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

February 28, 2020May 29, 2018

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.

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-Shiong, announced 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.

What to See in Seattle ~ Your Complete List of Our Favorites!

February 28, 2020May 24, 2018

How do you decide what to see in Seattle?

Trying to decide what to see in Seattle is a major challenge, but a fantastic problem to have! The city is so amazing and there are so many tasty restaurants, picturesque spots and fun bars. Time and again many friends and colleagues ask me where to go and where to eat in Seattle. These personal recommendations are our absolute favorites and are places we go on a regular basis. This list does not include every single touristy activity – you can get those from another travel site or guide book. Of course there are several insanely great shopping areas (Downtown and University Village are our favorites) and a visit to the Flagship Nordstrom is a must.

Friday Roundup – Bits and pieces we didn’t get a chance to talk about this week!

February 28, 2020May 18, 2018

Happy Friday! If you missed it…You can find this week’s post about == > How to Stay Fit When You Travel ===> HERE My Friday Roundup: Links to Awesome Stories You Have Probably Not Seen. Don’t you love it when someone else does the work? OMGee 20 Books everyone ill be talking about this Summer! …

Travel Tips for Everyone: How to Eat Everything and Still Stay Fit

February 28, 2020May 17, 2018

How to Eat Everything and Still Stay Fit When You Travel

Well, first of all this is a TALL order. Second of all, it takes some work. Third of all, nobody’s perfect, especially me.

I think there is a misunderstanding that when someone sees a post of an amazing restaurant dish or fabulous handcrafted cocktail, they assume that we eat this way all the time. No, not true at all. By the same token when we post happy things on Facebook all the time it implies that our lives are perfect! Nope, not true either! Read on my friend…

The Arrival of Spring in New York – Or did we just skip straight to Summer?

February 28, 2020May 14, 2018

Here’s one more adventure to share from our recent trip to New York City.

Spring in New York – Was it ever going to arrive?

It was late April, surely it was time for the arrival of Spring in New York? Right? The weather has been so strange this year. For most of the country and my friends in the Mid West and in the East the temps were still extremely chilly and they even endured a recent snowstorm. Ridiculous!

While on my recent trip to Nebraska in late April it was freezing cold and there was snow on the ground. What? When I agreed to attend an ecotourism conference in Kearney, Nebraska did I ever imagine it would be this frigid! Ha, joke’s on me! And there’s more…

A New York City Restaurant Recommendation That Came From Instagram

June 11, 2021May 7, 2018

How did I find a New York City Restaurant Recommendation from Instagram?

It seems that lately since the whole Facebook privacy scandal, social media has become more of a negative than a positive. There are certainly a great number of attributes I do not like about it, but there are plenty of things social media does well.

Using Instagram as a referral system is definitely a popular activity and many people (like me) use it as an important food and travel resource. Prior to traveling to a new city, I peruse the hashtags and check out the restaurant accounts and often find some pretty yummy things. Receiving a New York City restaurant recommendation from a reliable source and not just from YELP is a much better scenario. At least for us, it is. I do trust those sites, but when the Editor in Chief of Bon Apetít Magazine recommends a local, smallish, out-of-the-way little restaurant and says “It is some of the best food I have had in a while”, I listened!

What’s newsworthy? Links to articles this week we found intriguing!

May 4, 2018May 4, 2018

Family links to articles ~

We are a family that shares links we find in the news. All six of us have many of the same interests and no one has the time to scour the web to find everything. Nick’s girlfriend Kylie is always on top of the newest and coolest restaurant news. Alex and Nick are especially good at finding super cool info, that I have never heard of. Brent and Craig pass on business and sports news.

My interests lie in a variety of subjects like home design, travel, recipes, fashion and newly published books. We typically text each other on our family group text, but for today’s post that wouldn’t quite work for you and me, would it?

A New York Times Adventure: A Travel and Photography Workshop In N.Y.C.

February 28, 2020May 1, 2018

A Travel and Photography Workshop ~

We traveled to New York City this past weekend in order for me to attend NYT Journeys Travel Smarter Weekend: Food and Photography in New York City. Sounds like my kind of adventure, don’t you think? I honestly did not know what to expect exactly, but knew that I would come away with lots of inspiration and definitely a few handy tips and tricks for successful and enjoyable travel.

An LA Girl’s First Trip to Nebraska – I loved it!

February 28, 2020April 26, 2018

My first trip to Nebraska!

My first trip to Nebraska was such a delightful experience, that I am already planning a return trip for Craig to come with me. A good friend and fellow travel blogger, Sara Broers of Travel with Sara, told me about Plains Safaris, a Conference in Kearney, Nebraska focusing on ecotourism.

Nebraska? Hmm, I would have to think about that. I am passionate about nature conservation and always looking for a new adventure, so I took her advice and booked a ticket to Omaha and I was not disappointed. From beginning to end, I met warm, intelligent people who cared about the same things that I did and I learned so much in such a short few days. Check this out!

How to Beat the Challenges of the Empty Nest and Have a BLAST!

March 24, 2020April 16, 2018

You Can Beat the Challenges of the Empty Nest and THRIVE

The truth is that the Empty Nest isn’t really all that empty. It is actually a place full of ideas and possibilities that will blow your mind! It may seem very quiet and empty right after the kids have left for school, but soon it won’t feel that way. It takes time, but the Empty Nester Adventure is an enlightening one and one filled with promise.