Outside of the Mediterranean, there are a few areas in the world with a Mediterranean climate: the cape of South Africa, Chile, and the California coast. Perhaps that's why, when oil tycoon J Paul Getty wanted to build a replica Roman villa on the cliffs of Malibu to house his art collection, nobody called him…
What happens when one of my favorite cities meets one of my biggest passions as a traveler? Well, I got to experience that recently when, after years of talking about it, my sister and I finally attended Santa Cruz's Open Studios. What is Open Studios? I'm glad you asked. Imagine more than 300 incredible artists…
In the mid-nineteenth century, a group of Mormon settlers crossed the Mojave Desert in California. They spotted a tree they had never seen before. Its outspread branches reminded them of a biblical story in which Joshua reaches his hands to the sky in prayer. And so they named it the Joshua tree. The Joshua tree…
Most people seem to think of cemeteries as macabre, as places of death, row after row of gravestones of people long since departed. And for most, the only reason to ever visit one is a funeral or the anniversary of the death of a loved one. However, for travelers, old cemeteries can be a treasure,…
I pride myself on being a deep thinking traveler, focusing on major issues and what truly makes each place I visit unique. I wade into politics and history, religion and culture. But I still need to eat. Food is, as any devotee of Anthony Bourdain will tell you, one of the great uniting forces in…
On September 28, 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed in what is now San Diego Harbor at Point Loma. Today, more than 450 years later, the place is a bit different than he would have seen it. However, the strategic importance of this point overlooking the harbor and the deep blue Pacific Ocean remains the same,…
About an hour outside of San Francisco lies the small city of Fairfield, California. Its claim to fame: the Jelly Belly factory. For candy connoisseurs, many of them children, this has long been a popular tourist destination, or a day trip stop for Bay Area families. But is it worth the visit? The view from…
California's Central Valley is nothing like the postcard pictures of the Golden State everyone imagines. There are no surfers, no beautiful people sipping designer coffees or juices. This is farm country, some of the best and most productive in the country, and maybe even the world. It is flat, it is dry, it is dusty…
In fairness, like most large cities, Los Angeles has a lot of cool buildings. However, at the advice of my friend Sandy, we took a tour of the central branch of the Los Angeles Public Library in downtown LA. The building is pretty incredible. Built in 1926, this iconic structure is the largest branch of…
As a traveler, I've been lucky to see a lot of incredible things. And yet, there are still sights that amaze me to the point that I will struggle for words to explain them, something that can be a big problem as a writer. I have been to Sequoia National Park, and its neighboring Kings…