California has a total of 21 Missions running from San Diego to Sonoma ranging in date of founding from 1769 until 1823. The intent with each mission location was historically to place each one approximately a days journey between each other. Greater Los Angeles and Orange County have three representatives of these, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Mission San Gabriel Archangel (the closest mission to downtown Los Angeles) and Mission San Fernando … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA – Arts District
Vineyards - lots of them, planted to Sauvignon blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon grew on the north east fringes of what is now the Arts District along the edge of the Los Angeles River. The years were the 1830's and the 1840's and the man responsible for these vines was Jean Louis Vignes, a french immigrant who came to California in 1831. By the way, a street near downtown still carries his name. By 1849 his 'little' vineyard called El Aliso was … [Read more...]
No Time for Love, Dr. Jones
The following morning I awoke early and knew from experience that the boys would sleep for several more hours. I usually enjoyed this time by myself reading or wandering around, maybe getting breakfast. But I felt an odd surge of energy and curiosity and took flight into the jungle to find me a cave. I got my hands on a poor hand drawn map and bought a bottle of water on the way out of town. According to the map I would come to a bridge on the … [Read more...]
A Week in Sunny Devon
It was six forty-five in the morning as our USA plane touched down at Gatwick airport. This was the start of my one weeks vacation in Southern England. As we drew up to the disembarkation gate the captain told us the weather forecast for the next few days was warm and sunny ... what a bonus no rain. Once we cleared customs and located our hire car which, as luck would have it, had a diesel engine. What a great reward, considering gas is around … [Read more...]
Catalina, CA – Restaurants
Avalon has a diversity of restaurants - most overlooking the bay or within several blocks of the water. The following are select restaurants in Avalon. As with hotels, the prices for food can be significantly lower during the off/winter season. Prices subject to change without notice. Unless otherwise noted all phone numbers are in the 310 area code Avalon Grille is located in the central part of Avalon overlooking the … [Read more...]
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania – The Climb
Mountain Madness guides its clients on the Shira Plateau or the Fisher route. Dave climbed in December/January 1999-2000. The route he chose had about 80 climbers from various companies. To put this into perspective the other side of the mountain (which included the other routes) had 2000 people attempting the summit. Usually the client/guide-porter-cooks ratio is about 4 to 1. This means that for 2000 clients there were 8000 guides, cooks and … [Read more...]
Hopland, CA
The small scenic town of Hopland (population around 800) is situated about two hours (1 hour 45 minutes on a good day) north of San Francisco along the 101 Freeway or about 45 minutes north of Santa Rosa. Hopland is in Mendocino County and located on the western side of the Russian River. The 101 is a freeway the entire way from San Francisco until several miles south of Hopland where it turns into a 2 lane road. Reminiscent of parts of the 5 … [Read more...]
Hopland, CA – Restaurants
While Hopland is small, it does feature a surprisingly number of good restaurants. Here are a few we have visited to date: Blubird Cafe has been located in downtown Hopland for years and is our go to restaurant when we find ourselves in town. The service is friendly, the food delicious. Recommended items include the elk burger and the Tuscan salad with the addition of ahi tuna on top. Many ingredients are sourced locally including local beef … [Read more...]
Monterey, CA – Wine Tasting
Monterey wineries often focus on a number of lighter style varietals including their well-known Pinot Noir (especially from the Santa Lucia Highlands - above the Salinas Valley) and Chardonnay. One can find wines made from numerous other varietals. At last count, over 42 unique wine grape varietals were being commercially grown in Monterey County. Rather then dominated by winery tasting rooms, much of Monterey County is dominated by stand … [Read more...]
Gold Country, CA – Ironstone Vineyards
Ironstone Vineyards is located 1.5 miles from the town of Murphys. The road to the winery starts about halfway through the town (take the road directly next to Murphy's Hotel (a prominent historical landmark in town). As you get close to the winery you will see a number of vineyards. Ironstone grows not only grapes but also other crops such as apples. The owners have spent a significant amount of money and effort into building this into a major … [Read more...]