The Atlas Heart

Hi! I'm Mimi.

As someone who has spent over 80% of her life in California, I created this space to share local insight, practical travel tips, and everything you need to explore the best of the Golden State. From cities to beaches, historic sights, and raw natural beauty, let’s go find somewhere beautiful to get lost!

Popular posts

Things to do in Santa Cruz

101 Best Things to Do in Santa Cruz, California (From a Local)

Bucket Lists, California, North America, USA

101 Best Things to Do in Santa Cruz, California (From a Local)

Destinations

latest adventures

Torrey Pines Hike | San Diego, California

Torrey Pines Hiking Guide: Best Trails & What to Know Before You Go

California, Outdoor Travel, USA

Torrey Pines Hiking Guide: Best Trails & What to Know Before You Go

best weekend trips from san francisco, california

18 Best Weekend Trips From San Francisco (From a Local)

California, USA

18 Best Weekend Trips From San Francisco (From a Local)

best lake tahoe beaches

5 Best Lake Tahoe Beaches (And What to Know Before You Go)

California, Outdoor Travel

5 Best Lake Tahoe Beaches (And What to Know Before You Go)

thursday boots review

Thursday Boots Review (for 2021): Are They Any Good?

Travel Products

Thursday Boots Review (for 2021): Are They Any Good?

places to see redwoods near san francisco

9 Places to See Redwoods Near San Francisco (Local’s Guide)

California, Outdoor Travel

9 Places to See Redwoods Near San Francisco (Local’s Guide)

25

Years in California

3

Regions I've lived

8

years of blogging

my travel essentials

All of my favorite travel essentials in one place! Find out my recommended travel resources, preferred products, and must-have gear that I use in my own travels so you can be prepared for your next trip.

Last year, Suneel invited me to hangout on Valenti

Last year, Suneel invited me to hangout on Valentine’s Day. I turned him down to spend time with a cute puppy instead.

Luckily, he didn’t take it too personally...we celebrated our one year anniversary together last weekend.  And what a year it has been.

We only had a month of normal dating before the pandemic hit. We had short spurts of not living together (but pretty much living together) in San Francisco, Tahoe, and Berkeley, and we finally moved in together (for real) in Berkeley last December. Over the past year, we’ve taken 303970 day trips to explore more of the Bay Area, had creative quarantine date nights like blow up beach ball soccer, DIY wine & paint nights, karaoke, and legacy board game nights. We’ve had hours and hours of conversations about every subject under the sun (and there was plenty to talk about in 2020). We’ve had so much quality time together since we’re lucky enough to both work from home. It feels more like five years of dating instead of one (in the best way possible).

It’s hard to believe that just over a year ago this person wasn’t in my life, he’s become such a good part of it.

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone who is celebrating today, hope you get to spend today with your person - whether that’s a romantic partner, best friend, or puppy. ❤️

I've been to quite a few national parks in Califor

I've been to quite a few national parks in California, but there's one that I ignored for years...

Pinnacles!

I thought it would be a dry, almost desert-like landscape with spiraling red-tan pinnacles.

Maybe it would be a mini Joshua Tree with, you know, less desert.

I couldn’t have been more wrong with what I was imagining.

From the first trail we hiked...

We came across lush Jurassic Park ferns, stepping stones of falling water, and damp piles of orange leaves in every direction.

Eventually, as we hiked to a higher elevation we came across the park's famous pinnacles and a drier landscape, but one that was still lush in its own way.

Some rocks looked like they could’ve been a Jackson Pollock masterpiece with their dotted multi-color lichen across their face.

I couldn’t help but think how underrated this California national park was as I walked its trails, oohed and ahhed at its viewpoints, and was scared silly when a huge condor flew overhead out of nowhere.

So I put together a comprehensive guide for you so you can enjoy the best of what this park has to offer too.

Head to the link in my bio for the full post! (Right now and the spring are the best times to go).
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#pinnaclesnationalpark #pinnacles #pinnaclesnps @pinnaclesnps

What’s the first thing you think of when someone

What’s the first thing you think of when someone mentions San Francisco?

Growing up in Santa Cruz, I used to always think of it as a glamorous place, somewhere I’d live when I was in my 20s, with my closest friends in a quirky apartment (queue “Friends” montage).

Now that I’ve had 20+ years of visiting and getting to know the city, I have different images that come to mind. I have a more realistic picture of San Francisco with all of its imperfections, but a picture that is still full of a warm fondness, almost like a first love.

It’s taken me a while to write about the city, I always thought I wouldn’t know where to start (which is partially true). It seemed like such a daunting task to write about a place where I’ve had so many memories throughout my life.

But, I finally did it.

I put together a massive post on my favorite things to do in San Francisco (once things open up again safely - although there are some COVID-friendly things in it too). And now I want to share it with you so you can get as much out of the city as it’s given to me over the years.

Head to the link in my bio for the full guide. 🌁🧉☀️

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Jain a

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Jain and McFadden household. 🎄🎅🎉 Wishing you all a safe and restful holiday ❤️

Although we won’t be doing a big Thanksgiving ce

Although we won’t be doing a big Thanksgiving celebration with family this year, we’re thankful to be moving into our own place in Berkeley this week!

It’s a historic house built in 1910 with a private deck, office space, formal dining room, and a living room that could fit 3 of my SF living rooms inside of it.

So far furnishing ideas (mostly from Suneel) have included an indoor slip ’n slide, arcade basketball, pool table, and a life size batman painting.

Excited for more at-home karaoke nights, board game marathons, and, really, just having as much fun as possible as we explore more of the East Bay in this next chapter together.

Full walkthrough coming soon!

Just finished up a month of living in Tahoe, recon

Just finished up a month of living in Tahoe, reconnecting with nature, spending almost every night stargazing in a hot tub, and enjoying the outdoors whenever we had clear days and good air quality.
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To sign off our time in the Sierras we did the @tahoevia with @alpenglowexpeditions. It was a 4-hour private guided rock climbing and hiking tour with one guide who kept more than 6ft of distance from us the whole day. There was mask wearing to and from location, a temperature check, and a thorough sanitization of gear. This is the new normal and I appreciated every precaution Alpenglow Expeditions took to keep us safe and having fun.
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More to come soon about Tahoe - for now I’m still soaking up just how magical this past month has been in the Sierras.
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📷All pictures were taken by our guide @tim_mincey

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© 2019 The Atlas Heart | made in collaboration with Ink & Honey Design Co. + Michelle Robins Creative