be a place where mock Western-style gunfights would entertain tourists and locals alike. And of course no visit to Pioneertown would be complete without a stop at Pappy and Harriet’s, a restaurant known for its Santa Maria tri tip and live music.

Crystal Cove State Park

Lynn in Glendale loves Crystal Cove State Park, which runs right into the ocean waves. The destination is known for its historic cottages, which are available to rent for those lucky enough to nab a reservation. The accommodations are far from luxurious — but those views are priceless. Even if you can’t stay overnight, it’s still worth a day trip. “We like to go as often as we can,” Lynn said.

Martha’s Vineyard

“Our recurring vacation place since our college days is Martha's Vineyard,” Danica in Baldwin Vista said. She and her husband are from the East Coast and started taking the kids there on vacations. "It became a way in which we could kind of have a family reunion as well as go back to the place that we would go when we were in college.” She added that Martha’s Vineyard is always a bit of a culture shock for children — it's so remote, you have to take a ferry to get there, and its the kind of place where you don't have to lock your doors.

Anyplace where there’s a 7th-inning stretch

Dan in Arcadia said many years ago he and his son (now a teenager) started a tradition of planning vacations around visits to different ballparks. “Sometimes we'd try and hit two every year … we made it kind of like a thing to visit and explore a different city and see America through the lens of baseball fans.”

Yosemite National Park

Sinclair in Laguna Beach goes to Yosemite each week right before the 4th of July crowds show up. “We've been doing it for about 20 years. It's so restorative.”

Maui

Michael in Glendale never gets tired of the island lifestyle: “Since 1984, I've been going back to Maui as much as I can.”

Bishop and Mammoth Lakes

Jane in Pasadena moved to Southern California from the midwest more than 15 years ago and has traveled all over California. “But the one place we go back to every fall is Bishop, at the base of the Mammoth Lake area. We love the lakes in the Aspens, the laid back atmosphere and restaurants.”

Bass Lake

Payton Seda, an AirTalk producer, went to Bass Lake every summer. “Some of my earliest memories are of renting a boat to go out on the lake. We'd tether an inner tube to the back of the boat, and us kids would take turns riding on it.” An even bigger treat was waiting at the end of the day: ice cream at a local shop on the pier.

Wrigley Field

Evelyn Bocanegra, AirTalk's technical director, shared that she travels to Chicago each year to catch a Cubs game.

Catalina and The Abacos

Finally, Colleen in Culver City shared an amusing story about growing up with a dad who loved sailing and always had a sailboat. Colleen recalled childhood trips sailing to Catalina, and later, when the family moved to the East Coast, trips to The Abacos, the boating capital of the Bahamas. The only problem? “When you're a teenager, all you want to do is go do what your friends do. Like, I wanted to go to Disney World so badly!” But looking back, she realizes what a beautiful gift her parents gave her.