St. Helena and Yountville, California, USA

June 22, 2026

Driving through Napa Valley we passed numerous wineries. They were built in a variety of styles. Many looked as if they would be at home in France or Italy or Spain. Some were modern. But they were all immaculate and tidy as the rows of grapes surrounding them.

We stopped briefly in St. Helena for a quick look around.

Before moving on to our final stop of the day, Yountville. It is a pretty little town with charming buildings and colorful rose gardens.

There was even a mushroom garden outside the local post office.

But the village is mainly known for is its many outstanding restaurants, including the celebrated French Laundry.

From the outside, The French Laundry doesn’t look all that special. The building dates to around 1900 and used to be the home of a French steam laundry, hence the name. But the restaurant has had three Michelin stars for many years and is consistently ranked among the world’s best restaurants. Three stars are the highest Michelin rating. There are only 157 restaurants in the world with three stars and just 14 in the United States. Many of the vegetables and herbs used by The French Laundry come from the three acre culinary garden right across the road.

Deciding to save the several hundred dollars per person it costs to eat at The French Laundry, we ate under the olive trees in the beautiful courtyard of nearby Clementine.

Calistoga, California, USA

June 22, 2026

Next stop on our California tour was Napa Valley, home to over 400 wineries. Neither of us are wine people, so why Christopher and Carla headed out to various vineyards for tastings, we explored the local towns. First up was Calistoga. The town is known for its geothermal pools and volcanic ash mud treatments so we headed to Golden Haven Hot Springs to try out our very first mud bath. It was strangely relaxing and disgusting both at the same time.

After we went for a stroll along the town’s Main Street.

The old train depot had been transformed into a brewery and distillery and some train carriages had been turned into restaurants, including a particularly beautiful Mexican restaurant.

Groveland, California, USA

June 21, 2026

Good question. Where indeed is Groveland? It is, in fact, a small historic town just outside Yosemite National Park. It was originally a gold mining camp, known as Garrote (execution by strangling). According to local tradition, the name came after a suspected thief was lynched by being strangled with a rope—a grim example of the frontier justice that was common in some Gold Rush towns. As the settlement became more established, residents felt the name was too violent and changed it to Groveland in 1875. It is now a quaint little western town and home to the Iron Door Saloon. Established in 1852, it is claimed to be the oldest continuing running saloon in California.

Now that the town’s wild days are behind it, the jail is now the home of the local gardening club.

The Groveland Hotel has been beautifully restored and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Here are some of the other historic buildings on the Main Street.

But Groveland is not just stuck in the past, as evidenced by the fact that it has charging stations for both Rivians and Teslas.

Mariposa Grove, Yosemite, California, USA

June 20, 2026

Mariposa Grove is the largest grove of giant sequoias in Yosemite and is home to more than 500 mature trees, many of which are over 2,000 years old. They are the largest species of tree by volume, meaning no other tree species in the world contains as much wood in a single trunk.

Their bark can be up to 2 feet thick which protects them from heat and fires. In 2022 a fire that started near the bottom of the grove burned about 5000 acres but because of decades of forest management and an intensive fire fighting effort none of the mature giant sequoias were lost. Many do however have blackened trunks. In fact, sequoias commonly carry fire scars for centuries while they continue to grow.

The Grizzly Giant is estimated to be around 3,000 years old and is among the world’s largest sequoias.

The California Tunnel Tree is a living tree with a man-made tunnel carved through its trunk in 1895.

Tioga Road, Yosemite, California, USA

June 20, 2026

Yosemite is notorious for the crowds it attracts in summer. Having faced ever-increasing crowds the day before, we decided to go for a drive along Tioga Road, a spectacular mountain road which is still in the Park but farther away from the maddening crowds.

Our first stop was Olmsted Point. The overlook is named for American landscape architects, Frederick Law Olmsted and his son Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., who were influential figures in American conservation and park planning. The exposed granite, polished rock surfaces, and broad views back toward Half Dome make it a very beautiful place to stop.

Next stop was Tenaya Lake, named after Chief Tenaya, a leader of the Ahwahneechee people who lived in the Yosemite valley. Carved by glacial activity during the Ice Age, its crystal clear waters and sandy shores make if a perfect spot for a picnic and swim.

Or final stop was Tuolumne Meadows, a vast subalpine meadow at about 8,600 feet (2,620 meters) above sea level.

Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, USA

June 19, 2026

Yosemite National Park is one of those rare places (like The Grand Canyon and Milford Sound) that, despite the hype, actually exceed expectations. We weren’t surprised that it has been named the most beautiful place in California.

In 1864, the United States Congress passed legislation that was signed by President Abraham Lincoln creating the Yosemite Grant. It was the first time that land had been set aside specifically for preservation and public use by the U.S. Government and set a precedent for the 1872 creation of Yellowstone National Park, the nation’s first.

Interestingly, the indigenous Ahwahneechee people who lived at Yosemite actually called it Ahwahnee meaning “big mouth” probably describing the big open shape of the Yosemite valley. The name Yosemite is believed to come from a term used by the neighboring Milwok people to refer to the Ahwahneechee and has been translated to mean “those who kill”, likely referencing their fierce reputation.

We spent two idyllic days exploring the park with our nephew Christopher and his better half, Carla. The first iconic site we saw on entering the valley was El Capitan, perhaps the world’s most famous climbing wall. It rises straight up for about 3,000 feet (914 meters). In 2017, Alex Honnold became the first person to climb it without ropes, an achievement captured in the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo. It is one of the most terrifying things we have seen on film. Unfortunately, the photos don’t do justice to just how immense it is.

There are many beautiful walks in the valley, some ending in dramatic waterfalls.

We were reminded of Woody Woodpecker from the cartoon of our childhood watching these two woodpeckers go to work on a tree.

New Zealand vs. Iran, SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, California, USA

June 15, 2026

The soccer World Cup is currently underway in North America and as luck would have it New Zealand was playing Iran in Los Angeles at SoFi stadium, home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. Opened in 2020, it is a state of the art stadium with a curving polymer roof and a unique double sided video board that weighs over 2 million pounds (1,000 metric tons). The stadium holds over 70,000 people and with its towering stands, it is not unlike the World Cup quidditch stadium in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Los Angeles has one of the largest Iranian communities outside Iran itself, and we think that most of them must have been at the ground, because it definitely felt like a home game for Iran. When they scored the sound was deafening. But that does not mean that those at the game were necessarily fans of the current regime. In fact, it appeared to be just the opposite, with many fans booing the national anthem which had been adopted by the Islamic state in 1990. Many also waved the the Lion and Sun flag that was Iran’s national flag before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The flag has become a symbol of Iranian identity, protest and support for democratic change. FIFA’s ban of the flag as a political symbol appeared to be widely ignored, based on the number of flags being waved both outside and inside the stadium. The game ended in a 2-2 draw which seemed to be a fair result.

Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California, USA

June 7, 2026

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the current World Champions of baseball. Although, that might be overstating it a bit, because Major League Baseball actually only includes teams from the United States and Canada. Our son, Ben, arranged a family outing to see the Dodgers play their crosstown rivals, the Angels.

It was an opportunity to see Shohei Ohtani who is perhaps the greatest baseball player of all time. The Japanese player signed a contract after the 2023 season with the Dodgers worth around $700 million. Unfortunately, we didn’t see him hit one of his prodigious home runs, although he did have a couple of hits.

Practically every second fan was wearing one of his jerseys. Lauren and her sister Marcy decided to get in on the act.

Although the Dodgers got crushed by the Angels, nobody seemed to mind much. Eating, drinking and socializing seemed more important than the actual game.

Peanuts and Cracker Jacks are a baseball staple. Hence, the lyrics of the famous song. “Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the crowd, buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks, I don’t care if I never come back”. For the uninitiated, Cracker Jacks are a type of caramel popcorn. Back in our childhood they used to come in boxes and included a small plastic toy which was undoubtedly a choking hazard. Nowadays you get a paper-based surprise, puzzle, sticker or code that unlocks a digital game.

Hot dogs are also a fan favorite, especially at Dodgers stadium home of the famous Dodgers Dog.

Speaking of dogs, it was bring your dog to the game day. A large number of our furry friends had dressed for the occasion and appeared to be enjoying their day out.