On the 50-minute drive from Iceland's Keflavik International Airport to downtown Reykjavik, the landscape switched from long, flat stretches of dirt to patches of grass studded with rocks.
It was early August, and it was cold _ 40 degrees is chilly for a native Angeleno _ and as I looked around, I couldn't quite figure out why this place was at the top of my friends' travel wish lists.
One thing is clear: Iceland is trending. The number of people traveling here has more than doubled in the last six years, according to the Icelandic Tourist Board, and that number continues to increase by more than 20 percent a year.
For this we can probably thank, in part, Wow Airlines, the ultra-low-cost Icelandic carrier that tempts with the occasional sub-$100 one-way fare. And I'd also credit social media, which brim with selfies taken at and in the Blue Lagoon, Iceland's best-known hot spring.
But Iceland wasn't really on my list. A story on low-cost airlines (I flew Wow) landed me in the capital city, which I could use as a base to explore the hot springs. Not my idea of paradise, but it helped when my sister Jessica, who was in need of a vacation, volunteered to explore with me.
The plan was to stay in Reykjavik, then drive to as many hot springs as we could without having to join a tour group or get on a bus.
Of course, plans are made for changing, which is what happened when the car rental company failed to produce the four-wheel-drive I had reserved and paid for.
That meant we had to skip some of the springs on our list that were off the main roads.
But our tiny red Toyota Yaris did make it to the Blue Lagoon and three other memorable geothermal spots, all within driving distance of Reykjavik.
