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
Weekend Getaways
Following the devil in Anza-Borrego
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
A day with the Gipper: Reagan Presidential Library
Air Force One is a lot cozier than I imagined. The comfortable leather chairs, soft blue carpeting and large jars of jelly beans remind me of my aunt’s living room. From the inside it’s almost …
November 28, 2014
Day trip to Santa Ysabel
It’s the time of year when fellow motorcyclists back east and up north are storing their bikes for the winter. The fall rains and coming winter snows, accompanied by frigid temperatures, will leave them reading …
November 13, 2014
De-stress in Borrego Springs
Stressed? “Take a big long deep breath in, and then slowly exhale out,” according to my yoga teacher. But for those of us who rush through life in a hyper-busy routine, there’s no time to …
October 14, 2014
Paso Robles, CA, by motorcyle
Our local weather is routinely terrific-to-spectacular, making the area a motorcyclist’s nirvana. And for weekend getaways, we motorcyclists hold distinct advantages over those who travel by car. There's the freedom that comes from the wind …
October 7, 2014
The bounty of Arizona
Until this year, the only part of Arizona I had ever seen was my grandparents’ retirement abode near Camelback Mountain. I remembered that people would emerge in the cool of the night with headlamps to …
September 24, 2014
Head for the hot springs: Corona's Glen Ivy
Lacking the time or energy for a road trip, but in need of a quick getaway? We found ours last Thursday, getting on the road at 8 a.m. and heading north on I-15 for 70 …
September 11, 2014
Liftoff on the Central Coast
We older folks who remember the moon landing or seeing the space shuttle land at Edwards can check one more item off our bucket list – and do it just five hours north of San …
August 19, 2014
Visit to El Faro orphanage, Tijuana
When I returned to San Diego from India, I felt a bit out of sorts. I had been profoundly moved by my experiences there – particularly seeing the numerous street kids and visiting the Salaam …
May 6, 2014
Wine and dine in Baja's Guadalupe Valley
Recently I went back to northern Baja's Guadalupe Valley. I hadn’t been there since the late 1980s. Back then, it was just emerging as a serious wine-growing region, with two giant producers (Cetto and Pedro …
February 20, 2014
Hunting big trees in California
With its varied climates, landscapes and ecosystems, California is a one-of-a-kind state. When European settlers first arrived here, one of the signs of this uniqueness they discovered were the mammoth trees of California, the sequoia …
January 11, 2014
(The real) Tijuana!
The gringos are back! And in large quantities! …but please stop going to every single tourist trap in downtown Tijuana. The American paranoia seems to be coming to an end. San Diegans are starting to …
November 9, 2013
Dharma Travel: California seeking
It doesn't take traveling to remote or exotic places to escape the distractions of the outside world, I've found. In California, regardless of denomination, dharma travel is big business. Whether 50-room or single-room hermitages, expansive …
September 6, 2013