For some travelers, hope is the worst drug out there.

I read somewhere that the reason you’re sad around Christmastime is because it’s a reminder of what you’ve lost since childhood: the belief that the world is a magical place that is interested in your …

Name: Christopher Mirendil Age: 30 Occupation: Engineer Location: Tabletops, Cardiff by the Sea On a two- to three-foot day, I find Christopher Mirendil nursing a bloody foot after a surf session at Tabletops. “Today I …

Name: Colton Koons Age: 22 From: Serra Mesa Occupation: Beach Lifeguard Location: Ocean Beach Jetty Colton Koons is in the parking lot at the end of Santa Monica Avenue peeling off his wetsuit and getting …

Names: Justin Mendhan, Walter Graen, and Mikial Tolmosoff Location: Tijuana Slough Mikial Tolmosoff, a visual artist, and Justin Mendhan, construction worker, both 28, have been riding waves together in Imperial Beach since they were 10 …

Name: Nick Manverg Age: 23 Occupation: Bartender/Student at the University of St. Augustine Location: Crystal Pier Board: Firewire 5’6 Nick Manverg grew up in Temecula, an excruciating 40-minute drive to the beach. As a kid …

Kelsey Gonzalez Age: 25 Hometown: Point Loma Favorite Surf Spot: Old Man’s, Pacific Beach Kelsey Gonzalez is moving to Texas in one week. She is trying to get into the water as much as possible. …

Name: Jake Wilsie Age: 19 Occupation: Surf Instruction Location: South Mission Favorite Surf Spot: Sunset Cliffs It’s a Tuesday afternoon, and Jake Wilse is peeling off his wetsuit after giving a private lesson to a …

Rachel looks like a soccer mom. On most days her minivan is cluttered with backpacks and sports gear. Leftover Goldfish and Cheerios are ground into the floorboards. When dropping her kids off at school in …

Name: Josh Turner Age: 20 Occupation: Valet Location: Tourmaline Surf Park, PB Favorite Surf Spot: Hospitals, La Jolla Josh Turner’s introduction to surfing came by way of a Surfari Surf School class in Mission Beach …

A leopard-print sign hanging on Andrea Smith’s front door announces, “I am a luxury few can afford.” Three years ago there was heavy truth in that statement. Smith was bringing in about $2500 a night …

Name: Arturo Baravalle Age: 26 Occupation: tennis coach Favorite surf spot: PB Point On a foggy Tuesday morning, Arturo Baravalle suited up to surf La Jolla Shores. Baravalle moved to San Diego last June with …

Name: Charley Stevens Age: 28 Occupation: Bartender Location: Sunset Cliffs Subs Charley Stevens speaks like a surfer with slow and lazy vowels. He moved to Ocean Beach four years ago. He learned to surf in …

NAME: Jackson Lettow AGE: 15 LOCATION: Scripps Pier FAVORITE SURF SPOT: Cardiff or Scripps on a big day with no wind I distinctly remember going out one day with my dad when I was about …

Speaking English is eighth on their priority list.

When a presidential election season rolls around, my husband and I make an effort to avoid voicing our opinions. Our political views have been in contrast for the past 18 years. In the beginning of …

Sixteen-year-old Julie Schuman, a Cardiff native, ranks among the top three spots in the lady longboarders 18-and-under-category. She has been surfing since she was six years old. “There were always a bunch of kids out …

Name: Bob Thomas Age: 57 Occupation: English as a second language, San Diego Community College District Lives in: Ocean Beach Surfing: O.B. Pier “This is my favorite spot. I live down the street. My buddies …

If you make a right onto Dye Road off SR-67 north, past a sign advertising midget wrestling, tucked amidst dusty chaparral and dirt roads, you’ll find Grazin’ Pig Acres. A kitschy “Pig Lover” sign announces …

There is so much more to San Diego than a good tan and 70 miles of coastline. We are a city overflowing with creators, dreamers, and breathtaking natural beauty. In San Diego, art is found …

“Miss USA girls want to grow up and become lingerie models. Miss America girls want to be doctors and lawyers.”

Regina Lovato liked to take her Maltipoo (Maltese-poodle mix), Aria, and her blue pit bull, Yates, to Ocean Beach’s Dog Beach nearly every afternoon. Since Aria was attacked and killed by a black Labrador-retriever mix …

The California Institution for Women in Chino is dusty and dilapidated. It looks like an abandoned high school outfitted with razor-wire-topped fencing and look-out towers with armed guards. At 8:00 a.m. on an overcast Saturday …

No fun with mushroom girls and those on China time.

At Sam Radding’s shop, the twang was destined to meet.

Urban Adventures Beach Town Suburban Ocean & Bay Backcountry Mexico

Fashion always recycles itself as evidenced by the proliferation of high-waisted pants and the return of stonewashed denim. It’s no surprise that the 90s grunge-girl staple — the combat boot — has resurfaced in a …

Wonder and Hope — Mom always convinced me it would be an adventure. By Ian Anderson The Animal Keeper— Animals spoke to my mother “in a language only she understood.” By Whitney Butler La Gringa …

My mother first stepped foot in America in 1957 at the age of six. She was porcelain-skinned and freckle-faced with a shock of curly red hair. My grandfather waited on the tarmac as his family …

A childhood friend of mine from Chicago recently admitted that she unfollowed my Facebook feed. “In February Chicago had its coldest month on record since 1875! We froze our asses off. Looking at pictures of …

Never name your boat after your wife.

Fashion Week San Diego hosted its spring showcase at Harrah’s Casino on Saturday, March 14. Attendees were given a sneak peek of styles from 25 different designers whose designs will walk the runway next fall …

Among the barrel cactus and desert agave of Borrego Springs you’ll find a peculiar site: a herd of Gomphotheres and a 350-foot sea serpent slithering out of the sand. These, and 138 other larger than …

When Jon Carder became a multimillionaire at the age of 26, his mother thought he was a drug dealer. “For a good four years, she thought for sure I was selling drugs. I bought a …

Christmas shopping can be such a hassle. I have the tendency to avoid malls during the entire month of December. Parking is a nightmare and sales people are overworked and grumpy. Luckily for San Diegans …

Gift giving for the dudes on my Christmas list is a challenge. My husband is a minimalist, so anytime I ask him what he wants for Christmas he shrugs and says, "Nothing." While he acts …

San Diego is known for its great weather, beaches, and craft beer. I think we need to add another item to that list — thrift stores. From the row of resale shops in Hillcrest on …

SDSU on a Monday morning is a sea of fashion mediocrity. The campus is sprinkled with students wearing sneakers, joggers, yoga pants, tees and top knots. I get it; I do. No one likes Mondays, …

Every fall, the costume industry rolls out a fresh crop of sexified costumes for the ladies that range from the unintentionally hysterical to the downright absurd. Skimpy is fine, but a lack of creativity is …

Ever notice how groups of friends often share similar tastes in style? I ran into several groups of ladies who wore complementary frocks at the Adams Avenue Street festival. Lein Gage, Lora Mathis and Daliah …

If it were up to me, my husband would dress like he stepped out of a J.Crew catalogue. However he prefers to wear tees that say, Fact: Clowns Eat People paired with cargo shorts and …

Here’s what you should know about Fashion Week San Diego — Allison Andrews, the show’s founder/producer, is not attempting to replicate New York Fashion Week. FWSD is the laid-back, unpretentious version. You will not find …

At 17, she could pass for 21. Her wild brown curly hair is streaked with turquoise highlights. A cluster of freckles sprinkle the bridge of her pierced nose. Abby wears a 1920s-inspired emerald-green tropical-print bikini. …

Tattoos are so mainstream. Gone are the days when the rebels and counter-culture characters among us were the only ones sporting ink. In San Diego, trendy tattoo parlors like Remington in North Park and Full …

Hats can make a creative man. Pharrell's Vivienne Westwood vintage hat worn to the Grammys has since become a Halloween costume option. Slash’ has been wearing his iconic top hat, that he famously shoplifted prior …

In Little Italy, Lien Nguyen held her fluffy Maltipoo, Kali, close as she made her way through the crowded Saturday morning Mercato on Cedar Street. Nguyen was on her way to brunch with her husband. …

Mother/daughter pair, Madina Mah and Khadija Musame, infused some serious style into the City Heights farmer’s market with their beautiful and vividly colored traditional Somali Bantu dresses. 21-year-old Mah told me that she always dresses …

While enjoying brunch in San Diego, I found Australian (and one Brit) SDSU students Alice Himelstein, Bridie Davey, Sarah Astrada, Becky Oaks, and Sierra Callaway enjoying a break from studying. The five friends had some …

Clients and friends of David Roesch describe him as male version of the Long Island Medium. According to him, He has seen dead people since childhood. “After having scarlet fever as a child, and being …

If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good. — Dr. Seuss