Travel
Close escapes
Got a day, or a bit more? Napa beckons ~ By Katharine Fong. A quick check online reveals that the food truck Crossroad Chicken is stationed at Cuttings Wharf today. We turn south off bucolic Highway 12 onto Cuttings Wharf Road, heading toward the Napa River, passing vineyards, a few houses, then a mobile home [...]
The other Lake Tahoe
Ditch the crowds for a kinder, gentler getaway ~ By Bonnie Wach. For most Bay Areans, vacations in Lake Tahoe usually come down to North Shore or South Shore. Like snowbound lemmings, generations of lake lovers follow the weekend conga line of cars up Interstate 80 or Highway 50, packing into the condos, waterfront motels [...]
Queen of the coast
Santa Barbara is both splendid and sweet ~ By Katharine Fong. Santa Barbara has always been a magnet for Bay Area vacationers seeking a SoCal getaway that’s manageable: a picturesque, eminently walkable and bikeable town with a temperate climate, sweet parks and beaches, culture, shopping, excellent wineries and food. Not to mention its lush, jewel-like [...]
Multiple choice
Many kinds of wonderful in Monterey County ~ By Katharine Fong. Breakfast arrived sometime after 9. We saw them coming: Mailika, the smallest elephant, lumbering alongside her trainers, who were pushing boxes of food in a cart. But we weren’t really focused on our breakfast — we were looking forward to giving Mailika hers. While [...]
Mendocino revealed
Mysterious and magical, the village shares its charms on its own terms By Katharine Fong It’s tempting when thinking of weekend getaways to skip Mendocino – a little too far, a little too cold, not as sexy or celebrity-chef-laden as Napa and Sonoma. But that would be a mistake. Not that Mendocino makes it easy. [...]
Stay for a spell
The U.S. Virgin Islands enchant, and welcome Story and Photos by Ellen Creager Many travelers, particularly from the West Coast, know St. Thomas only from a cruise ship stop. Its fellow islands St. John and St. Croix are even lesser known. This is just wrong. The U.S. Virgin Islands are well worth visiting, and not [...]
Green on blue
L.A. resorts lure visitors with sun, sand – and recycling. They arrive twice a day by golf cart like mini Hannibal Lecters, leather hoods covering their heads. But the captive-bred falcons are hardly menacing – the hoods…
Gone glamping
What’s wrong with a little nurture with nature? Absolutely nothing. Glamorous camping, or “glamping,” conjures up images of exotic landscapes where spacious tents are luxuriously appointed with ridiculously thick duvets…
Splendid journey
Istanbul beckons with rich history, vital present By Lynda McDonnell and Steve Brandt Our first morning in Istanbul, the waiter in our small hotel served us the traditional Turkish breakfast of olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, crusty bread and steaming tea. As we finished, he beckoned us up the stairs to the rooftop. We gasped at the [...]
Gloriously green
Living large with a small carbon footprint By Katharine Fong To my mind, there is nothing more restorative than unplugging and heading off to a spot where the rooms and service are impeccable, the food is fresh and expertly cooked, and healing – even sybaritic – treatments for body and soul are easily accessible. But [...]
