Browsing CategorySouthern California

As a travel writer, it’s making me CRAZY to not be traveling this year. I missed out on planned trips to Sedona, San Miguel de Allende, and Hawaii. Itching to go somewhere, I decided to journey up to Julian, a mountain town an hour northeast of San Diego. But unlike previous trips there, which centered around shopping and eating, I planned something totally different: a stay at Quiet Mind Retreat Center, a sanctuary overlooking Lake Cuyamaca. The retreat center opened just before COVID-19 changed everything, and while its objective is to host mindfulness retreats, right now it’s more of an Asian-inspired…

I’m a sucker for a Catholic church. And I haven’t been Catholic in more than 25 years! But wherever I travel, I find myself pushing the old oak doors into the heavy silence. I sit on the hard bench and take in the awe-inspiring art (because Catholics know how to do art right!). And I always, always light a candle for my dearly departed father. These candles are found at the Mission Basilica at San Juan Capistrano. If you haven’t been to San Juan Capistrano or any of the other 21 missions planted by Father Junipero Serra in the late…

I’m fortunate to live in Southern California because if I drive in any direction for an hour, there’s something completely different and cool. Take Encinitas. It’s just a 45-minute drive from my house, but it feels like somewhere really far away. In a nutshell, I find Encinitas to be a funky, laid-back, spiritual kinda town. Love it! Recently I was invited by Inn at Moonlight Beach to be a guest, so I grabbed one of my gals and headed up for a short but sweet overnight.

You may not know this, but San Diego was in an eight-year drought until last month. Pretty much the entire time I’ve lived here. I can think of periods where it had been months since we had even a sprinkle. Pretty unbelievable if you live somewhere where rain is more commonplace. But this winter was incredibly wet (as I’m writing this in May, it’s raining today). Other than giving me an excuse to buy cute rainboots, one of the perks of a wet winter is what comes in the spring. This photo was taken in Mission Trails, where I love to…