On one of my first visits to San Francisco, I crossed the Golden Gate bridge to explore the Marin side of the Bay.  I stopped off for what I thought would be a short while to explore Sausalito, and had such a great time there, that I never went any further.
Due to its prime location at the end of the Golden Gate Bridge, much of Sausalito’s history has been playing a supporting role to nearby San Francisco.  The area has been a fishing village, transit hub, and a center for bootlegging during Prohibition, and during World War II was a …read more

I’m a fan of visiting college campuses when I’m traveling.  They are usually great to wander around, you can often find a budget-priced meal, many have free internet access available (wi-fi or at the library), and the bookstore can make a great place to pick up a souvenir or two.  Some have extensive areas open to the
public, while others don’t, though, but if you genuinely show an interest in seeing the campus, there’s always someone willing to help you out or show you around.
On a recent visit to San Jose, California, I took a quick walk through the campus of …read more

Do you scratch your head and wonder how they schedule routine highway and bridge repairs?  I assumed that it would be a pro-active process,  with planning and timing designed to work around any peak travel times.  Clearly any major repairs are going to involve disruption, but I would think that the powers that be would want to minimize the amount of disruption caused to drivers.
In most cases, this means that repairs are going to happen over a weekend, when the disruption to commuters is minimized.  Okay, that makes sense.
But why, I am asking myself, would anyone schedule repairs to the …read more

Cuistot is an elegant Palm Desert French restaurant located on El Paseo (72-595 El Paseo, Palm Desert) at the southwest intersection of Highway 111.
The restaurant features multiple dining areas, including a wine room, a heated outdoor patio, and a large dining room with a fireplace.  If you like watching a chef at work, opt for Bernard’s Room which offers a view of the kitchen and the energy of the cooking staff at work.
Open for lunch (Tuesday – Saturday, 11:30 am – 2:15 pm) and dinner (Tuesday – Saturday, 5:30 – 10 pm, and Sunday 5:30 – 9 pm). 
A …read more

Five years ago – on January 31st, 2000, at about 4:46 pm Pacific Time, a tragedy occurred at Point Magu.
Today I honor the memory of friends lost in the tragedy. 
I hope those of you know me well enough to understand the significance of today will join me in a moment of silence this afternoon.
 
 
Photo credit: wikimedia

Permanently docked in Long Beach, California, the Queen Mary represents an bygone era of elegance and style.  A time when it took an ocean liner to cross the ocean.
The Queen Mary served as both an elegant ocean liner and a WWII troopship, but for the last 40 years has been a California attraction, hotel, meeting center, and restaurant (actually three restaurants).  Although suffering from a little ship-worn look the past few years, the once elegant liner is being restored to its former glory with a major capital refurbishing campaign.
The ship is home to a 314 room Art Deco Hotel, …read more

Today’s Matchbook Monday is from LG’s PRIME Steakhouse in Palm  Desert, California.  Its location at 74-225 Highway 111 is the oldest commercial building in Palm Desert.
Established in 1991 by Leon and Gail Greenberg (that’s the L and the G), the husband and wife now have three locations in the Coachella Valley (Palm Desert, Palm Springs, and La Quinta).
Offering USDA Prime steaks, arriving at your table still sizzling, and a wine list of over 500 selections, the restaurant has carved out a loyal following with the desert residents and visitors. 
 
Image credit:  personal collection
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I’ve spent a couple days flying on the west coast, and there has been some very strange weather going on. 
There has been snow in places that normally never see snow, like Las Vegas and Southern California.  There has been torrential rain in San Diego, California.  There has been unseasonably cold weather (and I mean VERY cold) in Phoenix, Arizona and Palm Springs, California.  And there was snow in Seattle, my home town.
 

 
Today was actually a sunny day at 40,000 feet, making the snow on the mountain sparkle in the sunlight.
Too bad it wasn’t quite so pretty on the …read more

Today’s Matchbook Monday comes courtesy of Anita, and is from Nello’s Place in Redding, California (3055 Bechelli Lane, Redding).
Nello’s Place is small family-owned Italian restaurant.
The restaurant was started in 1980, after Nello retired to Redding.  The family couldn’t find a good local Italian restaurant and so decided to open one of their own.  Having a long history in the restaurant business, this was just one more in a long line of successes.
If you’re driving in northern California, stop off for a bite to eat and a glass of wine.
Do you have a collection of matchbooks?  Or maybe you came …read more

Today’s Matchbook Monday comes from Matt at The Chicago Traveler.
It’s from The Rooftop Bar at the Standard Hotel in downtown Los Angeles (550 South Flower at Sixth Street).
In addition to its sweeping views of the city, the Rooftop has a heated swimming pool, a dance floor, outdoor fireplace, vibrating waterbed pods, and a grassy knoll with sculptured topiary.  DJ’s play music nightly, and there are lots of special events.  Sounds like a great place a drink with friends.
Lunch, dinner, and a bar menu are offered noon – midnight, and bar service extends to 1:30 am.
Matt claims that this is …read more