Santa Barbara has always held a special attraction for me because of treasured family stories I heard all my life about the journey of my mother’s grandparents and their eight children from the mountains of northern Spain to Santa Barbara in 1917. Recently my wife and I headed to visit Santa Barbara on a dual…
Category: USA and Canada
Postcard perfect nature delights visitors to Banff National Park
Banff National Park is a World Heritage Site for good reason: it offers some of the finest scenery, wildlife viewing and outdoor activities in North America — some would say in the world. I experienced this fact firsthand one early morning as I drove the 10-kilometer Lake Minnewanka Loop. At Lake Johnson, my first stop,…
Discovering Adventures and the Aloha Spirit on the Big Island
Our nighttime manta ray tour took us far out into ocean until the boat anchored and we entered the cool water, grasping the handles of our long surfboard while waiting for what some called “the experience of a lifetime.” In the gloomy depths below, giant manta rays, with ten to twenty foot wingspans, slowly emerged…
Exploring Pasadena’s World Class Attractions
In the early 1900’s, few citizens could have been more enthusiastic about their community than the people of Pasadena. In the Oct. 1, 1914 edition of the Pasadena Daily News, readers were asked to share their views about their home town, and most of them echoed this person’s sentiments: “Pasadena is the best place to…
Getting Physically and Spiritually Recharged in Sedona
Red Rocks and Energy Vortexes Converge in Stunning Sedona The full moon was rising over the distant hills but we still needed our ATV’s headlights to pierce the darkness as we bounced along a labyrinth of trails in the Prescott National Forest outside of Sedona. We could only see the trail ten feet or so in front…
Attractions Big and Small Reward Visitors to L.A.
Let me start with a confession: For more than 40 years, I steadfastly ignored the tourist attractions in Los Angeles because the city just seemed too big and too congested. Instead I focused on more distant and exotic locations, even though L.A. was just two hours away. Eventually a question emerged: What if this megalopolis…
Palms, parties and power in Palm Springs
Discovering the new Palm Springs Looking at the black and white photo of some of America’s most famous, rich and powerful people, I’m trying to imagine us attending the Annenbergs’ New Year’s Eve celebration at their uber-exclusive estate near Palm Springs. This must have been one of the most prized party invitations in the United…
Sonoma in the fall offers world-class food, wine, scenery and history
Every wine aficionado knows that the Sonoma/Napa region is home to a multitude of world-class wineries. But on a recent trip, my wife and I discovered that Sonoma offers so much more, including exceptional scenery, history, food and wine. We visited Sonoma in the fall, after the grape harvest, and it didn’t take long to…
Pittsburgh: A remarkable city worth visiting
I flew into Pittsburgh’s airport not knowing what to expect. The name “Pittsburgh” conjured up for me gnarly images of rusting steel mills and people in pickups waving yellow “Terrible Towels.” But after touring this serendipitous city, I would recommend it to anyone as a very desirable place to visit. You might be surprised to…
European charm and fun adventures abound on California’s Catalina Island
This mid-September trip to Catalina doesn’t even compare with the last one I did, 25 years ago. What’s different this time? Everything. My wife and I have been travelling a great deal, and I’m familiar with75 countries, but I have to tell you that our four day stay in Catalina rivals any trip we have…