The Strange Tale of the Maraca Train Case
A couple of blogs ago I mentioned letting you know why the Minnesota visit! There are no relatives living there and my arm was not permanently twisted behind my back.…
Read moreHow the Other Half Lived
I try not to drive further south than Santa Barbara unless there is a funeral or a sick friend. Once you get to Ojai, the highway splits into six…
Read moreVolcano’s Away!
The state of Hawaii boasts over 26,000 vacation rentals by owner. Assuming you are new to the islands, that is a daunting number to wade through. The Hawaiian Island chain…
Read moreI’ve Been Spammed!
It has been my good fortune to travel many far reaching destinations over my sixty years. The National Park system was the go-to summer jaunt in the ’59 Caddie, without…
Read moreSecond in Trilogy….the Pasta Class
Cooking classes have always called to me, even after I really learned to cook as a teen. Nineteen, married with an ability to cook pot roast, well done, was not…
Read morePresidental Library
Simi Valley, an arid land north of Los Angeles with hundreds of thousands of look-alike houses and rows and rows of fast food, second hand shops and large box stores,…
Read moreCafe Firenze
Being a travel and food writer might lead one to believe I am a devotee of Food Network, Masterchef, America’s Test Kitchen, Iron Chef, Hell’s Kitchen or one of the…
Read moreGreenfield, California…don’t miss the tacos!
The Salinas Valley is dotted with small towns rarely frequented by the passing car passengers on 101 headed to Los Angeles or San Francisco. Typically folks stop for a bite…
Read moreThis Little Piggy
The farm to table concept of food production and restaurant life- style was chronicled by liberal foodie Michael Pollan in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, first published in 2006. I read this…
Read moreYou, Slow Down!
YOU, SLOW DOWN! Don’t ever plan a surprise party for me. It isn’t that I don’t like surprises. In fact, when I was little and Christmas rolled around, Mom didn’t…
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