You want to go wine tasting. You’re craving somewhere one notch up from Temecula, but closer than Napa. Enter Santa Barbara wine country: a quick four-hour drive along scenic Southern California coastline to the Santa …
May 5, 2015
Southern California
Wining & dining through Santa Ynez Valley
Backpacking in the Santa Rosa Wilderness
My boots grate loudly over the gravel as I shuffle onto my crinkly tarp. After manhandling spare clothing into a fussy Sea to Summit stuff sack, I rustle into my Kelty down sleeping bag. With …
Daytrip to the Salton Sea
Crunching fish bones. Foul-smelling water. Skin-scorching sun. It may not sound like an enticing adventure, but in fact one of the most interesting and unexpected getaways to be found in Southern California is a day …
April 27, 2015
Art meets nature in Idyllwild
Just two hours north of San Diego, nature and art commingle: Idyllwild is a quick mountain getaway for those of us in low-lying Southern California cities, but also a haven for artisans who want to …
April 25, 2015
Joshua Tree for the uninitiated
There are few things as graceless as someone begging for help with pure and unbridled fear in their eyes. Which about sums up my position at Indian Cove Campground during the waning hours of a …
April 19, 2015
Catalina's calling
Santa Catalina Island, one of the Channel Islands (but not included in the Channel Islands National Park), lies 22 miles off the southern California coast. Though it is privately owned by the Santa Catalina Island …
April 14, 2015
Welcome to East Jesus, CA
Overlooking the Salton Sea in the shadow of mature Ironwood trees rests a man still much loved. The former “mayor” of East Jesus, a fenced community of free-roaming, ever-rotating artists, musicians, scientists and builders located …
Swashbucklin' to Catalina
The southern California waters from Mexico to Point Conception are generally safe and secure to navigate. But at the end of September, be on the lookout: buccaneers are known to frequent the waters off Catalina …
March 6, 2015
Finding peace at Lake Shrine
If you’re in L.A. and seek a respite from the traffic and stress, there's a place that just may restore – at least temporarily – a sense of tranquility to your being. The Self Realization …
March 3, 2015
It has been considered a poor week for killing
ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO PRINT. John Phoenix, San Diego Herald: “Very little news will be found in the San Diego Herald this week. The fact is there never is much news in it …
March 1, 2015
Tour Del Mar
Like most San Diegans I'm familiar with the touristy parts of Del Mar (Del Mar Fairground/Racetrack and the beaches) – the scenic coastal village between Soledad Valley and the San Dieguito River – but didn't …
February 10, 2015
Indiana Jones in Coachella Valley
Horses in the desert? What?? The Coachella Valley already offers a ton of activities – from hiking to the infamous Coachella music fest to epic pool parties to camping locales like Joshua Tree. Growing up …
January 29, 2015
Following the devil in Anza-Borrego
Mud walls towered over us as we twisted and turned down the narrow canyon. Smoke trees scraped the truck where they leaned in over the rutted track, and a couple of times there was a …
January 5, 2015
Must-see Joshua Tree
During the winter months, there's nothing more accelerating for the spirit than peacefully camping out in a temperate desert like Joshua Tree National Park. Less than three hours away from downtown San Diego, the park …
December 14, 2014
Late-season climb on Mount San Jacinto
The 360° vista from Mount San Jacinto's 10,834-foot summit is breathtaking: Southern California’s parched land hopscotches sprawling metropolis in every direction. Palm Springs spreads like a patchwork quilt in the east. Riverside and San Bernardino …
December 7, 2014