January 20, 2026 Commissioned just eight days after the end of World War II, USS Midway was the largest aircraft carrier in the world until 1955 as well as the first ship that was too big to go through the Panama Canal. She operated for 47 years and saw action in the Vietnam war andContinue reading “USS Midway, San Diego, California, USA”
Tag Archives: history
San Juan Capistrano / Laguna Beach, California, USA
January 8, 2026 San Juan Capistrano is a town in Orange County, about an hour’s drive south of Long Beach. We started our visit there by having lunch in the Los Rios Historic District, which is California’s oldest continuously inhabited residential neighborhood. The main attraction in the town is its Mission. There are 21 historicContinue reading “San Juan Capistrano / Laguna Beach, California, USA”
Tarzana, California, USA
January 1, 2026 Lauren’s sister, Marcy, lives in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Tarzana. Located in the San Fernando Valley (AKA The Valley), the land it sits on was once owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan, hence the name. Burroughs led an interesting life. Born in Chicago in 1875 he graduated fromContinue reading “Tarzana, 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”
Hillsborough / Onehunga, Auckland, New Zealand
March 8, 2025 The Pah Homestead is a historic home located in the Auckland suburb of Hillsborough. It is, currently, owned by the Auckland Council and is operated as an art gallery. It was built in the 1870s for businessman James Williamson. Among other things, Williamson was a Member of Parliament and co-founder of theContinue reading “Hillsborough / Onehunga, Auckland, New Zealand”
Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand
February 26, 2025 Today we set out to explore one of Auckland’s oldest suburbs, Grafton. Today it is dominated by Auckland Hospital, surrounded by narrow streets that have not changed much since the neighborhood was established in the 1800s. The suburb is bordered on the east by what has always seemed to us to beContinue reading “Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand”
Mal and Lauren 