Category: California

Visiting the Mendocino Coast

The Mendocino Coast by Barbara Dorr Mullen remains a helpful visitor guide even though the second edition was published in 1972.

Getting Some Ideas from an Old 1972 Visitor Guide Visiting the Mendocino Coast for the first time, I quickly am reminded how little history of the Western United States I remember from any educational instruction on the topic. The details…

In-N-Out Burger: Real Food Fast Food

Curious about In-N-Out Burger, two travelers make an effort to eat at one.

Worth a Detour in Santa Rosa or Anywhere What inspires me to make an effort to find an In-N-Out Burger during our short stay in California is the penchant of actors to swing by on Oscars night. Who can’t relate…

Overnight at the Hotel Azura

The Hotel Azura in Santa Rosa, Calif. has the feel of an old-fashioned motor hotel--but with a contemporary twist. Photo credit: M. Ciavardini

Convenience in a Boutique Hotel in Santa Rosa   Long having implemented a one-night-luxe, one-night-budget approach to travel, the Brawny Sherpa and I find ourselves briefly in Santa Rosa, Calif. for an overnight that is going to be on the…

Logging Some Romance

I’m not sure why rooms with a fireplace are so attractive to me since I have a fireplace at home, but I’m quick to click “buy now” whenever a hotel features a bit of flame. Fireplaces are so romantic that…

Saving Lily Bart in San Francisco?

Watching Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine on DVD, I am once again, and surprisingly so, drawn to San Francisco. An unlikely tourism vehicle, the film focuses on a selfish and largely unlikeable society woman played by Cate Blanchett who married up…

Tis the Season for Reflection

Another year, not enough travel! I’d hit the road all the time if my checkbook would let me. But I am grateful for all of the places I have been so far and to have goals about where I want…

Three Inns I Always Want to Return to

Some places stick in your memory even decades after you’ve been there. There’s magic in their atmosphere, or good fairies floating in their mirrors, or memorable scents in their soaps that bring serenity on a visit. No matter how far…