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Visiting Santa Cruz
Old-school eats: Garlic fries at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (beachboardwalk.com), which opened over 100 years ago.New-school classic: The coffee at Verve Coffee Roasters (3 locations; vervecoffeeroasters.com), served by a barista who knows the average rainfall at the Guatemalan farm where y
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Methow Valley, WA
When most other kids were choking down their Wheaties and just dreaming of being Olympic athletes, 11-year-old Sadie Bjornsen was setting her mind to it. That’s the age she was when she decided she wanted to compete in the 2010 Winter Games in Whistler, British Columbia.Nine years later, this 5
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Smokin at Angel Fire
For those who think snow shovels are for clearing sidewalks and straining backs, the World Shovel Race Championships at Angel Fire Resort in Angel Fire, New Mexico, are a revelation.Thirty years ago, ski-lift operators at the resort organized a race to see who could ride the tool of their trade
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Best gathering place: Vashon Island ferries, Washington
There arent many ways to leave Vashon Island, a 12-mile-long
landmass south of Seattle in Puget Sound. And that suits residents
just fine.
Four ferries do the bulk of transporting people and cars to and
from this island. En route to Southworth, the Olympic Peninsula, or
Fauntleroy, drivers are
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Lets play ball
We were among those lounging on the grass berm, soaking up the warm sun and watching the San Francisco Giants take on the Texas Rangers during a spring-training game. Nearby, a young man stood up and looked around quizzically. Doesnt anybody work in this state? he asked loudly.The answer is no,
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Lake Tahoe Summer Getaway
The scene Families dot the beaches, and boaters dominate the lake; traffic slows on State 89, and the Truckee River overflows with inner-tubers. Still, from North Lake to Emerald Bay, and South Lake to Incline Village, youll find plenty of peace, quiet, and to-die-for beauty. Cruise the lake Sk
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Things to do on the Saanich Peninsula, British Columbia
Why go in fall: It’s harvest time!Peel your eyes for: Hand-printed roadside signs advertising fresh eggs and locally made jam.Number of farms: More than three dozen of all sorts, with goods from apples to quince to Christmas trees.Fruity wines: The relatively mild climate is hospitable to grape
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A taste of Japan
My grandmother was 18 when she left Japan for Los Angeles and marriage to a man shed never met. For years afterward she would cry, homesick, then slice vegetables for sukiyaki.These days, when Im lonesome for my grandmother, I head to Japantown, where culture comes neatly packaged in a neighbor
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The next great wine country
Drive any Paso Robles backroad in spring, and you remember why you love California. Here are the rolling hills, deep green at this time of year with firecracker flashes of oranges and purples from poppies and lupine.
Cattle graze the hills ― after all, ranching was king in this part of San L
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Tucson landmark: San Xavier del Bac
Marble and ceramic tile were in short supply in 18th-century New Spain. This being the Sonoran Desert, wood was just as scarce. Thats why, when it came time to build Tucsons Mission San Xavier del Bac, artists were called in to create with pastels and brushes what they didnt have in real goods.
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Renos Riverwalk District
Spring is the time when the city of Reno sparkles―as high water in the Truckee River comes roaring through downtown. Renewal has also washed through the neighborhood, with a pretty river park anchoring a funky and flowering arts and dining district.The upshot is there’s no need to spend your Re
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Friendly whale
When the Pacific Design Center opened in West Hollywood three decades ago, residents didnt quite welcome it with open arms. Locals christened the 750,000-square-foot cobalt blue building The Blue Whale, and they rarely interacted with it.Today the Cesar Pelli―designed complex (a green building
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Santa Fe, New Mexico: best modern architecture
Think of Santa Fe, and your minds eye renders the image in sepia. By both tradition and design review in the historic districts, adobe and faux-adobe walls all wear the color of bare earth. Theres something to be said for it, as no other North American city grows from its landscape with such an
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Rising above Phoenix
Hes hopping boulder to boulder, a two-legged mountain goat with a heart-rate monitor strapped to one arm and his ultraminimalist hiking gear ― a lone half-liter water bottle ― cached in a waist holster. His companion is behind him, working her way much more deliberately and sanely up the trail,
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School day
Theres nothing like visiting the University of Southern California on Game Day. But after the football teams recent national championship, nows a great time to see what else USC has to offer.As a postgraduate student who pulled her nose out of her books on occasion, I gained a real appreciation
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Weird and wonderful in Humboldt
Its the Friday before Memorial Day weekend in Arcata, California. The great Kinetic Sculpture Race begins the next morning, and the Arcata Kinetic Sculpture Lab is buzzing.The small warehouse is a mad workshop of strange dreams. Giant, dusty shells of creatures, including a dragon and a white r
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Downievilles new boom
The story of Downieville, off State 49 in the foothills
above Nevada City, is the quintessential tale of the Gold Country.
When Major William Downie and his crew discovered gold here in 1849
at the Forks ― where the Downie River joins the north branch
of the Yuba ― thousands of hopeful fortune
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Arizona: Grand Canyon National Park
The
Grand Canyons dizzying cliffs
and vast scope can easily overwhelm ― as can its more than
4.5 million annual visitors. One remedy for absorbing the parks
immense beauty and rim-gawking crowds is to spend a night beneath
the stars. Youll feel a greater sense of peaceful solitude when
sleepin
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When you go
Golden
Yosemite
For information and directions, visit www.nps.gov/yose or call
209/372-0200. The entrance fee is $20 per vehicle. For
lodging reservations, visit
www.yosemitepark.com
or call
559/252-4848.
The Ahwahnee. One of the grandest of the national park
lodges, dating to 192
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One perfect day in Cascade, ID
Why go in summer: Because Idahos first whitewater park is open for business.Water world: Most people buzz through Cascade on their way to McCall, but insiders know to stick around for the incredible lakes, rivers, and hot springs.Take a stroll in town: The Crown Point Railroad Grade Trail (park
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