A deep drive into Los Angeles
On day two of our nine-day road trip to Los Angeles in May, My wife Sarah and I headed south from Santa Barbara, but not before we scouted out the burial site of my mother’s parents at the Santa Barbara Cemetery.
Thanks to online research,...
Taking in the flavors of the California coast
In May my wife, Sarah, and I took a nine-day, 1,250-mile road trip to southern California with a goal of checking out coastal towns big and small.
We headed south through Prunedale and caught Highway 101 south aiming for Santa Barbara where we had a...
Simple drive, rich rewards through San Jose
On a recent one-day drive through San Jose, my wife, Sarah, and I took in a wealth of rich sites, from the red salty shore of Alviso Marina County Park, the splashy shops of Santana Row, and to the north, the calm and rolling...
Paso Robles and the road north
Editor's note: This the second part of a two-part series on travel writer Tarmo Hannula's recent trip to Paso Robles. To see part 1, click here.
On a recent overnight road trip to Atascadero, after exploring the innards of the Salinas Valley, my wife Sarah...
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...
Photo story: Hit-and-run driver injures woman
Emergency officials prepare to whisk an 80 year old woman to the hospital early Monday rafter she was struck by an SUV in the...






















