Category: California

Take four days, mix grassy hills dotted with vineyards and oak forests, historic cities, beach cities, state parks along the Pacific Coast Highway and you have an unforgettable interlude. Paso Robles rests midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, just …

Photography by Yuri Krasov Amid all the touristy hype of California Wine Country, there are still places where you can be treated like a family guest, and called by name. On a long weekend trip, my husband Yuri and I …

It used to be that people would drive through Napa on their way to someplace else. Not any more. There are so many choices: great accommodations, fantastic restaurants, delicious wine tasting, a lively marketplace. I stayed for a few days …

No wonder everyone flocks to Santa Barbara each Winter. It’s a yearly phenomenon to be there for the winning movie star tributes, non-stop screenings, food dining feasts and round about parties. Speaking of film festivals the Santa Barbara International Film …

The city of Lodi nestled between the San Francisco Bay and the Gold Country Foothills has emerged as a popular and prominent cultural, wine, and fine dining destination. Lodi boasts a Mediterranean climate, perfect for growing grapes. But much more …

It’s a fact that girlfriends really do need to get away from time to time, just to relax, renew and bond. Once a year my life long friend, Ellen, lures me to Ojai, California, for a welcome retreat. Ojai is …

Hollywood is one fun place to visit. If you think it’s the playground for only the rich and famous, forget that notion and hop on the next plane to Southern California. Hollywood Boulevard, from North Highland to North Vine, is …

Photography by Yuri Krasov The Pacific was not pacified. Between the strong wind and the deafening sound of rushing waves there was no place for a peaceful stroll on a beach or a picnic under a rock. I had to …

Photography by Yuri Krasov When exceedingly nice people in the town of Morro Bay ask a Russian-speaking journalist if she came here all the way from Siberia, it would be rude to answer with a question under what rock you’ve …

Photography by Yuri Krasov Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park is one of those places where solitude comes in a shape of a coastal deer grazing in the dusk on a side of the road leading to the lighthouse. …