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EAT, DRINK & PLAY - GET OUT OF TOWN
Our foolproof plan to explore a city is simple. Book a well-appointed hotel. Then walk and see what we discover along the way. We followed that plan to perfection for a recent weekend in San Francisco.
Don't be one of those guys scrambling around Ralph's the morning of Mother's Day. Salvaging a bouquet from the left-overs. Scrounging for an envelope to match your card. Swearing you're going to put more thought into it next year.
The first bottle of bubbly was well on its way to empty as our Mercedes merged onto the 101 freeway, barely five minutes into our trip. Not to worry. There was another bottle already on ice, so I could quickly pop the cork for nearly-instant refills. With nine glasses to keep filled, you've always got to be thinking one bottle ahead.
If you've been at this Valentine's Day thing for a while, sometimes a surprise is in order. Mix it up. Go somewhere new. Do something unexpected; out of character, even.
With a new year comes a new calendar - and the opportunity to fill that calendar with travel plans. Don't call them resolutions. Those just lead to guilt when they're not followed. Instead, think of these as a travel wish list - possibilities for fun in the year ahead.
To know my daughter Brooke is to know that more is better.
Whether we're talking nail polish, hugs or frosting, Brooke likes to pile it on. As our resident crafter/baker/seamstress, she is a whirlwind of grand ideas, many of which are inspired by the Food Network. She has an eye for style and real kitchen flair, but sometimes, clean-up takes a backseat to creativity.
Whether we're talking nail polish, hugs or frosting, Brooke likes to pile it on. As our resident crafter/baker/seamstress, she is a whirlwind of grand ideas, many of which are inspired by the Food Network. She has an eye for style and real kitchen flair, but sometimes, clean-up takes a backseat to creativity.
There's one problem that comes with visiting Pasadena. Picking a restaurant. Like flowers on a New Year's Day float, there's seemingly one of every variety imaginable in Pasadena. When it's time to pick, it's hard to settle on just one. Fortunately, we found the solution to this decidedly first-world problem.
Three days. Three activities. Our plans for a weekend in Mammoth were that simple. Hike. Bike. Paddle. By noon on Friday, April and I were on task. Lacquered in DEET, we headed into the Little Lakes Valley from the aptly-named Mosquito Flat Trailhead.
Our guides warned us this might happen. That people might stop and stare. And the people did, which is understandable. I'd stop and stare too if I was at the bottom of a waterfall and saw someone descending from the top.
While summer's heat has evaporated our memories of California's record-setting winter in Santa Clarita, the precipitation lives on in Yosemite.
Los Alamos was one of those places that I've driven past for years. Just off Highway 101, past Buellton, but before Santa Maria, it was always on the way to somewhere else. Until now.
"Bingo!" shouted Amber as we walked along the sandy trail. My 9 year old was busy scribbling answers in her Junior Ranger Adventure Guide during our hike through the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. A sighting of fiddleneck completed her Plants and Animals Bingo in less than a half hour.
The website says it best: "Do you really charge to pet cats? Yes. Yes we do." That's the business model of Crumbs and Whiskers, L.A.'s first cat cafe, and it's right there on the FAQ page.
Not surprisingly, there was some grumbling when we told the kids we were headed to The Arboretum. The Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanical Garden is a 127-acre outdoor paradise in Arcadia that features multiple gardens, landscapes and plants from around the world.
Like a relationship, Downtown L.A. delivers highs, lows and surprises. And, as with someone special, the more time you give them, the better things get.
After the holidays, I find that I need to get out and move. A big hike. A long bike ride. It's not about starting big on the perennial "be more active" resolution. My aim is to simply chip away some of the physical and mental rust that accumulate during the stretch of sedentary indulgence between Thanksgiving and New Year's.
Fall in Santa Clarita can be elusive (Still hot, but now windy.). Though barely detectable, it's enough to stir in me a restlessness that demands one final trip to the Sierras before winter snows blow in and shut down the canyons, trails and lakes.
As plans go, this one seemed foolproof. My brother-in-law Javier put out the call to head for Mt. Pinos on a Friday night to catch the Perseid meteor shower. He'd gone up last summer and it proved to be the perfect star-gazing destination. Dark and uncrowded, the parking lot offered a quiet place to lay out a blanket and take in the amazing show exploding across the night sky.
Start with a beachside location, add a heaping cup of sunshine, fold in good friends, season liberally with interesting food and finish with a splash of tequila. That's the recipe for an indulgent afternoon in Laguna Beach touring the town, learning its history and, best of all, sampling its food and drink.
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