Category: USA Western States
Rancho La Puerta – Savor Mexico Near San Diego
Rancho La Puerta, the famous spa retreat in Tecate, Mexico, is a great option for visitors to San Diego who want a taste of Mexican culture. The resort is an hour east of San Diego and just 3.3 miles south of the border. Normally reservations are only accepted for one-week stays, but savvy San Diegans […]
Carmel Valley – Where to Stay and Play
Carmel Valley is a popular destination for luxury loving Californians. Resorts, lodges, and restaurants in this area two hours from San Francisco offer the food, wine, and activities that Golden State residents love. Want to connect with the local culture? You couldn’t make a better choice than to spend some time at Carmel Valley Ranch. When I […]
Best La Jolla Beach Boutique Hotel
La Jolla beach hotels tend to be busy places, but one boutique property offers a sweet retreat with an ocean view. Scripps Inn faces the Pacific a few blocks south of La Jolla Cove – just far enough from the Children’s Pool seal colony to avoid the masses of visitors that the marine cuties attract. I’ve lived […]
Best Time to Visit La Jolla, California
The best time to visit La Jolla – my hometown – will depend on what you want to do when you get here. For classic car enthusiasts, that means early April, when the La Jolla Concours d’Elegance takes place. In fact, the 2016 La Jolla Concours will take place Sunday, April 10. Now in its 12th […]
Alaska Travel – Plan Well, Have Fun
Alaska is huge. You already know that. It’s also chockablock with natural wonders, which of course is why you want to go there. So the challenge is to plan an Alaska trip that includes your must-have experiences and makes the best use of your time. To help you do this, I asked Anchorage-based photographer Victoria Lynn […]
Portland, Oregon – Go. Be Surprised.
Portland, Oregon musings from our contributor Larry Kessler – Can we still be surprised when we travel? Are we so “Google-savvy” that we’re no longer capable of experiencing something new in person? Is our Virtual World more real than reality? Can we look up from our iPhones long enough to be filled with awe-inspiring actual […]
Love this Romantic Los Angeles Hotel
Most Romantic Los Angeles Hotel? How about one that’s secluded on 12 lush acres in Beverly Hills and is positively steeped in Hollywood love affair history? You just couldn’t ask for a better backstory. The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows The “pink” palace was built in 1912 and offers 185 rooms and suites – plus […]
2 Alaska Hiking Trails Locals Love
Alaska hiking trails stretch out across the state. These offer authentic travelers what they came for: gorgeous scenery and a chance to experience nature unrefined. Anchorage-based photographer Victoria Lynn Pennick generously contributed her images and insider comments for this guest post. Both of us hope they will inspire you to explore beyond the beaten path of Alaska’s “must-see” sights and will lead to […]
Larry’s Meaning of Life Travel Experience
My friend Larry Kessler contributed this guest post. The meaning of life. No small task. Thank God for Google ’cause we’re running out of real estate to house the volumes of texts that cover this subject. But hey, since I just had a life changing, meaning of life travel experience, I’d like to offer my […]
Local Photographer’s Santa Barbara Food Tour
This Santa Barbara food tour trip report is brought to you by Jessica Roy who – as you’ll read below – had a great time sampling local culinary specialties as a guest of Eat This, Shoot That! Her guide and ETST owner Tara Jones is an expert foodie and a crash hot photographer. Tara attended Brooks Institute of Photography in […]
La Jolla, California – Best Things to Do
La Jolla – San Diego’s favorite coastal community – is known for beautiful beaches and great dining options. I’ve lived in La Jolla most of my life and love walking on the beach and having drinks or a meal with a water view. I also know that our community offers many unique activities that first-time visitors […]
Bainbridge Island WA – Best Things to Do
Bainbridge Island , a 35-minute ferry ride across Puget Sound from Seattle, is not on the “to do” list of most visitors to the Northwest. But maybe it should be on yours. The rustic/chic community is home to affluent commuters and retirees, not unlike Del Mar, just north of San Diego, and Carmel-by-the-Sea in Northern […]
Garden Tours – Meet Locals in San Diego, Seattle++
Garden tours are a great way to get to know a destination. That thought occurred to me yesterday during my “shift” as a Plant Information Volunteer at the Secret Garden Tour of La Jolla. As I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned before on this blog, La Jolla is the part of San Diego, California, where I […]
6 Santa Barbara, California Secrets
This wonderful guest post was contributed by Lauren Bray, Managing Editor of edhat.com, Santa Barbara’s #1 website for all things local. Santa Barbara is known for its red tile roofs, relaxing beaches, fine dining, and a burgeoning wine industry. It’s the laid-back vibe and natural beauty that brings many visitors to our American Riviera. State […]
