A Capital Idea: The Oldest Art Museum in the Western United States Crocker Art Museum – Sacramento, CA Visited May 2026 While perusing the internet one evening, Tracy became enamored with a magnificent painting entitled “Flaming June” by British artist Sir Frederic Leighton. When she learned it would be featured […]

Sea Life From A Different Angle Monterey Bay Aquarium – Monterey, California Visited: 2026 When we stayed on California’s central coast, there was one place Tracy and I really wanted to visit since neither one of us had ever been there. We convinced Kim and Mary to join us and […]

“The Pride Of The Pacific” Fort Point National Historic Site – San Francisco Visited: February 2022 So you say you didn’t know there was a fortress constructed in the mid-19th century to help defend San Francisco against hostile warships? Well, neither did we until our recent getaway to The City […]

A Colorful Step Back Into HistoryFiloli Historic House & Garden • Woodside Visited: May 2021 Following our Oregon/Northern California trip, Tracy and I decided to make one last stop at a gorgeous spot she had been yearning to visit when the flowers bloomed in spring. Located about 25 miles south […]

Our Annus Horibilis Mini-Vacation (Part Two) Mendocino To Eureka: Beaches, Redwoods & Mansions Day Two: Don’t Step On The Glass, Motorcycle Down, Oh … DEER!, Watch Out For That Tree, Confusion Reigns, What Info?, Land Of The Giants, Picnicking With A Mass Murderer?, Another Aztec Defeat, Signs Signs Everywhere Are […]

Our Annus Horibilis* Mini-Vacation Northern California Coast Road Trip & A Winery For The Ages *In the year Tracy, borrowing a phrase from Queen Elizabeth, calls “Annus horribilis,” we made the decision to join our friends and longtime traveling partners Kim and Mary for a four-day vacation from Covid and […]

Three Countries In Three Hours Golden Gate Park – San Francisco June 2019 While visiting San Francisco, my buddy Kim said, “How’d you like to visit three countries in the next few hours?” Not having brought my passport, I didn’t think it would be possible, but Kim told me not […]

Bay Area Treasure Grace Cathedral – San Francisco Visited: May 2019 During the April 2019 fire at Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, I learned that San Francisco and Paris are Sister Cities, and that Grace Cathedral was constructed in Notre-Dame’s same French-Gothic style.  What I didn’t know was that a section […]

Modern Times San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) – San Francisco Visited: August 2018 While not exactly connoisseurs of Modern Art, Kim and I were offered tickets to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) from his daughter, who also happens to be a member and big fan […]