Taking the back roads to Paso Robles
On a recent road trip to Atascadero, a city that lies about 115 miles south of Watsonville, my wife Sarah and I took umpteen diversions off the main highway to gather a better sense of the Salinas Valley and surroundings.
Heading out San Miguel Canyon...
The slow way home from San Francisco
On our one-night journey to San Francisco recently, my wife Sarah and I wrapped up day one with dinner at Mister Jiu’s, 28 Waverly Place in Chinatown.
Our seat at the bar gave us a front-row taste of the goings on at the popular and...
Short trip, big rewards in San Francisco
Road trips around California—including Sacramento, Atascadero, the desert, San Diego or north to Half Moon Bay and Fort Bragg—have time and again proven worthy of the fuel, hotel costs and drive time for me and my wife Sarah over the past several years.
Whether an...
Knowing the way to—and through—San Jose
I’ve been visiting San Jose since the mid-1970s.
My first stop there was when a friend dropped me off at the airport after we drove from Eugene, Oregon. I was headed to San Diego to see my parents and that drive cut my trip in...
Part 3: Stepping into Arizona’s history
Two nights at Miracle Springs Resort and Spa in Desert Hot Springs, as it has in the past, offered a relaxing, quiet spot in the center of Palm Desert that served as home base as we branched out across the desert floor.
Breakfast at the...
Part 2: Through a storm and into the calm of the desert
On day two of our two-week road trip, my wife Sarah and I said goodbye to Bakersfield and drove southeast on Hwy 58 toward the Mohave Desert.
We were greeted with fierce rain as we climbed Tehachapi Pass on Highway 58. Our interest in taking...
A road trip through California and Arizona, part 1
Thanksgiving this year included a 2,575-mile road trip, 21 relatives, two states, eight motels and a wide array of restaurants, both great and not so great.
My wife Sarah and I left Watsonville on Highway 129 to Highway 152 in Gilroy for breakfast in Casa...
A look back at Gold Country in the Sierra Foothills
Since I was born in Columbia in the Sierra foothills, I’ve returned there a number of times to soak in some of the history and get a deeper understanding of California’s Mother Lode.
Heading east of Modesto along Highway 49 my interest spikes as the...
Highlights from a trip to Petaluma
This is the third and final installment of travel writer Tarmo Hannula's account of his trip to Petaluma. Click here for part 1 and here for part 2.
As we steered south from Cotati and rolled back through Petaluma, my wife, Sarah, and I still...
The tunes and flavors of Petaluma
On the second day of an overnight journey to Petaluma at the top of the north San Francisco Bay Area, the Best Western Motel helped start our day with a waffle breakfast, good coffee and OJ.
Wandering through the older part of downtown Petaluma the...
Thousands fill Watsonville for Strawberry Festival
The annual Strawberry Festival drew scores of people Saturday, who browsed among merchandise sales booths, sampled from dozens of food vendors, rode rides, played...
