There is a nostalgia here. Like other iconic places in my hometown of Los Angeles, the Original Farmers Market has a strong association with my childhood, of being something special to be done with family or friends. I remember visiting every year or two, and being treated to something new: a smell, a taste, a…
I’ve been lucky to have spent a reasonable amount of time in Mexico, up to and including my most recent three week trip. I’ve been even luckier that this time has included several regions of the country. (I believe I’ve been to seven or eight of Mexico’s states.) And yet I feel I’ve barely scratched…
Two days. Well, two nights. Two totally different experiences. One culturally iconic, one a hybrid adaptation from Mexico’s northern neighbor (the US). Both a bit overwhelming. As I spoke about earlier, Cabo San Lucas is more a tourist hub than a “real” city. (Click here to read about Cabo.) But it does take people to…
There is no question that Cabo San Lucas, the southernmost point on the Baja California peninsula, is beautiful. The turquoise of the water here could be mistaken for the Caribbean, though it comes with reasonable surf at this point, where the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez meet. Mountains surround the town, with low…
A walk along the Malecon, the oceanside promenade that traverses Puerto Vallarta’s Zona Romantica and Centro districts, can only be described as pleasant. Even in October, with temperatures and humidity both high, the sound of seabirds and the afternoon breeze offset the often uncomfortable heat. And when they don’t, any number of bars offer a…
I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. I’ll admit a few things here. Boise, Idaho has never been on my travel radar. I doubt I’d have been able to point to where the city was on a map of Idaho before coming. And prior to this trip to visit friends who…
As the saying goes, “Before God was God and boulders were boulders, Basques were already Basques.” The Basque people, from an area along the border between France and Spain, have been around a long time, with a language that predates basically anything else in Europe. So it is a bit weird to find a large…
Summer in Baltimore means a lot of things. It means baseball at Camden Yards. It means weekend trips to the beach. And most importantly, it means crabbing. If you are lucky enough to experience summer in Charm City, and you do nothing else, finding a crab deck will ensure your trip will be a memorable…
Writing this in summer of 2025 seems even more relevant and important. As followers of the news have undoubtedly seen, Los Angeles - my home - has been invaded by ICE, immigration enforcers seeking, it would seem, to inflict terror and economic harm on arguably the most liberal and diverse of US cities through arrest…
Editor’s note: this article comes at an amazing time, since my own first trip to Boise was a couple months ago and my suite of four articles will be coming out in the coming weeks. Sam, however, has spent much more time in this truly terrific city, and does an incredible job summing up just…