Americans cling firmly to the belief that bigger is better. From super-sized food to amplifying body parts, America is hard at work at creating the most gargantuan version of anything and everything imaginable. Southern California has it’s share. There’s a giant doughnut at a 50′s bakery in Long Beach, California and until recently, a towering fork in Carlsbad, just north of San Diego. The sentinel fork was short-lived. Inspired by a Muppets movie prop, an anonymous, local retiree used his wood working skills to give his visitors a literal ‘fork in the road’ to turn at. Standing tall in a  [ Read More ]

Chiropractor Janis Prout sees patients in pain daily. When they’re getting ready for a trip, she helps them prepare, but often they return home in worse shape. Back pain from sitting is just one of the issues she helps with. Hear the interview and check out her travel tips below and others on this site. How do you stay comfortable and pain free when traveling? Take frequent breaks.  Our bodies are not designed to sit that long. Get up every hour, stop the car and do some stretching. Luggage – Pulling is OK but switch hands off and pull with  [ Read More ]

So much to be grateful for this time of year! Planning a road trip over the Thanksgiving holiday? Over the past few years gasoline prices have spiked in anticipation of crowded holiday highways. Here in California we’ve been given a gift -the average price per gallon has fallen, according to the Automobile Association. The Energy Information Administration is forecasting that prices will continue to decline nationwide through to the end of the year. Which may portend for even more cars out on the road. Be sure to plan accordingly. Travel tips for holiday drivers: ( I could give you dozens  [ Read More ]

Photo essay – A late fall afternoon spent harvesting: Every neighborhood  has adventures just outside its borders. Most of us live and drive within the same 25 miles. A lot depends on work and family pressures, so it’s a joy to escape the routine and explore a bit further. It can be like being a tourist in your own town,without the budgetary strain! Here’s a photo essay from a recent adventure – one I look forward to each fall. Enjoy! Families line the rural street with cars.                   Some come prepared to  [ Read More ]

New standards for fuel efficiency were just released this week – bringing us closer to driving nearly 55 miles per gallon by 2025. How I wish my little Corolla got that kind of mileage now. I can remember when I thought that today’s standards of 29 mpg were lofty. There are fuel efficient options if you think out of the box a little, including ridesharing. With one of the biggest driving holidays almost upon us and record heat, it’s going to be grueling especially with the high cost of gas, so what are your options? Find local alternatives. Public transportation  [ Read More ]

This summer temperatures have been climbing to new highs across the United States. When my son was an infant, I remember hot sticky afternoons and how exhausted I would often be, running errands and lifting my son in and out of the car. How harried and frustrated I felt as he would fall asleep before I was done and how tempting it was to let him sleep while I just ran into the store for a few minutes. I didn’t. It was too scary to imagine the possible scenarios – kidnapping would have been the least. We survived the car  [ Read More ]

My mother’s family emigrated from Croatia before 1920. Grandma Rapinac was an amazing baker. When she visited from Minnesota our house would fill with the comforting scent of freshly baked bread. My Mother was a great cook, but bread wasn’t her forte. However every Christmas she’d spend a long day preparing Potica, a sweet, rolled strudel, from a recipe in her Croatian Womens Club Cookbook. As I got older Potica became more precious to have each Christmas and with my Mother’s passing, I tried to continue the tradition. How did she do it by herself? There’s sweet, yeasty dough that  [ Read More ]

Mom does the Car Show What it would feel like to cruise through rush hour, that endless ribbon of silver and muted metal cocoons, in a cotton-candy colored sports car? Would I want the attention? Would others feel envy or enjoy the vision? Imagine the lifestyle it could represent. I day-dreamed while standing before the shiny blue Aston Martin on the LA Car Show floor. It’s a pretty foreign vision for this working mom, but not so for my newly minted sixteen year old son. I sent him a cell phone shot. For a few moments, Mom basked in a  [ Read More ]

An Urban Thanksgiving Adventure – The day started traditionally enough. We prepared our assigned dishes for the family potluck, starting with scrubbing and salting sweet potatoes before slipping them into the oven. Then it was time to prep Glog – a new family favorite. We cut up fruit, added juice and spices then set it to simmer. There were still hours before joining family and one more task to complete. Off we ventured to visit my partner, Dave’s fish processing plant, Catalina Offshore Products.  Our task – claim four lobster for dinner. Dave expertly lifted them from the tanks and soon  [ Read More ]

The current or winds had pulled the buoys beneath the waves. It was getting late, so our Captain decided to cut the engine and drop the cage.

My first Galapagos Shark, luminous and almost ghostly in the dark blue, materialized on the side of the boat. Next we noticed fins slicing the surface near the engine.