Los Angeles is a city of divides: poverty and decadence, history and trend, life and death. And the city of angels has its share of death, as evident by two Hollywood attractions, the Museum of …

Trying to change the negative reputation that the Slabs had acquired over the years as a melting pot for drug addicts, hippies and psych ward releases, Builder Bill created the Range, just southeast of the …

For us San Diegans heading north, it’s those rolling, stress-releasing mountains inland of Temecula that we cruise through on the way to Palm Springs. But instead of darting right on Highway 74, hang a left. …

Southern California airplane buffs and planespotters flock to Imperial Hill in El Segundo – a picturesque spot overlooking Los Angeles Int'l Airport. This windy overlook at the corner of E. Imperial Ave. and Sheldon St. …

Weathered from a 75-million-year-old sandstone cliff in La Jolla are seven sister caves. Like many other seaside caverns, these, too, have been used by pirates. Only the cargo they smuggled was human. California’s eight-year-gold rush …

I am in love with the deserts of Southern California. There is no greater joy than leaving the ’burbs on a sunny Saturday, stocked up with water and sunscreen, and driving off into the beyond. …

For starters, the name is misleading. “Balboa Island” is not an island – well, not a real one, anyway. Back in the early 1900s its harbor, Newport Harbor, needed channels dredged of sand and silt …

When you’re staring at a deer beneath a grove of oak trees, it might be difficult to realize that you’re within the city limits of Los Angeles. Topanga is a hilly, wooded oasis located within …

“It's like everyone is on a vacation. An extra pep is in the air.” This statement came from an acquaintance of mine who opened up a restaurant in Palm Desert. His customers continually wore smiles …

After hiking in Joshua Tree National Park, I camped in Indian Cove beneath batholiths. I had come to see the Wonderland of Rocks, which thanks to Minerva Hoyt is publicly preserved and accessible. Surrounded by …

I float in a sun-warmed, peanut-shaped tile pool, watching the breeze flip the palm fronds against a turquoise San Diego sky, sipping a midday mimosa. Cally, the woman for whom I was house sitting, had …

Pummeled by roaring, tent-folding winds most of the night, I awoke to the softest of morning gusts coming out of the canyon. Swaying in my hammock, I sipped freshly brewed licorice root tea surrounded by …

Having seen two of the palm groves at the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, I was inspired to drive north towards Palm Springs to see the largest palm groves in the world at the Agua Caliente …

Every thirty seconds, a twenty-second countdown excites the crew, patiently waiting for our class’s race to start. We hear on the radio, “10-9-8…” At 1, “Time!” We synchronize our watches and the race has started. …

This story is dedicated to the memory of K.P. Ward, who died unexpectedly and tragically on December 22, 2010. Finally, here it is: the start of my summer vacation of 1987, and I just finished …