Each year thousands of swallows fly 6,000 miles from Goya, Argentina to San Juan Capistrano, Calif. in large groups. The chestnut and orange-colored birds return to reclaim their old mud nests in the ancient arches and walls of the city’s historic Mission, and to raise their young in the warm coastal climate. I don’t visit the…
By Greg Aragon Like a prop from Disneyland or a “Harry Potter” movie, the Abbey Library in St. Gallen is a magical, surreal place. But unlike fantasy lands, this historic bookroom is all real, down to the last 1,400-year-old handwritten manuscript and 2,000-year-old mummy. A couple summers ago I discovered St. Gallen, along with its famed library, as…
By Greg Aragon Did you know there is a historic and lavish presidential retreat just outside of Palm Springs, in the small desert town of Rancho Mirage? If you didn’t know about this, then you are not alone. Until my visit to the area last year, I had never heard of it either. But this all changed when…
By Greg Aragon I’ve previously written about my adventure on the Island of Lanai and this week I would like to look at another Hawaiian Island: Kauai. On my last visit to this beautiful tropical paradise, I stayed at a luxurious ocean-front resort, sailed in a catamaran along the beautiful Napali Coast and discovered a…
By Greg Aragon If you are looking for a beautiful and relaxing outdoor getaway for the day, the new Chinese Gardens at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens are a spectacular sight to behold. Reopened to the public in July, the Liu Fang Yuan, or Garden of Flowing Fragrance, is one of the…
By Greg Aragon There is nothing like being at the beach, watching the sun fall into the ocean. It is a beautiful, almost spiritual sight. And nowhere is this daily event more beautiful than in Carmel-by-the-Sea, where there is a built-in amphitheater of sand overlooking the water, with plenty of natural seats for visitors to watch the nightly spectacle. I recently returned to Carmel to visit the beach and relax…
By Greg Aragon Bishop, Calif. may have a small-town feel, but because of its location in the Eastern Sierra region, the city is close to lots of big-time sights. Set about halfway between Yosemite and Death Valley National Parks, Bishop is on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada, along the banks of Bishop Creek. It sits at an elevation…
By Greg Aragon California is replete with natural wonders and Mono Lake holds its own against them all. As one of the oldest lakes in the western hemisphere, it is eerily beautiful, with giant tufa structures jetting from its serene surface and the snow-capped Sierra Nevada reflecting in its shimmering blue waters. A friend and I began a recent fall getaway to Mono Lake at…
By Greg Aragon The 1930s was a great time for Hollywood westerns and for the city of Lone Pine, Calif. Film crews came looking for adventure in the nearby Alabama Hills, where giant granite boulders provided the perfect backdrop for hideouts, ambushes, stage coach rides, and gunfights. These movies brought big names like John Wayne,…
By Greg Aragon It was 42 steps across the grass from my suite at San Diego Mission Bay Resort to the sandy beach where ducks were playing in the water. I know because I took this memorable stroll dozens of times during my two nights at the luxurious, waterfront hotel. My recent getaway to San…
