Where to travel at the holidays :: Our readers share their favorites!

 

Where to travel at the holidays!

No two people seem to have the same destination in mind. How wonderful is that? These friends of mine have offered where they have visited at this time year that tickles them and provides that special something! Have you been to any of these destinations? I have only been to a few of them.

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Going on a trip to San Francisco soon? Here are 3 fab restaurants to try!

trip to San Francisco

 

trip to San Francisco

Every trip to San Francisco must include a culinary adventure!

Honestly, I try, but I can’t keep up! There are so many HOT enticing restaurants, serving incredibly exciting food in this culinary mecca that there aren’t ever enough days in every trip to San Francisco!

I have written a great deal about the restaurants we have visited and enjoyed I checked back over two previous posts here and here and I still agree with every word. They are ALL still on my favorites list. However, after this past trip, we went to three more restaurants you need to check out!

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Do you like to travel at the holidays? Come share your story.

 

travel at the holidays
Grand Central Terminal, New York

 

Do you like to travel at the holidays ?

About three years ago, I sent out a request for all of you to share your favorite holiday destination. This collaborative post was super fun to do and I thoroughly enjoyed reading where YOU like to go!

I think it is about time we did this again!

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A Family & Friends Adventure: A Destination Wedding in Seattle

 

destination wedding

Although sad to see it end, the wedding adventure is complete. Our grown up adult daughter has married her prince at a lovely destination wedding in Seattle.

Destination Weddings

Have you been to a destination wedding? I believe the definition of this type of celebration to be any wedding location too great a distance that you could not comfortably drive to and from in the same day.

Seventy percent of all our guests came from outside the state of Washington. That is a huge percentage of wonderful, caring family and friends who wouldn’t miss this day for the world. We so appreciate the time effort and expense of traveling to our Seattle “Urban Garden” Wedding in downtown Seattle.

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How I Survived the Longest World Series Game in History

longest World Series Game in History

longest World Series Game in History

 

Let me first say congratulations to the Boston Red Sox. The better team won and if I didn’t love the Dodgers, I would have rooted for the Red Sox. They are an impressive team.

Here is my story of the longest World Series Game in History

So I survived the longest World Series Game in history. I even left with a smile on my face. It was the single most intense professional sports event I have ever experienced – On television or in person.

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Books and Travel, Travel and Bookstores

travel and bookstores
travel and book stores
When we renovated our kitchen we built this wonderful nook just for my cookbook library. My favorite spot in the house.

Travel and Bookstores

Books and travel, travel and bookstores, they go together like peanut butter & jelly, cracker and jacks and iced tea on a hot summer day. I have been an avid reader my whole life and since I started the blog I have learned to combine my reading life with my travel life. As part of every itinerary, I look for local bookstores when I visit a new city. Do you do that?

This passion for connecting my travel destinations and my readerly needs has gotten stronger and stronger now that I have so much more time to read. When my children were young and we were so busy with school and sports activities, I was lucky to read a book a month. But now, I can plan my reading life, explore more and even try to pair books with my upcoming destinations. And there’s more…

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Our 34th Wedding Anniversary & Our Daughter’s Wedding! Yep, on the same day!

 

34th wedding anniversary

A Wedding Anniversary and a Wedding!

In just a few days, Alexandra, our oldest child, will be a bride walking down the aisle, thirty-four years to the day that I did. Did I know three and a half decades ago that our daughter would be getting married on the same day as we were? No, of course not.

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A Tasty Adventure – The 5th Annual Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival

annual Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival

Hungry? It’s the 5th Annual Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival!

Is the Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival on your entertainment radar? Why did it take us five years to put this event on our travel schedule? It was a dreamy experience where we could celebrate our passion for upscale dining and supporting local restaurants and wineries. What better way to investigate the best of what Orange County has to offer than by nibbling and sipping in the same place? Under vast white tents and flanked by cars from Range Rover and Jaguar, this event was over-the-top fantastic.

annual Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival
Honey Lavender Roasted Pear & Gorgonzola Bruschetta by Maggiano’s

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Sip & Savor at The Los Angeles Times The Taste – A Culinary Adventure

 

Los Angeles Times The Taste

A fun way to spend a Saturday night – At The Los Angeles Times The Taste

Every Labor Day weekend, The Los Angeles Times holds their annual food and wine festival and it is uniquely Los Angeles. Aptly named The Taste, this fabulous culinary bash at Paramount Studios is the place to nibble and celebrate all of the culinary talent here in Southern California.

For the first time, The Taste food fest will continue for one more weekend in Costa Mesa, CA on October 19-21. Check the highlighted link above for the details.

Los Angeles Times The Taste

As a fourth generation Los Angeleno, I am especially proud and excited to indulge and taste the eclectic food possibilities unique to our city. It is our fifth time attending this spectacular event and we mark our calendars way ahead of time to make sure we are available. We chose to attend on Saturday evening, but The Taste LA actually began Friday evening with the Opening Party and there is one more party on Sunday evening.

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Chris Erskine’s Happy Hour Hiking Club Takes a Tour of the LA Times Building

 

tour of the LA Times

Just in time! We were so fortunate to take a tour of the LA Times building only two weeks before they move to their new location.

tour of the LA Times

Our tour of the LA Times ~

Yes, it’s true, the Los Angeles Times is packing up and moving from Downtown Los Angeles. The new owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiongannounced in April, that he is vacating their historic, architecturally significant home and taking The Times to El Segundo because he could not reach a satisfactory lease agreement. The new building is just about twenty miles (but a long commute) from Downtown. The landowners wanted to increase the rent by $1 million per month. Wow!

This news came as a huge shock to the employees of the newspaper and Los Angeles history will be forever changed. The fearless leader of our Happy Hour Hiking Club, author and columnist Chris Erskine, has worked for the LA Times for twenty-eight years and he was able to arrange a special tour for us just before they all left for good.

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