Three hundred seventy-eight years ago, the state of Maryland was founded in St. Mary’s County. Leonard Calvert, representing his brother – the second Lord Baltimore – started a colony that would be hospitable to Catholics …
May 29, 2012
United States
Go Colonial in St. Mary's City, Maryland
Look! L.A.!
So, I took the little missus up to Los Angeles for the day. Left the sunshine and the safety of San Diego and ventured into that gloom and doom to the north. She’d never seen …
May 24, 2012
Slab City, CA
Trying to change the negative reputation that the Slabs had acquired over the years as a melting pot for drug addicts, hippies and psych ward releases, Builder Bill created the Range, just southeast of the …
Desert Daze
Desert Hot Springs offered an unexpectedly cool alternative to Coachella’s music fest.
May 23, 2012
On Idyllwild Time
For us San Diegans heading north, it’s those rolling, stress-releasing mountains inland of Temecula that we cruise through on the way to Palm Springs. But instead of darting right on Highway 74, hang a left. …
May 18, 2012
Marfa Moments
Author W.S. Di Piero stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Randy Quaid when the actor was on the lam. This was in Marfa, TX, where Di Piero stuck around to check out the work of Donald Judd.
May 16, 2012
Roanoke: Not-so-Sleepy Mountain Town
Roanoke, Virginia, is a mountain city in the South, but it’s not quiet and it’s by no means sleepy. The city has a culture of fine arts and music that permeates all of downtown. It’s …
May 15, 2012
Portland: A Gastro-tour
“So when do you think you’ll be in Portland?” Aaron asked, as we drove through forested mountains. “Give us an hour.” When Aaron called, we were on Highway 26 heading toward Portland. My friend had …
May 13, 2012
Finding It in Shoshone, California
For the record: I’m not a fancy, gotta-have-posh type of woman; I’m OK with “rough around the edges.” I’m instinctively drawn to character, whether quaint and endearing or quirky and eclectic. I like spice, color …
May 10, 2012
"See Rock City": Chattanooga
When Leo Lambert first discovered Ruby Falls, he described it as being “like discovering God. At first it is very dark, scary, and uncertain. You don’t know what lies ahead.” Venturing through caverns nearly a …
May 4, 2012
LAX Planespotting
Southern California airplane buffs and planespotters flock to Imperial Hill in El Segundo – a picturesque spot overlooking Los Angeles Int'l Airport. This windy overlook at the corner of E. Imperial Ave. and Sheldon St. …
May 2, 2012
San Francisco Hippie Tour
Ten minutes late (on time if you’re on “hippie time,” I suppose), a woman wearing sparkly orange tennis shoes and a long velvet coat walks up to the street corner, shouting to us in a …
April 30, 2012
Fun in Cleveland (Seriously)
If you want to totally immerse yourself in rock music and the rock star lifestyle, Cleveland is the place to do it. I recently got to attend the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame …
April 28, 2012
Nothing Like the PCH
Undeniably one of the most picturesque roads you’ll ever traverse, California’s Route 1 north of Santa Barbara is a largely contiguous strip of undeveloped coastline with endless, arresting views. (“Undeveloped,” as in not much there …
April 24, 2012
La Jolla Sea Caves
Weathered from a 75-million-year-old sandstone cliff in La Jolla are seven sister caves. Like many other seaside caverns, these, too, have been used by pirates. Only the cargo they smuggled was human. California’s eight-year-gold rush …
April 18, 2012