By Kirsten Hahn Jennifer Payne seemingly had it all. A 40-year old stay at home mom, she lived 20 minutes from the luxury shops of Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive. The Malibu beaches were less than an hour’s drive away. Some of the best museums in America were readily accessible from her home in Sherman Oaks.…
No matter where you live chances are you want to get out of the house and see some place new. Problem is that, though stay-at-home orders stemming from the Coronavirus are being relaxed, the definition of social distancing remains imprecise.
By David DeVoss When travel began to plummet in mid February airlines responded in the usual way: they dropped prices. By the last week in February it was possible to fly round-trip from LA to Montreal for $196 on American. Round trips between United hub cities also fell below $200. But then something unusual…
Freelance members of the Society of American Travel Writers interested in agritourism in the Tohoku region north of Tokyo sample traditional Japanese cuisine and locally produced wine at a rustic restaurant outside the city of Sendai By Jacqueline Swartz “You have the best job in the world,” remarked a person I was introduced to at…
By David DeVoss If baseball is played in Heaven it probably resembles spring training in Arizona’s Cactus League. Every year, during the glorious month of March, 15 major league teams prepare for summer baseball at ten fan-friendly stadiums designed for culinary indulgence, relaxing in the sun and meeting friends you didn’t know you had. Spread…
Spring Training baseball opens in Arizona this week with 15 teams playing more than 200 exhibition games. All of the games take place throughout the Greater Phoenix area from now until March 22. People can argue about the relative popularity of football and baseball, but for native-born Americans baseball will always be the national pastime.…
Revisionist history once was associated with Soviet Russia, where leaders repeatedly erased the names of disfavored revolutionaries like Trotsky and Malenkov from the nation’s collective memory and airbrushed rivals from old photos. Today it is increasingly prevalent in the United States. One organization you might expect to dispense unadulterated history is the National Park Service, but its “interpreters” readily inject p.c. bias. Certainly this is the case at the Manzanar National Historic Site in California’s Eastern Sierra…
How restaurants control your experience in ways you may not realize By Peter Greenberg Ever wonder why so many fast food chains use red and yellow in their logo? Research shows that color scheme is an intentional stimulant signifying happiness, energy – and hunger. They subtly tell consumers enjoy yourself, but to also get in…
LA’s New Landlords Is Los Angeles the Next Shanghai? By David DeVoss There are more than 225,000 Koreans living in and around Los Angeles and this week they have a new symbol of accomplishment, a glass-sheathed hotel, office and retail tower topped by an enormous, sail-shaped LED screen that nightly beams the Korean Airlines logo…
Montreal is 375-Years Old and is Hosting a Year Long Birthday Party By Jacqueline Swartz Montreal is celebrating its 375th birthday this year. The French-Canadian city on the St Lawrence River has long been known for its festivals, including the dramatic, mostly outdoor Festival of Lights in freezing February. But this year will be special.…