ArcaMax

A. The Bay Area is extremely lucky to be so close to all types of places. You could drive an hour to get to the beach, 15 minutes to get to a redwood forest or even walk 10 minutes to get to a lake. My personal favorite place to go on weekends in the Bay would be Sausalito, California. It's gorgeous and right on the water, but you get to be there when the fog rolls in during the evening and things cool down.

Q. What are your favorite cities?

A. Seattle, Chicago and Brooklyn! I'm definitely a big city person and I like each of these places for the hustle and bustle. Seattle is beautiful and the people are lovely. I have really fond memories of Chicago as well and would love to spend more time there. Brooklyn is one of my favorite places. Outside of Oakland, so many of the people I care about are there!

Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?

A. France. My mom did some time abroad there when she was younger, and I think part of me would love to experience a small part of what her world was like growing up.

Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?

A. Over-ear headphones make airports bearable for me. Being able to listen to a podcast and drown out the sounds going around me keeps me sane when I travel. I also make sure to carry a candle and face masks for when I need to do some self-care on the road!

Q. What is your best and/or worst vacation memory?

A. I have a ton of good vacation memories, but I honestly think my best was mixed with my worst. In 2017, my family took a trip to upstate New York and because of a storm, we ended up staying four days longer than we originally expected. We needed to get to L.A., and the only way we could was by going through Chicago and spending a day there. We schlepped to Chicago, sleep deprived and cranky. We rolled into one of the few hotel rooms left in the entire city that night and were confronted with someone's stuff littered throughout the room. We called security. Because they had no other rooms left in the entire hotel, we were bumped up to the Presidential Suite. We ordered deep-dish pizza around two in the morning! Even though my family was exhausted, the 25 hours we spent in Chicago have ended up being some of my favorite memories.

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(Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and travel writer. You can respond to this column by visiting her website at www.jaehakim.com. You may also follow "Go Away With..." on Twitter at @GoAwayWithJae where Jae-Ha Kim welcomes your questions and comments.)

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