Like many other folks, my wife and I like tasty wines and panoramic ocean views, especially if they’re less than an hour away. So we often head out to La Misión, a tiny Baja village …
April 23, 2015
Weekend Getaways
Playa y vino: best bets for a Baja weekend
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
Get away, stay local: a weekend in Uptown
My best weekend getaway is when I leave my car parked on the street outside my apartment in Hillcrest from 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon til Monday morning at 7: Friday Friday afternoon I go …
April 16, 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
Why Mount Laguna?
Forget the hustle and bustle of the town. Grab a tent, pack the cooler, and head out east to Mt. Laguna. Only an hour away from San Diego proper, once you turn onto Sunrise Highway …
April 13, 2015
Car-less in Mission Bay
A former wetland dredged in the 1940s to create a water playground surrounded by public parks, San Diego’s Mission Bay is nirvana for those who like easy, scenic bicycling. Paved trails that line much of …
April 10, 2015
Cheese dreams in Baja's Ojos Negros
It’s a holdover from Baja's Gold Fever days. A hideaway from the bustle of Ensenada. Drive an hour inland through curvy roads, past an ashram and a blue Madonna painted on a boulder, and eventually …
April 9, 2015
L.A. in a day (by train)
If you like variety, follow me to an L.A. experience that will challenge your senses – not your purse. The walking exercise on this day trip approximates six miles; I took all day, but you …
April 7, 2015
Getaway Contest winners: spread the word
With an incredible variety of submissions in the Reader’s first-ever travel writing contest, all of the winning articles are deserving. And that makes our jobs tough. 2015 Getaway Contest prizes will be awarded by Reader …
March 18, 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
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
Backcountry to Baja
Awhile back we traveled to Nicaragua. Much of the country’s road systems are inaccessible by car, and if you wanted to explore the interior you were forced to walk, ride a bike or rent a …
January 22, 2015