What’s the best time to book a flight? Search the internet for guidance on buying an airplane ticket and you’ll get all sorts of advice. Buy early on a Tuesday. Buy two months before your planned travel dates. Buy during a full moon on days ending in “y.” Okay, I made that last one up. […]
North America
Channeling My Inner Explorer on Santa Cruz Island
Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Grand Canyon. Yosemite. Yellowstone. Rocky Mountain. Olympic. Zion. Grand Teton. Acadia. These are only a few of the crown jewels of the United States’ National Park Service. They are among the most well-known, well-loved, and well-visited of the parks, their names alone conjuring visions of vast unspoiled natural beauty and their splendor … [Read more...] about Channeling My Inner Explorer on Santa Cruz Island
Capturing the Colors of San Francisco
I heard about a photoblogging contest in which travel bloggers are asked to produce a post sharing photos from their travels that highlight or represent five colors (blue, green, yellow, white, and red). … [Read more...] about Capturing the Colors of San Francisco
Livin’ La Vida Local at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market
It’s a sunny Sunday morning in Los Angeles and I can’t help smiling. I’m strolling along Ivar Avenue in Hollywood, browsing the stalls of the Hollywood Farmers' Market. The canopy-covered farmstands are overflowing with color: robust pepper reds, golden Valencia oranges, deep green bunches of kale, and potent eggplant purple. There are many other colors too among the market’s … [Read more...] about Livin’ La Vida Local at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market
The Getty Center: Los Angeles’ Utopian Oasis
Almost the whole time I'm at L.A.'s Getty Center, a single thought keeps looping through my brain: This place is perfect. That is all. … [Read more...] about The Getty Center: Los Angeles’ Utopian Oasis
Sprinkles Cupcake ATM: Beverly Hills’ Sweetest Gimmick
Who doesn't love cupcakes? They're the ultimate guilty pleasure. What if there were a machine that dispensed fresh-baked cupcakes 24 hours a day, seven days a week? That would be a whole 'nother level of awesome, right? Well, this wonderful machine actually exists. It's the Sprinkles Cupcake ATM in Beverly Hills. … [Read more...] about Sprinkles Cupcake ATM: Beverly Hills’ Sweetest Gimmick
A Magic Moment on Mount Hollywood
"Yesterday, I met the real Los Angeles..." I laugh at myself as I thumb through the pages of my travel journal and find this bit of drivel. Penned after I'd spent all of 48 hours in L.A., I find my hubris hilarious. In a mere two days, what could I have known about the real Los Angeles, a city covering an area of roughly 500 square miles, home to nearly 4 million residents … [Read more...] about A Magic Moment on Mount Hollywood
Griffith Observatory: Jewel of Los Angeles
Griffith Observatory is, with little doubt, one of Los Angeles' crown jewels. A bolder writer might even suggest that no visit to the City of Angels could be considered complete without a substantial stop at this hilltop oasis. … [Read more...] about Griffith Observatory: Jewel of Los Angeles