California news, stories & travel reviews
Time with good friends is something that nurtures even the most stressed-out overachiever. Especially when that time is spent in the Bay Area on a sun-filled Sunday. Recently, I met with two friends in San …
After visiting family, my daughter and I decided to take the Old Highway 1 that runs along the coast from the Bay Area south to L.A. It takes you along the edges of cliffs, twisting …
If I’d been living in Fresno in the early 1900s, I’d have visited Baldasare Forestiere often, especially in August. To beat the scorching heat, this Sicilan immigrant spent nearly forty years creating an underground dwelling. …
Less than 15 miles from San Francisco is the beautiful Muir Woods National Monument. Walking among giant coast redwoods, you get a taste of what it must be like to be an ant crawling among …
On a quest for a better alternative to fast food and gas station cafes, and armed with a curiosity for old California towns, I came across the small city of Avenal during a recent road …
Charmlee Wilderness Park (a.k.a. Charmlee Natural Area), 590 acres of meadow, oak woodland, sage scrub, and chaparral, was first opened to the public in 1981 as a unit of the Los Angeles County park system. …
Visiting the Garden Song in Elkhorn, California, halfway between Monterey and Santa Cruz, is like meandering through a five-acre hidden treasure. Dahlias in every imaginable color burst forth like the grand finale of a Fourth …
I’ve heard Central Texan BBQ restaurant, 10500 Merritt Street, Castroville, referred to as a “vegetarian’s nightmare.” If you do have any carnivorous tendencies, they serve the best smoked turkey and brisket I’ve ever had. Meats …
Strolling through the historic town of San Juan Bautista, nestled at the foot of the Gabilan Mountains, I feel like I’m walking through the pages of a history book. Adobe structures dating to the 1700s …
The first time I wandered past 309 9th Street in Pacific Grove, I felt like a child who had stumbled onto a magical enchanted wonderland in an otherwise typical residential neighborhood. A kaleidoscope of vivid …
Even if you can’t surf, you can catch a wave at the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, 701 West Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, 467 miles north of San Diego. The museum overlooks famed surfing hotspot Steamer …
This stretch of coastal highway – the 17-Mile Drive, as it’s called – is a beautiful, winding scenic route that traverses Pacific Grove and Carmel. Driving non-stop will take at least 25 minutes, but if …
I’ve dreamed of cruising on a romantic Venetian gondola and being serenaded with Italian love songs. I didn’t have to travel any further than Lake Merritt in Oakland. The proprietors of Gondola Servizio, 568 Bellevue …
San Diego has Little Italy. Los Angeles has “Little Mexico,” Olvera Street, located in El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument on the site of L.A.’s original birthplace. Colorful celebrations and fiestas happen here year-round. …
After visiting the Museum of Medical History, you’ll be glad you live in this century. A window to our healthcare past, these unique displays show the evolution of medical equipment and practices. Surgeries were often …