Sometimes in tragedy we find our life's purpose.
"Dark tourism" destinations may not be the easiest and happiest places to visit, but the footfall of tourists registered at such spots is growing by the day. Travelers sometimes include places associ
Solvang, two hours north of Los Angeles on the central coast, has been known as “California’s Denmark” since its founding in 1911, yet modern changes are churning like a windmill. Like a page from a Hans Christian Andersen story book, thatched roof
There are certain jobs that some people dream about. One frequent fancy in a troubled world is being a lighthouse innkeeper, where one can enjoy the peace and serenity of the ocean and abundant sea life.
We wanted to see if the lifestyle of a lighth
Sunshine you can count on, an Ice Cream Trail, a brew trail, historic Old Towns, and the oldest wine-growing region in the U.S. (surviving Prohibition)—these are some of the special treats awaiting visitors to the Northern California Tri-Valley are
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If you're hankering for the rich and elegantly prepared food of France but don’t have a plane ticket, you're in luck, because Southern California's San Juan Capistrano, just over an hour south of Los Angeles, sports the perfect venue for that succul
A small city at the lower end of northern California, Paso Robles dates back to the Spanish mission era of the 18th century, and wine making may have here as early as 1797, but it wasn’t until six wineries were established throughout the 1940s that t
MGM Studios’ motto during its heyday was “more stars than there are in heaven”. That studio and that heyday are long gone, of course, but you can still go say hello to those stars of the golden age of Hollywood – plus a lot of the more rec
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There are excellent reasons northern California‘s “City by the Bay” is one of America’s most storied cities (if far from its most typical). Born as a colonial Spanish mission and fort on the tip of a peninsula, San Francisco was transformed by the
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It's no closely guarded secret that the region surrounding Monterey and Santa Cruz has the longest season for whale watching in all of California. In fact, whale watching in these parts more or less goes on all year round. No matter what time you de
We were off to explore the Santa Maria Valley along the central California coast, and as I hopped into the backseat of my friends’ car, I was shown all the preparation they had prepared for the trip. There was a tablecloth, a napkin, a bottle of B
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Straddling northern California and Nevada, Lake Tahoe up in the Sierra Nevada mountains is North America's largest Alpine lake and the largest overall after the Great Lakes. Much of the surrounding mountains are devoted to tourism, and in wintertime
Many if not most countries of the world, of course, set aside choice pieces of territory to protect and often showcase precious natural environments. But thanks to its size and a conservationist ethos dating back to the mid-19th century (though thes
I'll say upfront, I'm horrified by the nightmare my country has just let itself in for, wincing at the massive damage we're going to be taking over the next four (and hopefully only four) years. So it's all the more worth noting that given the outsi
With nearly 12,500 miles (20,000 kilometres) of coastline, the United States lined on three sides with some stupendous strands indeed. Here are some of my top picks within easy striking distance of key cities like Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami
恭喜發財! (That's kung hei fat choy to you.) As hundreds of millions ring in the Year of the Monkey for Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year), I'm reminded of one of the Chinese diaspora's great gifts to travelers across the planet: funky Chinatowns wher
When many people think of California, the sun-drenched beaches and tanned surfers of Southern California top the list - and the vibrant yet laid-back O.C. (Orange County) city of Laguna Beachjust may be as close to "California Dreamin" as one can get
Yountville, California embodies many of the quintessential images you undoubtedly have of Napa Valley. Its compact layout, clustered around Washington Street, is also perfect for biking not only on the streets but along the ever expanding Napa Valley
Visitors to Los Angeles curious to join locals on one of their favorite weekend getaways will find this famous resort city in the desert a two-hour drive south (actually the best known of a cluster of several cities). Palm Springs’ beginnings as a re
Recently we had an opportunity to experience Long Beach, California, in depth – the transformation of this city over the decades is nothing less than astonishing.
What was an unremarkable middle-class town has magically morphed into an exciting conv
Just 15-minutes south of San Francisco on famous California Hwy 1, Pacifica is a great place to enjoy a change of pace from the hustle and bustle of a City vacation. It’s a place to stretch out and watch the waves, and experience the community life
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