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 on Native Americans in the area, the gold rush, the timber industry supplied by redwoods,…
Category: California
In-N-Out Burger: Real Food Fast Food
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 to dieting all week (or all month) to get into a dress for a big…
Overnight at the Hotel Azura
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 cheap. But will it be pleasant? We book a stay at the Hotel Azura. People…
A Food Truck Worth Making a Destination in Petaluma
The Wonders of the El Dorado Mexican Grill Food Truck Should you find yourself road-tripping from San Francisco to places north on Highway 101, make it a point to stop for a snack, lunch, anything at the El Dorado Mexican Grill Food Truck on the grounds of the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds. Rest assured that adventurers, bashful or…
Santa Rosa’s Charles M. Schulz Museum: Good for Grownups?
Happiness Is … a Visit to Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the Rest of the Peanuts Gang Although it has been a long, long time since I read a Peanuts cartoon or cracked open my personal copy of Happiness Is a Warm Puppy, I cannot resist visiting the Charles M. Schulz Museum once I learn of its…
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 I’ve turned the gas on in the springtime while spending some time in Napa; I’ve…
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 and desperately needs to do so again to save herself after her husband, played by…
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 to go in the future. For the present, I am grateful to be able to…
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 away I get, these are the places to which I always want to return: The…