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Calistoga, located at the north end of California’s beautiful and famous Napa Valley amidst hot springs and world class wineries, is always a popular destination in the summer and fall. But have you ever thought of going in the winter? There are good reasons to consider visiting this historic village (population 5200) in January, February, and March. Here are just a few of the many reasons: Fewer people, no lines,… Read More
What happens when oodles of great restaurants move into the neighborhood? Well, the locals have a harder time answering the question: What’s the perfect foodie day in Oakland? The explosion of hip new places to eat and drink in Oakland, some spinoffs of well-regarded San Francisco food havens and others new openings for hot Bay Area chefs, has resulted in this exact dilemma. The answer is that there are a… Read More
Tucked away in a valley filled with orange groves fewer than 90 miles from central Los Angeles is the village of Ojai-an oasis from stress, home to artists, health devotees and other urban escapees. Surrounded by burnished peaks, its grasses green in spring and gold in summer and fall, the Ojai Valley was the setting for Shangri-La in the 1937 Hollywood movie The Lost Horizon. It is still a place where you can retreat from a fast-paced lifestyle to find serenity on oak-shaded paths.
Twenty minutes from the metropolitan sprawl of San Francisco, over foggy green hills and down a winding road to the Pacific Ocean, you’ll find the little farming community of Half Moon Bay.
Originally called San Benito, Half Moon Bay was established with the distribution of Spanish mission lands in the form of land grants by the Mexican government in the mid-1800′s. Because it is cut off from the rest of the world by the mountains of northern California’s Coast Range, the town retains much of the simple charm of its origins.
My boyfriend and I like to take visiting friends and family on a robust hike through some of San Francisco’s most famous neighborhoods. We teasingly call the experience The Forced March, and it is for our more fit friends. Join us, if you "fit" that description.
Be Prepared Read More
Sometimes you’re thirsty and you just don’t know what you want. Luckily, the bar scene in Portland offers a great variety of different hot spots in which to wet your whistle.
Begin your night out at the Horse Brass Pub, located in a predominantly residential neighborhood on SE Belmont. Beer is the main attraction here. This local hangout tends to be loud and crowded and beards and blue jeans are the fashion; in a word comfortable.