El Dorado Nature Center, Long Beach, California, USA

October 29, 2025 Right in the middle of Long Beach is the El Dorado Nature Center, 105 acres of forest, surrounding a stream and two lakes. Our daughter-in-law, Kylie, guided us through the trails that wind through the Center. Along for the ride was our new grandson, Oli, who was experiencing his first stroll throughContinue reading “El Dorado Nature Center, Long Beach, California, USA”

Palos Verdes, California, USA

October 22, 2025 The Palos Verdes (Spanish for green sticks) peninsula lies just west of Long Beach. With its beautiful views over the Pacific, it is home to some of the area’s wealthiest neighborhoods and fanciest resorts. We drove over there and went for a walk along one of its coastline trails. We came acrossContinue reading “Palos Verdes, California, USA”

Pioneertown, California, USA

October 13, 2025 Heading to Palm Springs for a couple of days with Lauren’s sister Marion and her husband Jeff, we decided to visit Pioneertown along the way. The town was started by Actor, Dick Curtis, in 1946 as an 1880s themed live-in motion-picture set. Hundreds of Westerns and early television shows have been filmedContinue reading “Pioneertown, California, USA”

Rancho Los Alamitos, Long Beach, California, USA

October 10, 2025 A few weeks ago we visited Rancho Los Cerritos, which is near to our house. Also nearby is Rancho Los Alamitos, one of the other five ranchos formed when the Rancho Los Nieto, which had been awarded to Manuel Nieto in 1784, was split among his heirs after his death. So weContinue reading “Rancho Los Alamitos, Long Beach, California, USA”

Bixby Knolls, Long Beach, California, USA

October 6, 2025 In the early 1940s, Long Beach experienced a surge in defense-related employment, notably with the establishment of the Douglas Aircraft Company at Long Beach Municipal Airport in 1940. This facility became a key production center for military aircraft during World War II. The influx of workers necessitated the development of new housingContinue reading “Bixby Knolls, Long Beach, California, USA”

Solvang / Cold Spring Tavern, California, USA

September 27, 2025 Out in the middle of California is a little bit of Denmark. Between 1865 and 1914, 300,000 Danes immigrated to the United States. Three of those Danes acquired almost 9,000 acres near Santa Barbara and in 1911 they established Solvang (Danish for sunny field). The developers brought in Danish settlers from asContinue reading “Solvang / Cold Spring Tavern, California, USA”

San Luis Obispo, California, USA

September 26, 2015 San Luis Obispo (often known simply as SLO) is a city of about 50,000 and is the home of California Polytechnic State University. It is named after San Luis, Obispo de Talosa (Saint Louis, bishop of Toulouse). Louis (1274-1297) was the second son of King Charles II of Naples, but having beenContinue reading “San Luis Obispo, California, USA”

Central Coast, California, USA

September 25, 2025 After the Spanish style buildings of Santa Barbara, Cambria was decidedly western. In fact, it reminded us quite a lot of Winter Park, the small ski town where we met in Colorado. Our original intent had been to follow the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) all the way up to Carmel, but itContinue reading “Central Coast, California, USA”