The capital and only major city of Uruguay doesn't get the acclaim of some neighbors – notably Buenos Aires and Punta del Este – but it's a vibrant and fascinating place, and if time is …
August 24, 2020
Travel Stories
The essence of Montevideo in 48 hours
Manaus, Brazil: quick and cheap across the Meeting of Waters
June 2020 UPDATE: The Brazilian state of Amazonas has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic – with the capital, Manaus, having the only intensive care beds in the state. Read more about how …
June 21, 2020
Nostalgic day-cation in Los Angeles
Like most people hailing from Los Angeles, I have a healthy love-hate relationship with the city. I grew up a "valley kid" in the suburbs of the San Fernando Valley. Downtown, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, …
May 17, 2020
Damn, it's cold! NYC in late winter
Editor's note: as in California and much of the country, stay-at-home orders are currently in place in New York City as of spring 2020. Wherever you are, stay safe, as we look forward to travel …
March 26, 2020
Escape to the Mojave: Joshua Tree's must-sees
We set off one recent morning on a trip to forget suburbia: to immerse ourselves in the high desert enclaves of the Mojave and Colorado, where San Bernardino’s sprawl can no longer reach through the …
March 1, 2020
The road to Cádiz, Spain
Sometimes an adventure shifts your perspective and uproots your priorities. For me, that adventure was a road trip through Portugal and Spain in September. The story begins in Lisbon, Portugal: My friends picked up me …
February 2, 2020
El Bolsón and the Andes refugio system
My third trip to Patagonia was tremendous, great weather for all but one day and my best survey of the acclaimed mountain hostels that now number 15 in all. Once sleepy <a hreEl Bolson, fabled …
January 21, 2020
Ghost hunting at the Tombstone Motel
A little while back my mother and I decided to go on a ghost-hunting expedition to Tombstone, Arizona. Being the “professionals” that we are, we packed our equipment (flashlight, electromagnetic field detector, digital audio recorder …
Portugal’s Atlantic Coast: rich history meets seaside serenity
Portugal has a long, rich history that colors everything from its language, food and architecture. It was settled by homo sapiens 35,000 years ago and retains traces of a non–Indo European language and even DNA. …
October 25, 2019
Panama City: since I was in the area...
A relatively short distance from San Diego (just a few small countries south of Mexico) lies Panama, the final Central American nation before you hit South America. Yet, for a tiny country, the capital, Panama …
September 29, 2019
Wine & dine Temecula "staycation"
Confession time: as a San Diego resident, it took me almost a decade to go wine tasting in Temecula. I broke the spell when my best friend celebrated her birthday at Pechanga Resort and Casino. …
September 7, 2019