The Manhattan Project

Heading north out of Santa Fe, curving around a rugged canyon, the unusual town of Los Alamos beckons after a scenic 33-mile drive. www.visitlosalamos.org. Tucked away in the Jemez Mountains of Northern New Mexico, this sprawling community once housed Pueblo Indians and the Los Alamos Ranch School until the early 1940’s. Today, the world renowned…

Alamo City

The stifling heat couldn’t stop my adventurous self, trading my air-conditioned hotel room for a stroll along the famous River Walk right in the historic heart of downtown San Antonio. www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com. The call from the river below my window was just too strong. Heading downstairs and out the cool lobby, I stepped up to the…

Ancient Streaks of Red

Shaped over millions of years ago, rising amidst yellow-red sandstone cliffs, the Echo Amphitheatre in Northern New Mexico is quite a dramatic sight to behold. Towering over the dry desert landscape along Highway 84, about 15 miles north of Abiquiu and past the Ghost Ranch, these spectacular rock formations just take your breath away. According…

Catalina Dreamin’

I’m stepping off the ferry from Long Beach and like every other time I have set foot on Catalina Island, I fall in love all over again. No wonder. Such perfect romantic setting. Locals call it the ‘Island of Romance,’ Hollywood has featured these sun-kissed shores in many of its movies and flocks of love…

Santa Fe, City Different

Santa Fe, New Mexico. City Different, so the slogan goes. And indeed, when strolling around the historic Plaza past the chic clothing and extravagant jewelry stores, one notices immediately the staggering difference to the world beyond this oldest capital city of the United States. Maybe it’s the dry desert air coming over the Sangre de…