When a trail is described as “one of the top bike trails in the nation,””world-renowned,” or the “jewel of Sacramento” I just have to check it out for myself. The Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail (also called the American River Parkway) located in the Sacramento area is a paved 32-mile trail that parallels the American River … More Sunset Bike Ride on the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail
A recent weekend had us traveling to Denver, Colorado to attend a volleyball tournament for my daughter. This was my first time in Denver, and I was excited to explore “the Mile High City” (Denver is one mile above sea level) between volleyball matches. We flew in to Denver on a Friday night to get … More Downtown Denver, Colorado
With the kind of unstable weather we’re having in California, you may have to get a little creative when planning an outing. Finding places to explore that are somewhat near “shelter,” so that if the rain suddenly starts Niagara-falling, you can find somewhere to run-like-heck and go on with your day. My parents were joining … More Napa Valley Day Trip For the Whole Family
We love to be active and enjoy the outdoors, but hiking is not necessarily the activity of choice when we get together with grandparents. No problem, there are plenty of outdoor activities we can all enjoy. One of our favorite excursions that we took with my in-laws was a trip to San Simeon on the central … More Hearst Castle, a California State Historical Monument
I know it’s kind of early to be thinking about Thanksgiving. I mean, we still have our holiday memories still lingering around in our heads. But, if I may, I wanted to plant a tiny seed, an idea to file away for the future. How about celebrating Thanksgiving at the Grand Canyon with your family? … More How About Celebrating Thanksgiving at the Grand Canyon?
We finally had gorgeous, “I can’t believe this is January!” weather this past weekend and we couldn’t get out the door fast enough to enjoy the outdoors by doing some hiking just south of San Francisco. We were going to meet up with some friends on Sunday, so it was fortuitous that the weather was perfect … More SF Bay Area Hike with Waterfall and Coastal Views
I’m always looking for recipes that I can make on our induction stove in our campervan to add variety to our usual camping foods. Gyoza, Japanese-style potstickers, cook up wonderfully on a cast iron pan on the induction stove and although it’s definitely not your typical camping fare, my family loves them. Gyoza does take a little … More Gyoza Anywhere
Here, in the Bay Area we are having some wet, stormy weather. Some of us even experienced a blackout or two and flooding on our roads. Not too bad, but it’s keeping us on our toes. As my family and I sat in our candlelit, electricity-less house last week watching the rain pelt the deck, … More North Lake Tahoe Winter Activities
Happy 2017! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season full of special times with family and friends. Love this time of year! Although we spent an inordinate amount of time binge watching movies, playing video games, practicing volleyball (ok, only my daughter!) and sleeping in, we had the opportunity to spend some time in Tokyo, … More Christmas Time in Tokyo
I’m not sure how I’m going to convince you to go bike riding at the Grand Canyon, but I’m going to try. Because…I think if you can spend some time cruising along the rim trails while being regaled by the ever changing views, you will just love it like we did. On a bike you … More Biking the Grand Canyon Trails
After a night at Mojave National Preserve we were on our way to the Grand Canyon! The nice weather on our drive made us hopeful that the forecast was wrong and it would be beautiful and sunny when we arrived. Just when we started believing in Thanksgiving miracles, we saw them! The massive rain clouds that … More Grand Canyon National Park
A number of years ago, we accidentally discovered that the week before Thanksgiving is one of our favorite times to travel. We had made a trip to Arizona to visit family and as an afterthought we decided to visit the Grand Canyon. That trip has remained one of our most memorable and special national park trips simply … More Mojave National Preserve
Thanks for coming back for the second part of the post about a trip my family took to introduce my daughter to Japan for the first time. Part 1 covered the first 5 days of the trip and this post will cover the last 6 days. I left off (in part 1) on the last day of our stay … More An introduction to Japan in 11 days, part 2
We are eagerly anticipating a trip to Japan coming up later this year to visit my brother and his family who have been living in Tokyo for the past year and a half (I miss my nieces and nephew!). My mom and dad have invited us to stay at an apartment they rented for the month … More An introduction to Japan in 11 days, part 1
It’s definitely pumpkin season, and those lovely, traffic-cone-orange pumpkins are everywhere! On our recent trips to the coast, we passed by one pumpkin patch after another, making it a very colorful and festive trip through Half Moon Bay. Here, in California, we are bombarded (in a good way) with everything pumpkin right now: pumpkin lattes, pumpkin … More Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
