Blowing in the Wind at San Gorgonio Pass Wind Park

Blowing in the Wind at San Gorgonio Pass Wind Park

It’s a sad day at San Gorgonio Pass Wind Park on the northwest outskirts of Palm Springs, CA, laments Randy Buckmaster, our guide from Palm Springs Windmill Tours. Wind – the element that makes one of the deepest mountain passesRead more

Chef Bruce Moffett’s Barrington’s Restaurant Stars in Charlotte

Chef Bruce Moffett’s Barrington’s Restaurant Stars in Charlotte

The sound system in the kitchen at Barrington’s restaurant in Charlotte, NC, plays “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” as I observe owner and executive chef Bruce Moffett wield a hefty knife and trim excess fat and other unwantedRead more

High Time in Highlands at Old Edwards Inn and Spa

High Time in Highlands at Old Edwards Inn and Spa

The good news is we’re sipping champagne and munching icy Dove bars. Both treats are complimentary as we check into Old Edwards Inn and Spa in the scenic mountain resort town of Highlands, NC. The bad news is firefighters areRead more

New SFMOMA Dazzles as Showplace for Modern and Contemporary Art

New SFMOMA Dazzles as Showplace for Modern and Contemporary Art

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s newest patron wears a fuzzy pink onesie. The baby girl is strapped face forward, arms and legs dangling, into a supportive carrier on her father’s chest. Dad holds a bottle up to his daughter’sRead more

Wine, Women, and Napa Valley’s Michaela Rodeno

Wine, Women, and Napa Valley’s Michaela Rodeno

Michaela Rodeno and I are standing in the light-filled kitchen of her cube-shaped home in Oakville, CA, which also doubles as the tasting room of her family’s Villa Ragazzi winery. She hands me a bottle of their flagship Sangiovese wine andRead more

Day Tripping to Bodega Head on the Sonoma Coast

Day Tripping to Bodega Head on the Sonoma Coast

Sixty-eight. Sixty-seven. Sixty-six. The countdown is under way as Bill and I drive the winding, two-lane Bodega Highway toward Bodega Head on the Sonoma Coast of California. Bill is at the wheel. He steals frequent glances at the thermometer onRead more

Small-Town Charms Amid Minnesota’s Lakes

Small-Town Charms Amid Minnesota’s Lakes

Competition is fierce, but my money is on the turtle named “Speedy,” the one the announcer says has been training by running, lifting weights, and swimming laps. I have no idea which turtle among the dozens is Speedy because theyRead more

Timeouts and Turning Points on Kiawah Island

Timeouts and Turning Points on Kiawah Island

My pulse quickens as always when my husband, Bill, and I cross Maybank Highway and head straight on Bohicket Road for the final stretch of the drive through Johns Island to Kiawah Island. It revs up more a few hundredRead more