Places to Go, Go, Do
Check out the places we’ve explored.
Venice Beach: A Must-See Slice of Los Angeles
If you talk to locals about Venice Beach, you’ll get mixed reviews. Some people enjoy it; some people hate it. Of course, many people will tell you, “It used to be great, but now it’s horrible.” I’ve been enjoying Venice…
Hiroshima Peace Park: A Tribute to a Tragedy and Revival
It’s hard to know what to expect from the Hiroshima Peace Park. You’ll find the Peace Park the at the center of Hiroshima, in a part of town completely decimated by the atomic bomb that the United States dropped there…
Descanso Gardens: Ninety Minutes of Tranquility at the Edge of Los Angeles
Los Angeles is not a city known for its gardens. We live in a desert and Palm trees constitute our iconic greenery. But, if you dig deep, we have some really lovely gardens here! To start: The Huntington Library in…
Watts Towers: An Inspiring Los Angeles Icon
Although unique to Los Angeles, Watts Towers are not on every tourist’s must-see list. If fact, though most Angelenos have heard of them, most have not visited. They are out of the way, in Watts, a small community in South…
One Day on Miyajima: Torii, Temples, Deer, Jizo, and a Giant Rice Paddle
When we planned our second trip to Japan, I knew I wanted to go to Hiroshima. I didn’t realize, until I started to look into it, that the beautiful floating torii I’ve seen in so many pictures of Japan would…
Cabot’s Pueblo Museum: Exploring the Home of one of California Desert Pioneer
After a night of glamping on a date farm in Desert Hot Springs (with two mineral pools just to myself!), I had planned to hike at the Whitewater Preserve before heading home. Alas, high winds gave me pause and then…
Ladder Canyon and Painted Canyon Hike: Slot Canyons in the California Desert
I don’t know how long Ladder Canyon has been an established hike, but I feel like I’ve been wanting to try it for decades. Every time I’m out in the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area, it calls to me. But it…
Art Off the Grid: Exploring East Jesus and Salvation Mountain (More adventures around the Salton Sea including Slab City)
East of the Salton Sea, past the small town of Niland, exists an outpost called Slab City. Some call Slab City an off-the-grid haven for artists, snowbirds, and modern nomads. Others see it as a den of homelessness and drug…
Art Rising from Ruin: A Day Exploring the Salton Sea
If you live in Southern California, you’ve heard of the Salton Sea, that way below sea level, once-glamorous resort turned dead-fish landscape, out in the middle of the desert. But if you did a little deeper, it seems like there…
How to Build an Amazing Trip: The Joy of Planning
Every once in a while I find a blogger who is a kindred spirit. I find someone like the Invisible Tourist whom I think I would be friends with, whom I want to hang out with, and whom I trust…