If ever there was a time that needed an exit off the 110 freeway that leads straight to the Mediterranean, now is that time. Like so many SoCal families, my son and I have been desperate for a local getaway—something that feels a whole lot farther away than it is—and I was thrilled to discover that an exit off the Harbor Freeway could drop me straight into what feels like the South of Spain. Our destination was Terranea, a family-friendly resort on the Palos Verdes peninsula. It's a stone's throw from Long Beach and San Pedro, right here in Los Angeles County, and yet seemingly a continent away.

Our socially-distanced one-night vacation allowed us to escape 2020 reality and enjoy rocky beaches with critter-filled tide pools, a sandy cove with a rock-climbing-friendly sea cave, lush green cliffs hopping with bunnies, ocean breezes over moonlit water, and rolling waves lulling us to sleep through our open balcony. Anyone else need that?

Of course, we found plenty of kid-pleasing activities as well, without leaving the grounds of Terranea; read on for all the details of the relaxing, entertaining, socially distanced getaway that can be reached in less time than a typical Los Angeles morning commute.

Will we be sending our kids back to school in the fall? If so how? And if not, how? The many school districts of Los Angeles have been sharing their plans with anxious families in a series of announcements, proposals, and town hall Zoom calls.

One thing seems certain: most school districts are sticking with their previously announced 2020-21 school calendars. That, however, is where the certainty ends.

Principals, teachers, superintendents, school board members, and Governor Newsom have been wrestling with the question of returning to school since before school finished. In recent days, LAUSD and 12 other local school districts in Los Angeles and Orange County have released or updated a plan for returning to school next month. On July 17, the governer of California weighed in emphatically, establishing strict guidelines for a county's schools to reopen for in-person learning.

Read on for state and county guidelines as well as local school district plans for beginning the 2020-21 school year.

Yes, Los Angeles, there is summer camp. Not only that, there's free summer camp, cheap summer camp, and summer camp scholarships. And these are all live, in-person camps set up to help working families at 50 different parks around LA County.

Space is available now for these free and reduced cost programs that include mini-camps and full-day camps for kids ages six and up. The Board of Supervisors is offering both 50% and 100% scholarships for the LA County Parks 2020 Summer Camps programs—available on a first-come, first-served basis—to provide support for families that are slowly integrating back into the workforce.