California Archives - Travel Examiner

Chinese Garden, Huntington Library and Gardens, San Marino, Pasadena, California

Huntington Gardens Comforts and Rejuvenates in Times of Turmoil.

April 30, 2025 California, Destinations, Huntinton Gardens 1

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. Feature image: The Chinese Garden. Gardens provide solace in times of turmoil. Mother Nature comforts, nourishes, embraces the

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Portrait of Baron Raul Kuffner, Art Deco Portraitist Tamara de Lempicka, exhibit at the DeYoung museum, San Francisco, California

An Art Deco Portraitist Like No Other: Tamara de Lempicka

November 18, 2024 Art Review, California, Destinations 0

Story by Stephanie Levin. When I rave about the first major US retrospective of Tamara de Lempicka at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco,

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A Passion for Life, Art and Wine: Thomas T. Thomas is Living His Dream

September 19, 2024September 23, 2024 California, California, Destinations, WineTasting 1

Story by Judith Horstman. Feature image: Winemaker Thomas T. Thomas (Photo: The Global Food and Drink Initiative) At age 18, Thomas T. Thomas was

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Jack London, Jack London State Park, Glen Ellen, Sonoma, California

Inspiration at Jack London State Historical Park

November 17, 2023November 19, 2023 California, Destinations, John 0

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. As a child growing up in the Midwest, Santa brought me two treasured books, “Call of the Wild”

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Beach view at Dream Inn hotel, Santa Cruz Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz Boardwalk for Twenty Four Hours of Teenage Fun

August 30, 2023September 11, 2023 California, California, Destinations 0

Story and Photos by Deborah Grossman. This summer our granddaughter, Lauren, visited California on her own for the first time. On her last family

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Mendocino Coast Adventures: Wine, Food and So Much More

May 21, 2023May 22, 2023 California, Destinations, Mendocino County, WineTasting 0

Story and Photos by Deborah Grossman. Mendocino is 1.4 times larger than my home state of Delaware. This may explain why I am always

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Femme piquee par un serpent (Mamadou Gueye), 2022. Photo: Ugo Carmeni/COURTESY Kehinde Wiley and FAMSF

The U.S. premiere of “Kehinde Wiley: An Archaeology of Silence” creates sacred space at San Francisco’s de Young Museum.

April 7, 2023 Art and Architecture, California, Carol, Destinations 4

Story by Carol Canter. Digging through “An Archaeology of Silence,” the powerful Kehinde Wiley exhibition at San Francisco’s de Young Museum, feels like an

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Sunset at Kaimana Beach with windsock faintly visible on the left. (Photo by Carol Canter)

An Ode to Swimming

April 3, 2023April 4, 2023 California, Carol, Destinations 0

A personal tribute to my fellow “swimmin’ women,” to the swim-themed room at the Joan Brown Retrospective at SFMOMA, and to the inspiring film

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Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin County, California

Tomales Point, a hike for all seasons at Point Reyes National Seashore

October 28, 2022November 1, 2022 California, Destinations, Wildflowers 3

Story by Carol Canter with photos by Lee Daley. Tule Elk grazed on the grasslands along the Tomales Point Trail, seemingly indifferent to the

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Ironstone Vineyards, Calaveras County, Gold Country, Sierra Nevada Mountain foothills, California

Calaveras County for Mining, Hiking, Biking, Wining, Dining, Fishing, Camping and Jumping with Mark Twain’s Frogs.

May 10, 2022April 14, 2023 California, California, Destinations, Winery News, WineTasting 2

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. Gold country in the Sierra mountain foothills is just a two-and-a-half-hour drive from San Francisco. For my wife

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John Steinbeck’s Valley of the World Revisited: A Photo Essay

November 15, 2021 California, California, Destinations 1

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. A ranch in “the wilder hills” from Old Stage Road “I would like to write the story

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Travel Amtrak’s Scenic Coast Starlight from Seattle to Southern California.

November 9, 2021 California, Destinations 0

Story and Photos by Libor Pospisil. “The journey is too fast, it passes too quickly; what a yearning I have now for long journeys!”

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Yosemite in Winter

February 25, 2021 California, Destinations 2

Story and Photos by Carol Canter. I whirled around the skating rink in Yosemite National Park, under a full moon illuminating Half Dome. As

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Point Sur Lightstation, Monterey County, California

Point Sur Lightstation: A Haunted Ghost Town on Prime Big Sur Real Estate

February 18, 2021 Big Sur, California, California, Destinations 1

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. Towering three-hundred feet above the crashing surf of the Pacific Ocean, one of California’s most faithfully restored

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Juniper Canyon trail to High Peaks, The Pinnacles National Park, California

Rock Star Birding in Big Sur

November 30, 2020November 30, 2020 Big Sur, California, Destinations 2

Story and photos by David A. Laws. “Birdwatchers look at birds. Birders look for them” – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Birdwatching, feeding

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Pyramid Mountain, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Summer tripping through the Canadian Rockies

August 21, 2020 Canada, Carol, Destinations, Wildflowers 1

Story and Photos by Carol Canter. Jasper: canoes, canyons and Charming Inns With daylight in the Canadian Rockies extending until almost 11 pm at

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Celebrate Monterey’s 250th Birthday with a Virtual Tour

June 3, 2020June 3, 2020 California, Destinations, Monterey 2

Story by David A. Laws. Monterey, California, planned a big celebration today, June 3, 2020, of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the

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Machine Gun Flats, Fort Ord National Monument, Monterey, California

Fort Ord National Monument: From Military Mayhem to Coastal Gem

April 27, 2020 California, California, Destinations, Fort Ord, Monterey, National Monuments, Wildflowers 2

Story and photos by David A. Laws. Beach Range, Engineer Canyon, Machine Gun Flats: These are not typical landscape features you’d expect to find

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Sausalito Kayak Tour, Sausalito, California, full moon magic

Full moon and comet create kayak magic

March 29, 2020May 13, 2020 California, Carol, Destinations 2

Story by Carol Canter. Photos by Lee Daley. I was standing in a circle of 16 kayakers on Schoonmaker Beach in Sausalito at 6:30pm

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Golden Gate Bridge from Travis Marina, Fort Baker, Marin Headlands, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, California

Marin Headlands: Just Across the Golden Gate Bridge

February 3, 2020March 11, 2020 California, California, Destinations, John, Marin County, San Francisco 2

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. Living in, or visiting the San Francisco Bay Area, we are blessed with the boundless beauties of nature.

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Point Sur Naval Facility Tour, Big Sur, Monterey County, California

Point Sur Naval Facility Tour Reveals Cold War Secrets

November 27, 2019March 11, 2020 California, Destinations 3

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. John le Carré dismissed Cold War spy heroes as “A squalid procession of vain fools” in his

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high tech tourism, Silicon Valley, San Francisco, California

Silicon Valley High Tech Tourism: Selfies and Swag

September 1, 2019March 11, 2020 California, California, Destinations, San Francisco 3

Story by David A. Laws. Personal digital devices and online social platforms are enabling a new kind of Silicon Valley tourism. Previously only of

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View of Sonoma Coast AVA, Russian River, from Thomas George vineyard in Guerenville

Russian River Rendezvous

July 20, 2019March 11, 2020 California, California, Destinations, Food and Wine, John, Russian River, Winery News, WineTasting 2

Story and Photos by John Sundsmo. “Hurry up and drop your bags. We’ve been waiting for you”, urged Jersey Tom from the door of

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Awaiting sunrise from Soda Point, Carrizo Gold - Sunrise to Super Bloom, Carrizo Plain National Monument, California's Serengeti, California

Carrizo Plain Gold – Sunrise to Super Bloom

April 29, 2019March 11, 2020 California, Destinations 0

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. I pulled my jacket close against the chill stirring of an early breeze. A heavy silence enveloped

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MontereyMovieTours, Monterey, California

Monterey Peninsula: A Movie Star for the Ages

January 28, 2019March 11, 2020 California, Destinations, Monterey 2

Story and Photos by David A. Laws. Location. Location. Location. The real estate promoter’s mantra applies equally to the magicians of the silver screen.

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