Chilling on the California Coast
Post 3 in a series:
Part residential, part historic, part shopping mall, Old Town Seville has something for everyone. Perhaps it should be no surprise that the selfie mirror at Seville Cathedral attracts more attention than the tomb of Christopher Columbus.
Continue reading “The Americans Discover Columbus in Seville and Olive Oil in Spain’s Andalusian Mountains”
If the flapping wings of a single butterfly can alter the weather, imagine the impact of thousands of monarchs fluttering around a small eucalyptus grove. Or visit Santa Cruz and see for your yourself. Continue reading “Butterfly Effect at Monarch Preserve in Santa Cruz Whips Up Big Smiles, Stiff Necks”
Part 2 in a series:
Madrid is a modern metropolis, the third-largest in Europe and the capital of Spain. The business of government and industry dominates the streetscape. But lose yourself in the parks, alleys and El Museo del Prado, and the ancient city emerges. Fortunately, we had no problem getting lost. Continue reading “Lost in Madrid Amid the Ghosts of Pious Ladies, Old Masters & Grandpa Ray”
We met in the Midwest, where October means crisp leaves, warm apple cider and that first cold snap. It was classic. For 20 years in suburban L.A., fall meant hot winds, choking dust and fires. It was miserable. Now here we are Coastside enjoying a whole new fall tradition. And it’s amazing!
Continue reading “A Letter to The Coastside: Thanks for a Spooktacular October! We Needed That”
Part 1 in a series:
Culture is resilient, shaped gently even when handled roughly by politics, religion or brute force. Tourists need to respect the constitutional crisis that currently embroils Catalonia and Spain. But the world-class cultural delights of Barcelona persevere unfettered. We felt very welcome. Continue reading “Barcelona’s Beauty, Traditions and Hospitality Persist Amid Constitutional Crisis”
Recognizable as the nimble HMS Interceptor in the 2003 Disney movie blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,” the replica tall ship Lady Washington sailed into Pillar Point Harbor this week for a two-week stay. We clambered aboard for a visit. Continue reading “Lady Washington Ties Up at Pillar Point Harbor; Tall Ship Sailed in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’”
Love it. Hate it. Hide from it. Everyone living Coastside has an opinion about the annual Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival. Our opinion? Embrace the madness. And here are a few tips for enjoying next year’s gourd gala. Continue reading “How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival”
NOTE: We’re sorry to report that shortly after posting this story we discovered that Z Pie had closed several weeks earlier. But there are still plenty of fruit pie options on the road to Tahoe. Enjoy!
Lots of travelers enjoy stopping for a sweet slice of fruit pie at an Apple Hill orchard on the road to Lake Tahoe. But the most unique pies in the region just may be the savory variety available at a tiny pot pie restaurant not far away in Placerville.
Who knew? Continue reading “Pie Shopping on the Road to Tahoe; Don’t You Love New Traditions?”
Why walk a labyrinth? Actor Jeff Bridges, who portrayed the ultimate slacker in “The Big Lebowski,” offers this:
“With a labyrinth, you make a choice to go in – and once you’ve chosen, around and around you go. But you always find your way to the center.”
Nice centering metaphor. That is until someone completely lacking in inner peace pitches the labyrinth’s border stones into the ocean. Bummer. Continue reading “Quest for a Coastside Labyrinth Travels from a Quarry to Lands End and Back Again”
A hillside of shiny obsidian born of liquid rock and thrown by Mother Nature herself atop a fiery geologic potter’s wheel rises from the Newberry Volcano just south of Bend, Oregon. It’s so cool they named a beer after it!
It smells bad. It tastes bad. A sign cautions moderation. Yet the lithia mineral water streaming from eight cheery bubblers in the town square of Ashland, Oregon, has attracted health naïfs and the merely curious for more than 100 years.
Who knew? Continue reading “Public Fountain Bubbles Up Foul-Tasting Mineral Brew; Go ahead, Have a Sip”
The beer was cold and the music hot, but the best action at the 2017 Half Moon Bay Fish & Fleet Festival involved flashing filet knives, bickering gulls and sea-faring comedians cracking wise topside at the docks. And who doesn’t like a salmon raffle? Continue reading “We Party with the Fishing Fleet at Half Moon Bay; Who won the Salmon Raffle?”
Discarded headlamps. Unused castors. Spare sheet metal. Stray tools. The medium is culled from dark barns and dusty flea markets. The whimsy and talent to transform junk into art resides in Sebastopol, CA. Florence Avenue is the gallery.
Continue reading “Whimsy Transforms Junk into Fantastical Sculptures on Florence Avenue Art Walk”
Feeding frenzy? Aquatic ballet? Sea-faring mosh pit? Whatever you call it, the rhythmic but raucous performances staged by anchovy-hungry seabirds, whales and trawlers in Half Moon Bay over the past two weeks have been big fun to watch. Continue reading “Sharknado? Nope. But a Frenzied ‘Birdphoon’ Swirls and Splashes into Half Moon Bay”
It’s not easy being a Chicago Cubs fan in San Francisco. Or in St. Louis, Los Angeles or Cincinnati, for that matter. But after nearly 40 years of rooting for the away team, MontaraManDan has become something of an Emily Post for ballpark road warriors. Continue reading “A Coastside Cubs fan at San Francisco’s AT&T Park? Do This, Not That”
Grumpa would have had a big time today. He and Mom-Lady could not have planned our Eclipse Day any better when they purchased a hillside home among Douglas firs in Oregon’s totality zone back in 2001. We’re certain they had Aug. 21, 2017 in mind. Continue reading “Shadow Slacking in Oregon’s Totality Zone; We Wish Grumpa Were Here”
If the landowner had never blocked access to Martins Beach, we probably never would have heard of this controversial stretch of sand south of Half Moon Bay, much less visited. So, what’s so special about Martins? We decided to crash the gate and find out. Continue reading “What’s so Special About Martins Beach? We Crash the Gate and Sashay Past a Cop to Find Out”
We typically avoid whitewater adventure. Danger, deprivation and discomfort are not on our bucket list. A rollicking 174-mile jet boat ride through Hells Canyon on the Snake River seemed like a good compromise. Continue reading “Speed Thrills Aboard Hells Canyon Jet Boats; Our Fitness Apps Can’t Keep Up”
Part 6 and last in a series:
The Coastside Slackers had an amazing time in the Canadian Rockies: Soaring mountains, roaring waterfalls, exotic wildlife, orange marshes, placid Alpine lakes. We could drop the mic and end it here, but we wanted to share a few tongue-in-cheek thrills that amused us along the way. We hope you’re amused, too … Continue reading “21 Goofy Reasons to Visit Canada: Maxi Bars, Timbits and Pocket Loonies”
Part 5 in a series: For nearly 30 years, Yosemite National Park defined mountain majesty in our world view. And then we traveled slack-jawed through Canada’s Icefields Parkway. OMG. We need to get out more.
Imagine if the Yosemite Valley were 140 miles of soaring mountain peaks. Conjure up hundreds of ribbon waterfalls pouring meltwater from scores of glaciers into dozens of meandering milky blue streams and turquoise lakes. Now add hundreds of thousands of acres of alpine forest and slash the tourist per square mile ratio. Then we might have a competition. Continue reading “Canada’s Icefields Parkway Eclipses Our Beloved Yosemite; Gobsmacked at Parker Ridge”