Category Archives: Travel

Lacy Park Stairs – Just Do It!

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA                                                           View looking up                                                

The Lacy Park Stairs are nestled among bougainvillea plants and beautiful homes in San Marino, California. I stumbled upon them as my husband and I were bike riding through the neighborhood. He was easily cruising up the never ending slope of the street we were on while I was panting and searching for any break spots (this seems to be a pattern with us). When I noticed the steps my mind began to race, “This could be my new exercise ‘club’!”

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Flashes in the Night – It’s a Star Party!

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CombineFilesExcAvg_trial2                                                             Orion Nebula

In the frosty late night air of Palm Desert (at least in the fall/winter/early spring months) and the sparsely populated town of Mountain Center in the desperately dark Santa Rosa Mountains (utilized in the late spring/summer months), telescopes are set up in dark parking lots and night prowlers roam the grounds looking for the first big, “Wow!”. Red lights blink on and off sporadically to usher groups in the right direction. Sounds like the start of a Hollywood film, right? No! It’s the monthly star party put on by the Astronomical Society of the Desert (ASOD).

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The Desert is ‘Sunnylands’ Indeed!

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sunnylandsPathSpringtime in the Coachella Valley is, well, gorgeous! I doubt it was quite this beautiful when “discovered” during the westward expansion and travel was by horse drawn wagons with no deodorant nor my beloved air conditioning. However,  today it is beautiful.  One spot in particular is Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California.

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Heart-Healthy Elixir in Ojai

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERALooking for a heart-healthy day trip that is a short (and scenic depending on your route) drive from Los Angeles, California? Head to Ojai! Nestled in the rustic hills of this laid-back community is Ojai Olive Oil Company, a family owned and operated fully organic and sustainable treasure.

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The Sparkling Jewel of Palos Verdes

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There is beauty and then there is Palos Verdes, California beauty. Nestled within the hillside, sitting atop the rugged cliffs that meet the Pacific Ocean sits Wayfarers Chapel, better known to locals as “the glass church.”

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A Prickly Stop in the Desert

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERACactus (noun) is defined as “a succulent plant with a thick, fleshy stem that typically bears spines, lacks leaves, and has brilliantly colored flowers” (this sounds strangely similar to some Hollywood characters I have met, but I digress).  This definition only scratches the surface of these fascinating plants and lacks the depth of beauty and variety these beautiful, unusual, and quirky plants offer. To experience that, head over to Moorten’s Botanical Garden founded in 1938 in Palm Springs, California.

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Look up into the sky!

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SydneyObservatoryI stumbled upon the Sydney Observatory as I was walking back “home” to my hotel in Darling Harbour. My stay in Sydney, Australia was an unexpected one as my ears ruptured during the decent into Sydney airport from Perth on my way back home to Los Angeles and the airport doctor grounded me, literally. I was not able to fly until my ears had time to heal. My coping mechanism, explore the city! It’s amazing what you discover when you are grounded in a foreign land.

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Deep Thoughts in the Garden

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Some days are just meant for deep thoughts. Where do you go for such lofty ambitions? Arlington Garden in Pasadena, California is where!

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It’s a date!

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Two of my husband’s favorite things are dates (the fruit) and hot weather. Being from Finland, he says his bones are still trying to thaw out. That explains our “exploration” drive through Desert Hot Springs a few months back.

As I smashed my face as close as possible to the cool air shooting from my side of the car’s air conditioning vent, he happily tapped along to the radio and periodically pointed out different vistas in the ever heating desert scape. Suddenly, perhaps because my face was only inches from the windshield or maybe because of my eagle eye for anything food related, I spotted a small sign for dates with an arrow pointing down a quiet road. We decided to explore and how wonderful that we did!

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For whom DOES the bell toll?

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We’ve all heard the poem by John Donne that warns, “ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.” However, when you ask that question in Perth, Western Australia, people excitedly jump to get a turn to clang the bells.

The Swan Bells, or Perth Bells as they are also referred, are located in the Barrack Square precinct of Perth which is easily accessible by the Blue CAT bus, or you can take the ferry across if you are not in the city business district. The glass spire that sits atop the six-story cement bell chamber pierces the sky as if to let the heavens hear their lovely sound.

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