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MERCURYNEWS.COM: September 15, 2015

We make nine million bike trips a day in the United States, according to the National Household Travel Survey and a lot of those rides are enjoyed on vacations. Continue reading →

Mercurynews.com: August 28, 2015

The daffodil-colored cottage sat just beyond the road, perched on a knoll and surrounded by grazing sheep.”Bonjour,” said the woman with the brightly colored apron as if welcoming dear friends. Her kind words entwined with the heady aroma of fresh bread as she showed us to a checker-cloth table near the window. Monet may have painted this scene, were he alive today.
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MERCURYNEWS.COM: July 9, 2016

From my lookout over the San Simeon coast, the elephant seals looked like cigars — their long, brown bodies splayed side-by-side on the beach below. I strained to see past the blubber and protruding proboscises for a green scar on the neck of one male — a mammal called “Green Tie” because of the mark left from a deeply embedded packing strap. Continue reading →

CONTRACOSTATIMES.COM: July 3, 2015

To quote a lyric from Johnny Cash, Cuba is suddenly “hotter than a pepper sprout” on the world travel stage with U.S. travel to Cuba jumping 39 percent this year. But is this island — frozen in time for more than five decades — a must-see destination? Christopher P. Baker, who helped found the Bay Area Travel Writers (www.batw.org) in the mid-1980s, is the premier authority on tourism to Cuba. “Mi Moto Fidel: Motorcycling Through Castro’s Cuba,” is one of six books and dozens of articles Baker has penned on the island nation. Continue reading →

Contracostatimes.com: May 21, 2015:

Just listen to the rhythm of a gentle bossa nova; You’ll be dancing with ’em, too, before the night is over — “Downtown” by Petula Clark

Memorial Day Weekend marks what I like to call the fifth season — the season of downtown music festivals. The festival grande dame kicks off Friday in California’s capital city. Continue reading →

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: March 18, 2015

Spring training is to Phoenix what Mardi Gras is to New Orleans — it’s crazy gear and ice cold beer and wacky hats. And baseball. Continue reading →

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: February 26, 2015

Two famous men are the subject of this travel feature. And if that doesn’t intrigue you, the word “free” just might.

The East Bay homes of John Muir and Eugene O’Neill are off-radar gems that make great day trip destinations. Both were big thinkers, if not geniuses in their day, and their homes give us insight into their lives. Continue reading →

CONTRACOSTATIMES.COM: January 16, 2015

As a seasoned traveler, I’ve ended up in some strange foreign lands. Iceland in June, Lapland in January … South Dakota in the dead of winter. But this happened in my own backyard, so to speak.

There I was, standing face to face with a cobra. Alert and extended, it seemed poised to strike.

“It’s a magnificent specimen,” said my guide as he beckoned me closer. “Just look at the hood.” Continue reading →

A snow covered Empire Mine

INSIDEBAYAREA.COM: December 12, 2014

All that glitters is not gold. Some of it comes from the twinkling lights heralding Christmas in California’s Gold Country. Continue reading →

HILLS NEWSPAPERS: November 21, 2014

Please forgive Santa if he ditches his sleigh for a bike in the Livermore Valley. More than 8 miles of bike lanes and trails connect 16-plus wineries in this pleasantly rural wine region. Continue reading →